What is Foligno known for?

The first printed edition of the Divina Commedia was produced here on 5-6 April 1472 by Numeister and Angelini, in the Palazzo Orfini. Jousting tournament first recorded 1448, revived 1946, with ten rioni racing horseback against a wooden Mars to spear three rings. Palazzo Trinci frescoes of 1411-1412 by Gentile and Jacopo Bellini count among the major late-Gothic cycles in central Italy.

When is the best time to visit Foligno?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the months locals prefer. The Quintana runs twice a year, the June and September editions filling the rioni for a week each. April through October is also the season for the Topino river paths and the climb up to Sassovivo. July and August push temperatures into the mid thirties in the valley; the centro storico thins between two and six in the afternoon and the Sassovivo cloister becomes the cool refuge. November through March is quiet. Palazzo Trinci stays open year-round, and the Calamita Cosmica in winter light remains the most-photographed contemporary artwork in Umbria.

Foligno is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 46 kilometers from Perugia.

How do I get to Foligno?

From Perugia, Foligno is roughly 46 km by road.

Umbria · Perugia

Foligno

A valley town on the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.

Known for

DANTE 1472
The first printed edition of the Divina Commedia was produced here on 5-6 April 1472 by Numeister and Angelini, in the Palazzo Orfini.
LA QUINTANA
Jousting tournament first recorded 1448, revived 1946, with ten rioni racing horseback against a wooden Mars to spear three rings.
GENTILE DA FABRIANO
Palazzo Trinci frescoes of 1411-1412 by Gentile and Jacopo Bellini count among the major late-Gothic cycles in central Italy.
PATATA ROSSA DI COLFIORITO
The commune lies inside the Patata Rossa di Colfiorito IGP production zone.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Feliciano di Foligno, 24 January

Why come

Foligno sits on the left bank of the Topino where the river leaves the Apennines and meets the plain of the Clitunno, the point at which the mountains give way to the Umbrian Valley. The town was called Fulginium in antiquity, and Cicero mentions the prefecture in two surviving fragments. The Trinci ruled the town from 1305 to 1439, and the palace that carries their name still stands at its center, with the cathedral facing the same square where the town's tournament has run twice a year since its revival.

The city's oldest church predates the Trinci period by centuries, its site going back to an 8th-century chapel, while the abbey in the hills above town was founded still earlier, in 1084, its cloister finished in 1229. Between the ancient prefecture, the medieval abbey, the Trinci court, and the print workshop that put Dante into type, Foligno reads as a valley crossing point where successive centuries each left a building rather than displacing what came before.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Foligno’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

What to see

Palazzo Trinci
Seat of the Trinci signoria 1305-1439, frescoed by Gentile da Fabriano and Jacopo Bellini, now holding the Pinacoteca and archaeological museum.
Cattedrale di San Feliciano
Romanesque cathedral on Piazza della Repubblica, built over the tomb of the bishop-martyr buried here in 251 AD.
Basilica di Santa Maria Infraportas
Oldest church in the city on the site of an 8th-century chapel, frescoes by Nelli, Ugolino di Gisberto, Alunno and Mezzastris.
Abbazia di Sassovivo
Benedictine abbey founded 1084 in the hills above town, with a Romanesque cloister of 128 columns completed in 1229.
Giostra della Quintana
Contested twice a year in June and September, the race fills Piazza della Repubblica as riders from each rione take turns against the wooden Mars.
Calamita Cosmica
Twenty-four meter Gino De Dominicis skeleton sculpture installed in the deconsecrated Chiesa della Santissima Trinità in Annunziata.

The slow-trip planner

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Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Festevolezzepatron saint's feast
usually held in July. TrovaSagre
Sagra della di San Giovanni Profiammafood festival
usually held in July. TrovaSagre

Living here

Population 55,226
A local hubi
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 1 h 40 min drive
Regional capital Perugia, 39 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 235 m
Population: 55,226
Surface area: 264.67 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Perugia

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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