Umbria · Perugia
Foligno
A valley town on the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 79.
The letter
Foligno got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 40 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 55,303
- J10°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J33°
- A32°
- S26°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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 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.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 40 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 27 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 40 min, Ancona 1 h 52 min or Siena 2 h 1 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Perugia? Foligno is about 39 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
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.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
UneRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100) for Une, and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
CucinaaBistrot
Cucinaa holds one Gambero Rosso table.
GUS Bottega AlimentareBistrot
GUS Bottega Alimentare carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
2 more places the guides name in Foligno
Osteria BacerottiTrattoria
Osteria Bacerotti has one Gambero Rosso prawn to its name.
Osteria Dodici RondiniBistrot
Osteria Dodici Rondini holds two Gambero Rosso tables.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Foligno is a city.
- A city of 55,303 people: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 55,303, down 2.3% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €840 to €1,300 per m² to buy, €3.80 to €5.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 69% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 27 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 40 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 85 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. There are 239 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 22% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Perugia province ranks 37th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 32 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 77 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 14 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.01% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.55% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €12,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Umbria spends about €2,310 a month, €550 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €677 a year for water, on the Umbria average. In Perugia, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.23, a meal in a pizzeria €12.04 and a man's haircut €20.47.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 20% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 41% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
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.
Common questions
- What is Foligno known for?
- Foligno is a valley town at 235 meters on the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.
- Where is Foligno?
- Foligno is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Foligno?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 27 min by car.
- Can you get to Foligno without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Foligno?
- About 40 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Foligno?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Foligno?
- Spoleto, Macerata and Orvieto.
- How many people live in Foligno?
- 55,303 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Foligno a good place to live?
- Foligno is a city of 55,303 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 69% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 235 m
- Population: 55,303
- Surface area: 264.67 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Foligno appears in
- The 6 best olive oil towns inside a nature park in UmbriaUmbriaolive oilinside a park6 towns · smallest 937 residents
- The best olive oil towns you can reach by train in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceolive oilby train6 towns · smallest 2,316 residents
- The 7 best towns on a walking route that sit inside a nature park in UmbriaUmbriainside a parkon a walking route7 towns · smallest 2,493 residents
- The 8 best towns on a walking route that you can reach by train in UmbriaUmbriaon a walking routeby train8 towns · smallest 7,927 residents
- The best olive oil towns that eat well in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceolive oileats well8 towns · smallest 4,747 residents
- The best towns known for what they grow within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiawithin 90 minproduce zone8 towns · smallest 334 residents · closest 40 min away
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 90.
Trevi
Province: Perugia
A walled town at 412 meters above the Spoleto valley, ringed by 200,000 olive trees that make it the Umbrian capital of olive oil.
19 min by car
- Written about. No. 62.
Assisi
Province: Perugia
A pink limestone town at 424 meters on the western flank of a mountain above the plain, the birthplace of Francis and a UNESCO site since 2000.
15 km away
- Written about. No. 77.
Campello sul Clitunno
Province: Perugia
Springs of the Clitunno and the Lombard Tempietto on the valley floor at 290 meters, the temple inscribed by UNESCO in 2011.
16 km away
The letter
Foligno got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.