Umbria · Perugia
Giano dell'Umbria
A hill commune between Foligno, Spoleto and Todi, anchored by a Romanesque abbey built over the tomb of a fourth-century martyr.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Giano dell'Umbria is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Città del Vino and Città dell'Olio.
The nearest town with a letter is Montefalco, No. 81, 18 min by car.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 57 min from Perugia
- Population
- 3,636
- J8°
- F11°
- M13°
- A16°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Giano dell'Umbria sits at 547 meters on the eastern slope of a mountain range, inside the triangle between Foligno, Spoleto and Todi. The territory is dotted with small medieval castles, Montecchio and Morcicchia the most intact, and small Romanesque churches scattered between the olive groves. The abbey stands just outside the walls of the capoluogo, while Montecchio, the castle, the frazione and the Antiquarium together, sits apart on its own ridge above Bastardo, closer to the Via Flaminia than to the main town.
The commune is also the seat of the DOC Spoleto wine, with the Trebbiano Spoletino grape reborn here in the last decade, and the olive groves around Bastardo supply the Frantoi Aperti weekends every November. Abbey, castle and grove read as three settlements on one slope: a religious center below the walls, a fortified outpost on the ridge, and an agricultural economy spread through the land between them.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 2 h 6 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 8 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 57 min or Ancona 2 h 17 min.
Coming by train into Perugia? Giano dell'Umbria is about 57 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Abbazia di San Felice
The crypt below the church is the part worth the stop, a Romanesque space set beneath the rebuilt monastery, holding the ground plan of the oratory that came before it.
Castello di Montecchio
Fortified on the Monti Martani slope along the Via Flaminia, held by the lords of Giano from the 12th century; the walls and position over the road are still legible.
Villa Rufione
A rural villa site between Montecchio and Bastardo, on the Via Flaminia Vetus. Nothing remains to visit on the ground; the finds are what survive, held in the Antiquarium of Montecchio.
Borgo di Montecchio
A medieval frazione on the ridge above Bastardo. The Antiquarium sits inside the restored castle complex, and the ridge gives views across the slopes below.
Living here
Could you live here?
Giano dell'Umbria is at the end of the road.
- A village of 3,636. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Montefalco, is 18 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Foligno, a city of 55,303, is 33 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 3,636, down 4.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Foligno, 33 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Todi, 15 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €430 to €600 per m² to buy, €1.70 to €2.30 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 96% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 54 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 57 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
21% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from North Macedonia, Romania and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 17 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and Germany. There are 185 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 32% 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
The nearest emergency room is in Todi, 15 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 30 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 61 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 23 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% 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 0.68% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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 E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 1% in a high or medium one. 2% 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
SAN FELICE
Romanesque abbey rebuilt in the early 12th century over a 4th-century oratory at the tomb of the martyred bishop.
OLIO MARTANI
Olive groves on the Monti Martani slopes feed the Frantoi Aperti weekends every November; the town carries the Città dell'Olio designation.
TREBBIANO SPOLETINO
Native white grape revived in the last decade by local producers in the DOC Spoleto area surrounding the commune.
MONTEFALCO SAGRANTINO
The commune lies inside the Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG production zone.
Common questions
- What is Giano dell'Umbria known for?
- Giano dell'Umbria is a hill commune between Foligno, Spoleto and Todi, anchored by a Romanesque abbey built over the tomb of a fourth-century martyr.
- Where is Giano dell'Umbria?
- Giano dell'Umbria is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria, at 547 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Giano dell'Umbria?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 54 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Giano dell'Umbria?
- About 57 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Giano dell'Umbria?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Giano dell'Umbria?
- Città della Pieve, Arcevia and Mondavio.
- How many people live in Giano dell'Umbria?
- 3,636 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Giano dell'Umbria a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Giano dell'Umbria is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Montefalco, is 18 min away. The nearest city, Foligno, is 33 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Todi, 15 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 96% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 547 m
- Population: 3,636
- Surface area: 44.48 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 Giano dell'Umbria appears in
- The best small olive oil towns in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceolive oilsmall6 towns · smallest 334 residents
- The best wine towns in the province of PerugiaPerugia provincewine7 towns · smallest 3,636 residents
- The 9 best olive oil towns within 90 minutes of TerniNear Terniolive oilwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 334 residents · closest 34 min away
- The 9 best small olive oil towns in UmbriaUmbriaolive oilsmall9 towns · smallest 334 residents
Featured on
Giano dell'Umbria appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 81.
Montefalco
Province: Perugia
The hilltop wine capital of Umbria at 472 meters, where Sagrantino is grown almost nowhere else.
18 min by car
- 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.
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
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 45 km away
Umbria: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Umbria guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: Two banks, no sea. 21 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.