Marche · Macerata
Matelica
A Verdicchio town in the upper Esino valley, with a Roman marble globe in its archaeological museum.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Matelica is on our list
It holds Spighe Verdi, Città del Vino and Città del Miele.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 11 min from Ancona
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 9,072
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M22°
- J28°
- J31°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Matelica sits in the upper Esino valley between Monte San Vicino to the west and Monte Gemmo to the east. The Picentes and Umbri settled here in the first millennium BC; Rome turned the town into a municipium around 70 BC under the name Matilica. After the Lombard sack of 578 AD Matelica re-emerged as a free commune by 1160 under its bishop.
Verdicchio di Matelica, DOC since 1967, is the smaller and higher-altitude of the two Verdicchio appellations: the closed mountain valley gives the wine a sharper mineral profile than the Castelli di Jesi version closer to the coast. The Museo Civico Archeologico holds the Globo di Matelica, a thirty-centimeter Roman marble sphere from the second century AD, engraved with lines that may have been used for a sundial. Palazzo Ottoni, built in 1472 on the main piazza, and the Museo Piersanti, the collection of the eighteenth-century papal master of ceremonies, anchor the centro storico.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 59 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2 h 6 min away.
By car from the center of Ancona 1 h 11 min or Perugia 1 h 15 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Perugia? Matelica is about 1 h 14 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Museo Civico Archeologico
Civic archaeology collection holding the Globo di Matelica, a Roman marble sphere of the second century AD engraved with reference lines, possibly a sundial.
Palazzo Ottoni
Renaissance palazzo built in 1472 by the Ottoni family on the main piazza, now part of the civic administration.
Museo Piersanti
Late fifteenth-century palazzo holding the collection of Monsignor Venanzio Filippo Piersanti, papal master of ceremonies from 1718 to 1761, with works by Bellini, Salvator Rosa and Carlo Maratta.
Piazza Enrico Mattei
Main square of the centro storico, named for the local-born ENI founder, flanked by Palazzo Ottoni and the Loggiati di San Francesco.
Duomo di Matelica
Cathedral on Piazza Enrico Mattei, baroque interior with a fourteenth-century crypt holding the relics of Sant'Adriano.
Living here
Could you live here?
Matelica meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 9,072 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Foligno, a city of 55,303, is 54 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 9,072, down 9.8% since 2015
- Nearest city Foligno, 54 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Fabriano, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €600 to €1,100 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €5.00 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Ancona airport (AOI), 59 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 11 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and North Macedonia, against 9% across Italy. 12 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France. There are 289 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. Macerata province ranks 26th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Fabriano, 12 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 52 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Rimini, 96 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 41 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.05% 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 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Marche spends about €2,480 a month, €620 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €643 a year for water, on the Marche average. In Macerata, the provincial capital, in September 2026, a man's haircut €24.41.
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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 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
VERDICCHIO DI MATELICA
The smaller and higher-altitude of the two Verdicchio DOCs, made in a closed mountain valley that gives the wine a sharper mineral profile.
GLOBO DI MATELICA
A thirty-centimeter Roman marble sphere from the second century AD engraved with reference lines, on display in the civic archaeology museum.
MUSEO PIERSANTI
Collection of Monsignor Piersanti, papal master of ceremonies under five popes from 1718 to 1761, with paintings, silver and rare furniture.
Common questions
- What is Matelica known for?
- Matelica is a Verdicchio town at 354 meters in the upper Esino valley, with a Roman marble globe in its archaeological museum.
- Where is Matelica?
- Matelica is a comune in the province of Macerata, in Marche.
- What is the nearest airport to Matelica?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ancona (AOI), about 59 min by car.
- Can you get to Matelica without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to Matelica?
- About 1 h 11 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Matelica?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Matelica?
- Barga, Oriolo Romano and Morrovalle.
- How many people live in Matelica?
- 9,072 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Matelica a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Matelica is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Foligno, is 54 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Fabriano, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 354 m
- Population: 9,072
- Surface area: 81.1 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 Matelica appears in
- The best wine towns in MarcheMarchewine6 towns · smallest 1,792 residents
- The best hidden hill towns you can reach by train in MarcheMarchehill townby trainhidden7 towns · smallest 1,648 residents
- The best hill towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of AnconaNear Anconahill townby trainwithin 90 min7 towns · smallest 1,648 residents · closest 46 min away
Similar
Towns like Matelica
What all six share with Matelica: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 67 km away
Umbria: the towns, when to go, how to get there
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Read the guide: Two banks, no sea. 21 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
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