Umbria · Perugia
Monte Santa Maria Tiberina
An imperial-fief borgo at 688 meters, held by the Bourbon del Monte marquises from 1250 to 1815.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is on our list
It holds Città del Castagno.
The nearest town with a letter is Passignano sul Trasimeno, No. 61, 28 km away.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 16 min from Perugia
- Population
- 1,060
- J7°
- F10°
- M11°
- A15°
- M20°
- J25°
- J30°
- A29°
- S23°
- O18°
- N12°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The town takes its name from the mountain it sits on, 688 meters, on the Umbria-Tuscany border, forty kilometers north of Perugia above the Upper Tiber valley. From the eleventh century the territory was a fief of the Marquis Bourbon del Monte, descendants of the Frankish Marquis del Colle who conquered much of the Upper Tiber. Their marquisate became an imperial fief in 1250 and stayed one until 1815, six and a half centuries of de facto independence from both Florence and Rome, the longest-running noble enclave in central Italy.
Inside the walls the palace and the family chapel sit together as the dynastic core of the borgo, the stone record of a family that answered to the emperor rather than to Florence or Rome. Beyond the walls the slopes fall away into chestnut woods and pasture, the basis of the Città del Castagno membership, and from the ridge the ground drops toward the valley and Citerna, tracing the old corridor along the river toward the Tuscan border. A summit village, self-contained behind its walls, ruling a chestnut-covered mountain for six centuries without belonging to either neighbor: that is the shape of the place.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 2 h 35 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2 h 36 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 16 min, Florence 1 h 46 min or Siena 1 h 55 min.
Coming by train into Perugia? Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is about 1 h 20 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Palazzo Bourbon del Monte
Seat in Piazza Castello, standing on earlier castle structures, now the Palazzo Museo of the town.
Borgo murato
Medieval walls still enclose the small summit village, a compact circuit of stone houses around the palace.
Cappella Bourbon del Monte
Family chapel, part of the dynastic complex inside the walls, standing alongside the palace as the other face of the marquisate's presence in stone.
Belvedere sul Tevere
View from the ridge across the Upper Tiber valley toward Citerna and the Tuscan border, the ancient corridor along the river.
Living here
Could you live here?
Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,060. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Città di Castello, is 34 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Arezzo, a city of 96,479, is 48 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 1,060, down 10.9% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Arezzo, 48 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Città di Castello, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €460 to €620 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €2.30 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 61% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 1 h 5 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 16 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from the United Kingdom, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 44 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. There are 285 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 45% 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 Città di Castello, 7 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 38 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Siena, 70 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 55 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 0.8% to your income tax. 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. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 11% 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
IMPERIAL FIEF
Bourbon del Monte marquisate held the territory as an imperial fief from 1250 to 1815, six centuries of independence from Florence and Rome.
PALAZZO BOURBON
Marquis palace begun in 1564 by Bartolomeo, completed by Gianbattista in 1614, now the town's museum.
CASTAGNO
Chestnut woods on the surrounding slopes, source of Città del Castagno status and the late-October harvest.
Common questions
- What is Monte Santa Maria Tiberina known for?
- Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is an imperial-fief borgo at 688 meters, held by the Bourbon del Monte marquises from 1250 to 1815.
- Where is Monte Santa Maria Tiberina?
- Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Monte Santa Maria Tiberina?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 1 h 5 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Monte Santa Maria Tiberina?
- About 1 h 16 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Monte Santa Maria Tiberina?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Monte Santa Maria Tiberina?
- Pietralunga, Esanatoglia and Cantiano.
- How many people live in Monte Santa Maria Tiberina?
- 1,060 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Monte Santa Maria Tiberina a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Città di Castello, is 34 min away. The nearest city, Arezzo, is 48 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Città di Castello, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 61% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 688 m
- Population: 1,060
- Surface area: 72.53 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.
Near here, with a letter
Similar
Towns like Monte Santa Maria Tiberina
What all six share with Monte Santa Maria Tiberina: inland, away from the coast
Pietralunga
Province: Perugia
both under 3,000 people
Esanatoglia
Province: Macerata
both under 3,000 people
Cantiano
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
both under 3,000 people
Norcia
Province: Perugia
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Trequanda
Province: Siena
both under 3,000 people
Chiusdino
Province: Siena
both under 3,000 people
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 33 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.