Umbria · Perugia
Nocera Umbra
A hill town at 520 meters on the Apennine slope, leveled by the 1997 earthquake and rebuilt, with mineral springs flowing since the sixteenth century.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 54 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 5,511
Known for
MINERAL WATER
Bagni di Nocera springs, used since 1500 for hydrotherapy; the Sorgente Angelica still bottles for the national market.
1997 EARTHQUAKE
The Campanaccio was almost entirely destroyed on 26 September 1997 and reconstructed across two decades, completed in 2016.
NICCOLÒ ALUNNO
Fifteenth-century Foligno school painter whose works anchor the Pinacoteca alongside Matteo da Gualdo and Cimabue-circle panels.
PATATA ROSSA DI COLFIORITO
The commune lies inside the Patata Rossa di Colfiorito IGP production zone.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J8°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J26°
- J30°
- A30°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Rinaldo di Nocera Umbra, 9 February
Why come
Nocera Umbra sits fifteen kilometers north of Foligno. The Romans called it Nuceria; the town has held its own bishopric since the early Middle Ages and was contested between Perugia, Spoleto and the Trinci of Foligno through the medieval period, a tug of war between larger powers that left it walled and defensible on its slope rather than absorbed by any one of them.
The centro storico climbs to a summit where the tower, the cathedral and the former Rocca stand together, the civic and the religious and the military crowded onto the same high ground. Below, five kilometers down from that core, the springs form a separate pole of the town's life, functional rather than defensive, drawing visitors for water rather than for stone. The Bandiera Arancione recognition was reconfirmed after reconstruction, a marker that the rebuilding did not just replace what fell but held the town to the standard it met before the quake.
The Sunday letter
Nocera Umbra is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Nocera Umbra comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Nocera Umbra in our articles
The 7 prettiest villages you can reach by train within 90 minutes of Perugia7 towns, Nocera Umbra among them.
The best hot-spring towns within 90 minutes of Perugia7 towns, Nocera Umbra among them.
The best medieval festivals in Umbria7 towns, Nocera Umbra among them.
The best towns known for what they grow within 90 minutes of Perugia7 towns, Nocera Umbra among them.
How to get there
From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 1h 29m by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2h 35m away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 54 minutes, Ancona 1h 40m or Siena 2h 16m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Perugia? Nocera Umbra is about 54 minutes away by road.
What to see
Campanaccio (Torre Civica)
Eleventh-century square tower at the highest point of the borgo. Only part of one side remained standing after 1997; the rest is reconstruction, stone matched to stone.
Pinacoteca e Museo Civico
Civic gallery in the deconsecrated Chiesa di San Francesco with works by Niccolò Alunno, Matteo da Gualdo, and the school of Cimabue.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Cathedral at the summit of the centro storico, partially damaged and restored, set beside the tower and the former Rocca.
Sorgenti di Bagni di Nocera
Mineral springs five kilometers below the centro storico. The Sorgente Angelica still bottles commercially, drawn from the same source used for hydrotherapy since 1500.
Centro storico restaurato
Medieval walled core rebuilt after the quake, with the original streetplan preserved and most masonry restored stone by stone.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Nocera Umbra fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
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.
Palio dei Quartierihistorical re-enactment
usually held in August. TrovaSagre
Living here
- Population 5,511
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 1 h 29 min drive
- Regional capital Perugia, 54 min drive
This is a thermal town: terme operate here.
Common questions
- What is Nocera Umbra known for?
- Nocera Umbra is a hill town at 520 meters on the Apennine slope, leveled by the 1997 earthquake and rebuilt, with mineral springs flowing since the sixteenth century.
- Where is Nocera Umbra?
- Nocera Umbra is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Nocera Umbra?
- Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 1h 29m by car.
- Can you get to Nocera Umbra 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 Nocera Umbra?
- About 54 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Nocera Umbra?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Nocera Umbra?
- Yes. Palio dei Quartieri. August is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Nocera Umbra?
- Trevi, Spello and Deruta.
- How many people live in Nocera Umbra?
- 5,511 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 520 m
- Population: 5,511
- Surface area: 157.17 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.
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