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.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Nocera Umbra is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Bandiera Arancione.
The nearest town with a letter is Assisi, No. 62, 15 km away.
Subscribe and you get Nocera Umbra's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 54 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 5,506
- J8°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J26°
- J30°
- A30°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 29 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2 h 35 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 54 min, Ancona 1 h 40 min or Siena 2 h 16 min.
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 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
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.
Living here
Could you live here?
Nocera Umbra meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 5,506 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Foligno, a city of 55,303, is 45 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 5,506, down 5.8% since 2015
- Nearest city Foligno, 45 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Assisi, 14 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €500 to €780 per m² to buy, €1.90 to €2.80 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
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 75% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 38 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 54 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 34 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are 329 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 43% 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 Assisi, 14 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 32 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 96 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 18 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, with nothing due on income under €8,000. 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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 1% in a high or medium one. 5% 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.
This is a thermal town: terme operate here.
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.
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?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 38 min 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 min 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.
- Which other towns are like Nocera Umbra?
- Trevi, Spello and Montecosaro.
- How many people live in Nocera Umbra?
- 5,506 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Nocera Umbra a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Nocera Umbra is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Foligno, is 45 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Assisi, 14 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 75% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 520 m
- Population: 5,506
- 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Nocera Umbra appears in
- The 6 prettiest villages you can reach by train within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiaby trainwithin 90 minprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 3,442 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best hidden hill towns you can reach by train in the province of PerugiaPerugia provincehill townby trainhidden7 towns · smallest 2,316 residents
- The best hot-spring towns within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiahot springswithin 90 min7 towns · smallest 1,396 residents · closest 54 min away
- 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
- The best towns known for what they grow within two hours of AnconaNear Anconawithin 2 hoursproduce zone9 towns · smallest 926 residents · closest 91 min away
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiainside a parkwithin 90 minprettiest villages9 towns · smallest 937 residents · closest 19 min away
Near here, with a letter
- 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. 79.
Foligno
Province: Perugia
A valley town at 235 meters on the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.
23 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.
38 min by car
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 48 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.