Umbria · Perugia
Paciano
Walled hill town of 957 people above the lake, three parallel streets, eight towers and three medieval gates intact.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 41 min from Perugia
- Population
- 957
Known for
WALLS
Fifteenth-century circuit with eight towers and three gates intact, the most complete medieval walls on the western shore of Trasimeno.
TRASIMENO VIEW
At 391 meters on Monte Petrarvella, Paciano holds one of the widest panoramas over Lake Trasimeno and the Valdichiana toward Tuscany.
INFIORATA
Floral displays on Corpus Domini fill the three parallel streets of the centro storico, part of the national Infioritalia network.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J9°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O21°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The town is first documented in 917, in an imperial charter of Berengar I, and appears again in 1260 as a castrum, a fortified site. Perugia rebuilt the walls and main tower between 1461 and 1473, using the site as a watch-post over the western approach to the lake below. Inside the circuit, three parallel streets are linked by orthogonal alleys, a layout that carries the Renaissance palace with the Vignola staircase, the oldest noble residence in the town, and the 17th-century Palazzo Cennini, once the summer residence of a cardinal.
The gates and towers sit at the edge of this grid, facing outward toward the water. Olive oil from the slopes that drop toward the shore is the present-day specialty. What remains is a small fortified grid, built to watch a lake, that turned its military purpose into a domestic one once the watching was no longer needed.
The Sunday letter
Paciano 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 Paciano comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Paciano in our articles
The best small olive oil towns in the province of Perugia6 towns, Paciano among them.
The best hidden towns with a food festival in the province of Perugia8 towns, Paciano among them.
The 9 best small olive oil towns in Umbria9 towns, Paciano among them.
The prettiest villages inside a nature park within 90 minutes of Perugia9 towns, Paciano among them.
How to get there
From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 2h 16m by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2h 35m away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 41 minutes, Siena 1h 22m or Florence 1h 36m.
Coming by train into Perugia? Paciano is about 38 minutes away by road.
What to see
Medieval walls
About 600 meters of circuit, with the three original gates named Fiorentina, Perugina and Rastrella still standing among the eight towers.
Palazzo Baldeschi
Assembled from earlier tower houses, with a staircase attributed to Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. Now used as an exhibition and cultural space.
Rocca Buitoni
The oldest surviving palace in the town, built as a noble residence inside the walls, with a small private chapel.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Sits at the top of the centro storico. Works of artistic and religious significance were preserved through rebuildings in the 17th and 19th centuries.
Belvedere over Trasimeno
From the upper walls, the view takes in the four islands of Lake Trasimeno and, on clear days, the Tuscan Valdichiana toward Montepulciano.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Paciano 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.
Sagra dello Strozzapretefood festival
usually held in August. TrovaSagre
Living here
- Population 957
- Remotei
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 2 h 16 min drive
- Regional capital Perugia, 41 min drive
Common questions
- What is Paciano known for?
- Walled hill town of 957 people at 391 meters above the lake, three parallel streets, eight towers and three medieval gates intact.
- Where is Paciano?
- Paciano is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Paciano?
- Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 2h 16m by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Paciano?
- About 41 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Paciano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Paciano?
- Yes. Sagra dello Strozzaprete. August is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Paciano?
- Zavattarello, Calcata and Apricale.
- How many people live in Paciano?
- 957 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 391 m
- Population: 957
- Surface area: 16.91 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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