Emilia-Romagna · Rimini
Pennabilli
A 629-meter Montefeltro borgo between the Roccione and the Rupe, remade as an open-air museum after 1989.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pennabilli is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 55 min from Rimini
- Population
- 2,692
- J7°
- F10°
- M11°
- A14°
- M18°
- J24°
- J28°
- A27°
- S22°
- O17°
- N11°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Pennabilli sits at 629 meters on the western slope of Monte Carpegna, at the head of the upper Marecchia valley, forty-five kilometers south of Rimini, inside the historic Montefeltro region. The town grew from the union of two hilltop castles, Penna on the Roccione and Billi on the Rupe, formally joined in 1350 by a stone of peace placed in the marketplace between them. It has been the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Montefeltro since 1572, a status transferred from the older seat of San Leo.
Tonino Guerra, long-time collaborator of Fellini, Antonioni and Tarkovsky, settled here in 1989 and spread his outdoor museum, I Luoghi dell'Anima, across both the town and the valley below it, linking the two former castles and their surroundings into a single walked route. The garden of forgotten fruits opened the following year, and the antiques fair has continued each July since 1970, older than either. What the place adds up to is a town built twice: once by the stone that joined two castles into one commune, and once by the poet who joined the whole valley into a single museum without walls.
How to get there
From Rimini (RMI), about 1 h 17 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 1 h 54 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 47 min or Bologna 2 h 2 min.
Coming by train into Rimini? Pennabilli is about 54 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rimini airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Orto dei Frutti Dimenticati
Walled garden below the Roccione, its paths lined with sculptures and installations set among the rescued fruit varieties.
I Luoghi dell'Anima
Network of seven outdoor installations across Pennabilli and the Marecchia valley, conceived by Tonino Guerra between 1989 and 2012.
Roccione and Rupe
Two rocky outcrops that carried the medieval castles of Penna and Billi, joined into a single commune in 1350.
Cattedrale di San Leone
Cathedral of the Diocese of Montefeltro, whose seat was transferred to Pennabilli in 1572 from the older episcopal town of San Leo.
Mostra Mercato Nazionale d'Antiquariato
Held in the centro storico, drawing dealers who set up stalls through the old streets for the duration of the fair.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Il PiastrinoRistorante
One Michelin star for Il Piastrino, and two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100).
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pennabilli is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,692. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Novafeltria, is 19 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Rimini, a city of 150,333, is 55 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 2,692, down 8.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Rimini, 55 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Novafeltria, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €860 to €1,250 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €4.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Forlì airport (FRL), 1 h 15 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bologna, 2 h 2 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. There are 329 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 50% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Rimini province ranks 51st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sansepolcro, 27 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Rimini, 33 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Rimini, 36 km as the crow flies.
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 Emilia-Romagna spends about €2,500 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €604 a year for water, on the Emilia-Romagna average. In Rimini, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.36, a meal in a pizzeria €12.64 and a man's haircut €22.02.
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. 30% 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
TONINO GUERRA
The poet and screenwriter behind Amarcord and Nostalghia lived here from 1989 and remade the town as an outdoor museum he called the Landscape of the Soul.
FORGOTTEN FRUITS
The Orto dei Frutti Dimenticati, opened in 1990, holds Apennine fruit varieties saved from extinction inside a walled garden below the Roccione.
ANTIQUES FAIR
The Mostra Mercato Nazionale d'Antiquariato has run every July since 1970, bringing dealers from across Italy to the upper Marecchia.
Common questions
- What is Pennabilli known for?
- Pennabilli is a 629-meter Montefeltro borgo between the Roccione and the Rupe, remade as an open-air museum after 1989.
- Where is Pennabilli?
- Pennabilli is a comune in the province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna, at 629 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pennabilli?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Forlì (FRL), about 1 h 15 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Pennabilli?
- About 1 h 47 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pennabilli?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pennabilli?
- Carpegna, Corniglio and Cascia.
- How many people live in Pennabilli?
- 2,692 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pennabilli a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pennabilli is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Novafeltria, is 19 min away. The nearest city, Rimini, is 55 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Novafeltria, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 629 m
- Population: 2,692
- Surface area: 69.8 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 Pennabilli appears in
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnaserious restauranthidden7 towns · smallest 996 residents
- The best small towns that eat well in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnaeats wellsmall7 towns · smallest 742 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park that eat well in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnainside a parkeats well7 towns · smallest 2,428 residents
- The best hidden towns inside a nature park in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnainside a parkhidden10 towns · smallest 1,191 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of RiminiNear Riminiwithin 90 minserious restauranteats well10 towns · smallest 996 residents · closest 17 min away
Similar
Towns like Pennabilli
What all six share with Pennabilli: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 75 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.
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