Lazio · Roma
Percile
A 217-person medieval borgo at 575 meters, built on a rocky spur with two karst lakes hidden in the woods above it.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Percile is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 54 min from Rome
- Population
- 217
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J31°
- A30°
- S24°
- O19°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Percile sits sixty kilometers from Rome, on the border between the Roma and Rieti provinces. The name derives from gens Porcia, a Roman family of the area, and the earliest documented evidence of habitation dates between 314 and 335, in the biography of Pope Sylvester I. The village occupies the rocky spur itself, walled stone houses and vaulted passages built to the shape of the ground; above it the slopes rise into oak and beech woods that belong to the wider park, climbing toward Monte Pellecchia.
The relation between the two levels is the whole of the place: the settlement below, compact and defensible on its spur, and the water held above it in limestone basins fed by underground springs. What the borgo protected on the ground, the park has protected in the hills. The population today is 217, spread across a comune territory of 24 square kilometers, which makes Percile a small fixed point inside a much larger stretch of protected woodland.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 7 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 35 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 59 min or Perugia 2 h 31 min.
Coming by train into Roma Termini? Percile is about 53 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Lagustelli di Percile
The walk up from the village runs through oak forest and ends at clear water held in two limestone basins between 674 and 704 meters, filled by underground springs.
Centro storico
Medieval stone village on a rocky spur, with vaulted passages, surviving gates and the panorama from the upper terrace.
Parco Naturale dei Monti Lucretili
Regional park covering oak and beech woods on the karst slopes around the village, with marked trails to the lakes and toward Monte Pellecchia.
Chiesa di Santa Anatolia
Medieval parish church inside the centro storico, dedicated to the patron saint and rebuilt after seismic damage in the seventeenth century.
Living here
Could you live here?
Percile is at the end of the road.
- A village of 217. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel Madama, is 30 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Tivoli, a city of 55,115, is 34 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 217, down 23% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Tivoli, 34 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Tivoli, 18 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €550 to €800 per m² to buy, €2.30 to €3.30 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 97% of homes
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Rome Ciampino airport (CIA), 50 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Rome, 54 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
17% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 863 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 68% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Rome province ranks 46th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Tivoli, 18 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Rome, 44 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Rome, 44 km away. The nearest IB school is Marymount International School Rome, 40 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is The European International School & College Rome, 35 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 at the 2025 rate, 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 Lazio spends about €2,270 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €647 a year for water, on the Lazio average. In Rome, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.21, a meal in a pizzeria €11.54 and a man's haircut €17.23.
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. 15% 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
LAGUSTELLI
Two small karst lakes fed by underground springs, protected as an integral nature reserve.
LUCRETILI
On the southernmost extension of the Sabine range.
217 RESIDENTS
One of the smallest Borghi più belli d'Italia in Lazio, a medieval stone spur with a 24-square-kilometer comune territory.
Common questions
- What is Percile known for?
- Percile is a 217-person medieval borgo at 575 meters, built on a rocky spur with two karst lakes hidden in the woods above it.
- Where is Percile?
- Percile is a comune in the province of Roma, in Lazio.
- What is the nearest airport to Percile?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Ciampino (CIA), about 50 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Percile?
- About 1 h 59 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Percile?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Percile?
- Seborga, Monte Rinaldo and Montesegale.
- How many people live in Percile?
- 217 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Percile a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Percile is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel Madama, is 30 min away. The nearest city, Tivoli, is 34 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Tivoli, 18 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 97% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 575 m
- Population: 217
- Surface area: 17.76 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 Percile appears in
- The best hidden towns inside a nature park in the province of RomaRoma provinceinside a parkhidden6 towns · smallest 217 residents
- The best hill towns inside a nature park within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romehill towninside a parkwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 217 residents · closest 37 min away
- The prettiest small villages within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romewithin 90 minprettiest villagessmall6 towns · smallest 217 residents · closest 52 min away
- The best hill towns in the province of RomaRoma provincehill town7 towns · smallest 217 residents
- The prettiest villages in the province of RomaRoma provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 217 residents
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romeinside a parkwithin 90 minprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 217 residents · closest 35 min away
Featured on
Percile appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Percile
What all six share with Percile: inland, away from the coast · under 1,000 people · hill towns
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 61 km away
Tuscia: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Tuscia guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The land Rome took twice. 16 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.