Tuscany · Grosseto
Pitigliano
The Little Jerusalem of southern Tuscany, carved into a tuff spur in the Maremma, where the houses, the synagogue and the streets are all cut from the same volcanic rock.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pitigliano is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Arancione and Città del Vino.
The nearest town with a letter is Manciano, No. 50, 31 min by car.
Subscribe and you get Pitigliano's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 4 min from Perugia
- Population
- 3,533
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Pitigliano sits on a tuff spur in the southern Maremma, eighty kilometers southeast of Grosseto and close to the Lazio border. The town is built into the rock it stands on: cellars, stables and synagogue all carved into the same volcanic tuff that the houses rise from above. The county passed to the Orsini family in 1293 and stayed Orsini for 150 years of wars with Siena.
In 1556 Niccolò IV Orsini gave land for a Jewish cemetery to his physician David de Pomis; the synagogue followed in 1598. When Pitigliano was absorbed into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1608, the Medici imposed a ghetto in 1622 around the synagogue, on the cliff edge. The nickname Little Jerusalem comes from there.
The Etruscan tagliate, channels cut into the tuff at depths from one to over ten meters, were carved long before any of that, and remain in use as paths and roads. The DOC Bianco di Pitigliano, a Trebbiano blend, is grown on the surrounding slopes.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 3 h 12 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 2 h 4 min or Siena 2 h 15 min.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Palazzo Orsini
Twelfth-century fortress remodeled by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in the sixteenth century, now housing the Museo Civico Archeologico and the Diocesan Museum.
Sinagoga di Pitigliano
Synagogue built in 1598, restored after partial collapse, the heart of the Jewish quarter that gave the town its Little Jerusalem nickname.
Quartiere Ebraico
The ghetto established in 1622 around the synagogue, with the kosher bakery, mikveh, oven and wine cellar carved into the tuff.
Vie Cave
Etruscan tagliate cut into the tuff to depths from one to over ten meters, narrow channels running between villages, still walkable today.
Acquedotto Mediceo
Sixteenth-century aqueduct with two grand arches crossing the gap into the town, commissioned by the Orsini and completed under Medici rule.
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 Tufo AllegroRistorante
Il Tufo Allegro has one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
AngiolinaRistorante
Angiolina holds one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).
Il CaveauRistorante
Il Caveau has a Gambero Rosso listing to its name.
1 more place the guides name in Pitigliano
La RoccaRistorante
La Rocca carries one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).
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?
Pitigliano is at the end of the road.
- A village of 3,533. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Manciano, is 31 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Viterbo, a city of 66,393, is 1 h 7 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 3,533, down 8.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Viterbo, 1 h 7 min drive
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €990 to €1,450 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €4.30 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 92% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO), 2 h drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 2 h 39 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Poland, against 9% across Italy. 21 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the United States. There are 402 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 46% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Grosseto province ranks 59th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Siena, 80 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Grosseto, 50 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 43 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% 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 €10,000. 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 Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Grosseto, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.20.
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. 7% 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
LITTLE JERUSALEM
Jewish community present since the late sixteenth century, synagogue built 1598, ghetto imposed by the Medici in 1622, museum reopened after restoration.
TUFF CITY
Houses, cellars and Etruscan vie cave all carved from the same volcanic tuff spur, the town rising directly from the cliff face.
BIANCO DI PITIGLIANO
DOC white wine based on Trebbiano with Malvasia and Greco, grown on the volcanic slopes around the town since the 1960s.
Common questions
- What is Pitigliano known for?
- Pitigliano is the Little Jerusalem of southern Tuscany, carved into a tuff spur in the Maremma, where the houses, the synagogue and the streets are all cut from the same volcanic rock.
- Where is Pitigliano?
- Pitigliano is a comune in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, at 313 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pitigliano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Pitigliano?
- About 2 h 4 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pitigliano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pitigliano?
- Manciano, Canale Monterano and Oriolo Romano.
- How many people live in Pitigliano?
- 3,533 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pitigliano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pitigliano is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Manciano, is 31 min away. The nearest city, Viterbo, is 1 h 7 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 92% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 313 m
- Population: 3,533
- Surface area: 101.97 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 Pitigliano appears in
- The prettiest villages in the province of GrossetoGrosseto provinceprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,271 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of GrossetoGrosseto provinceserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 3,533 residents
- The prettiest small villages that eat well in TuscanyTuscanyeats wellprettiest villagessmall7 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
- The best small hill towns with a serious restaurant in TuscanyTuscanyhill townserious restaurantsmall9 towns · smallest 1,137 residents
- The best small olive oil towns with a serious restaurant in TuscanyTuscanyolive oilserious restaurantsmall9 towns · smallest 1,137 residents
- The best small wine towns that eat well in TuscanyTuscanywineeats wellsmall9 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 50.
Manciano
Province: Grosseto
A market town at 444 meters in the southern Maremma, with a Sienese fortress of 1424 and the thermal frazione of Saturnia in its territory.
31 min by car
- Written about. No. 47.
Capalbio
Province: Grosseto
A walled hilltop borgo at 217 meters in the southern Maremma, donated to the Abbey of Tre Fontane by Charlemagne.
29 km away
- Written about. No. 45.
Radicofani
Province: Siena
The Val d'Orcia's basalt watchtower: a 1,044-resident UNESCO-inscribed borgo at 814m on a volcanic outcrop visible across half of southern Tuscany, crowned by an outlaw's fortress that Dante and Boccaccio both wrote into their pages.
30 km away
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 59 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.