Emilia-Romagna · Forlì-Cesena
Portico e San Benedetto
A three-tier medieval borgo on the Montone river, capital of Florence's Romagna territories from 1386.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Portico e San Benedetto is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 12 min from Florence
- Population
- 742
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M20°
- J26°
- J30°
- A29°
- S24°
- O20°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines place the borgo forty-five kilometers north of Florence and sixty southeast of Bologna, on the Montone river. The upper part holds the castle and the parish church, the middle the noble palazzi along Via Roma, the lower the artisan houses built vertically over four floors: a layout that follows the slope down from fortress to workshop. Twelve kilometers upriver, the frazione of San Benedetto in Alpe holds the ruins of the abbey and the waterfall, joining the seat of Florentine administration to a stretch of the same valley given over to monastic settlement and to the poem that named its sound.
The municipality lies inside the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi and carries the Bandiera Arancione. What holds the two ends of the valley together is the Montone itself: one town built in tiers to govern the river's lower course, one abbey and one waterfall marking its upper reaches, twelve kilometers and several centuries apart but read here as a single territory.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 1 h 35 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 38 min away.
By car from the center of Florence 1 h 12 min.
Coming by train into Forlì? Portico e San Benedetto is about 40 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Centro storico di Portico
The slope divides into castle quarter above, noble palazzi along Via Roma at mid-level, and artisan houses built vertically below.
Palazzo Portinari
Fourteenth-century palace on Via Roma, by tradition the residence of Folco Portinari's family.
Cascata dell'Acquacheta
The torrent falls among rocks near San Benedetto in Alpe, the muffled roar the detail Dante fixed in Inferno XVI.
Abbazia di San Benedetto in Alpe
Tenth-century Benedictine abbey at 485 meters in the upper Montone valley, where San Romualdo stayed before founding Camaldoli.
Ponte della Maestà
Stone bridge over the Montone at the entrance to Portico, medieval in origin and rebuilt several times after Apennine floods.
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.
Al Vecchio ConventoRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (79/100), at Al Vecchio Convento.
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?
Portico e San Benedetto is at the end of the road.
- A village of 742. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Dicomano, is 28 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Forlì, a city of 117,535, is 39 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 742, down 4.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Forlì, 39 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Santa Sofia, 14 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €910 to €1,200 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €3.90 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Forlì airport (FRL), 39 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bologna, 1 h 37 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
21% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Nigeria, Tunisia and the Ivory Coast, against 9% across Italy. There are 296 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 53% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Forlì-Cesena province ranks 11th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Forlì, 31 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. The nearest IB school is International School of Florence, 51 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Bilingual International School Borgo San Lorenzo, 33 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 between 0.4% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, 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 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 Forlì, the provincial capital, in September 2026, a meal in a pizzeria €12.18 and a man's haircut €22.59.
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. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 7% in a high or medium one. 28% 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
DANTE'S BEATRICE
Palazzo Portinari preserves the tradition that Beatrice's family lived here, on the medieval road between Florence and Romagna.
ACQUACHETA
Waterfall on the Acquacheta torrent, named by Dante in Inferno XVI, twelve kilometers up the Montone from Portico.
FLORENTINE CAPITAL
Capital of the Republic of Florence's Romagna territories from 1386, the reason for the three-tier medieval urban structure.
Common questions
- What is Portico e San Benedetto known for?
- Portico e San Benedetto is a three-tier medieval borgo at 309 meters on the Montone river, capital of Florence's Romagna territories from 1386.
- Where is Portico e San Benedetto?
- Portico e San Benedetto is a comune in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in Emilia-Romagna.
- What is the nearest airport to Portico e San Benedetto?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Forlì (FRL), about 39 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Florence to Portico e San Benedetto?
- About 1 h 12 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Portico e San Benedetto?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Portico e San Benedetto?
- Montegridolfo, Guardialfiera and Corfinio.
- How many people live in Portico e San Benedetto?
- 742 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Portico e San Benedetto a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Portico e San Benedetto is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Dicomano, is 28 min away. The nearest city, Forlì, is 39 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Santa Sofia, 14 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 309 m
- Population: 742
- Surface area: 61.05 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.
Similar
Towns like Portico e San Benedetto
What all six share with Portico e San Benedetto: inland, away from the coast · under 1,000 people · hill towns
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 84 km away
Arno Corridor: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Arno Corridor guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The working road from Florence to the sea. 8 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.