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00 Preci
Stemma di Preci

Umbria · Perugia

Preci

A walled Valnerina village at 596 meters that ran Europe's leading school of surgery for three centuries until the 2016 quake brought the borgo down.

Best time
May–Oct
By car
1 h 41 min from Perugia
Population
681

Known for

  • SCUOLA CHIRURGICA

    Surgeons from Preci treated royal courts across Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, specializing in stones, cataracts, and hernias.

  • SANT'EUTIZIO

    Benedictine abbey of 5th-century foundation, considered a place of origin for the Benedictine Order in central Italy.

  • 2016 EARTHQUAKE

    Magnitude 6.5 quake on 30 October 2016 brought down most of the borgo and heavily damaged Sant'Eutizio; reconstruction continues.

  • IGP ZONES

    The commune lies inside the Caciottone di Norcia and Prosciutto di Norcia IGP production zones.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

  • J9°
  • F12°
  • M13°
  • A15°
  • M20°
  • J26°
  • J30°
  • A30°
  • S24°
  • O20°
  • N14°
  • D10°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Preci sits at 596 meters in the Castoriana valley, inside the Monti Sibillini National Park and within driving distance of both Spoleto and Norcia. The walled borgo is crossed by the Campiano river and surrounded by mountain pasture. The Abbazia di Sant'Eutizio, just outside the walls, is one of the oldest monasteries in Italy, founded by Syrian Benedictine monks in the fifth century.

Their accumulated medical knowledge gave rise to the Preci school of surgery, which from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century supplied surgeons to royal courts across Europe; the local specialists worked in extraction of kidney stones, cataract surgery and hernia repair. Noble palaces of the surgeon families still line the centro storico. The town was nearly destroyed by the 30 October 2016 earthquake, magnitude 6.

5, which heavily damaged Sant'Eutizio; reconstruction is still in progress. The Borghi più belli, Cittaslow and Parco Nazionale recognitions were retained through the rebuild.

The Sunday letter

Preci 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 Preci comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Preci in our articles

How to get there

From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 2 hours by car.

Rimini (RMI) is about 3h 9m away.

By car from the centre of Perugia 1h 41m, Ancona 2 hours or Pescara 2h 35m.

Preci, photo 1
Preci, photo 2

What to see

  • Abbazia di Sant'Eutizio

    Benedictine monastery of 5th-century foundation, considered a place of origin for the Benedictine Order, heavily damaged in 2016 and under reconstruction.

  • Centro storico fortificato

    Walled medieval borgo on a hillside in the Castoriana valley, with noble palaces of the 16th-18th centuries built by the surgeon families.

  • Museo della Scuola Chirurgica

    Surgical school museum inside the Sant'Eutizio complex documenting the work of Preci surgeons from the 13th to 18th centuries.

  • Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini

    National park surrounding the commune, with trails to Piano Grande di Castelluccio and the Sibillini peaks above 2,000 meters.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Preci 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.

Plan your trip

We recommend

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.

Living here

  • Population 681
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy: none mapped
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 2 h 4 min drive
  • Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 41 min drive

Common questions

What is Preci known for?
Preci is a walled Valnerina village at 596 meters that ran Europe's leading school of surgery for three centuries until the 2016 quake brought the borgo down.
Where is Preci?
Preci is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
What is the nearest airport to Preci?
Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 2 hours by car.
How long is the drive from Perugia to Preci?
About 1h 41m by car.
When is the best time to visit Preci?
Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
Which other towns are like Preci?
Visso, Monteverde and Roseto Valfortore.
How many people live in Preci?
681 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 596 m
  • Population: 681
  • Surface area: 82.03 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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