Lazio · Viterbo
Ronciglione
A tufa-brick borgo above Lake Vico, fortified by the Prefects of Vico and crowned Borgo dei Borghi in 2023.
Known for
BORGO DEI BORGHI 2023
Won the RAI Borgo dei Borghi national competition in April 2023, the tenth edition of the program.
LAKE VICO
Five kilometers north sits the highest volcanic lake in Italy at 507 meters, a protected reserve since 1982.
CORSE A VUOTO
Nine contrade race riderless horses through town at the feast of San Bartolomeo in late August, a Palio descended from the sixteenth-century Carnival.
DOP ZONES
The commune lies inside the Nocciola Romana and Tuscia DOP production zones.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Bartolomeo, 25 August
Why come
The town stands on a tufa spur, five kilometers from the lake, with the Cimini hills and their hazelnut groves closing in around it on every side. The first record of it dates to 1103. The Prefetti di Vico held it before the Farnese took it as a Duchy, and the sixteenth-century pontiff who granted the town its Carnival did so during that same passage of rule from prefects to dukes.
The fortress's towers control the single natural approach to the historic center, so the medieval town and its defenses are really one structure: whoever held the towers held the road in. Everything built afterward, the cathedral, the contrade, the Carnival itself, sits inside that same defended perimeter. What the RAI title recognized in 2023 was less a single monument than that whole arrangement still intact: a fortified approach, a walled center, and a lake and hills that have not changed shape around it.
How to get there
From Rome (FCO), about 1h 34m by car.
Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 3 hours away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 2 hours or Siena 2h 33m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Roma Termini? Ronciglione is about 1 hour away by road.
What to see
Rocca dei Borgia (I Torrioni)
Medieval fortress of the Prefects of Vico, twin round towers guarding the only natural approach to the centro storico.
Duomo dei Santi Pietro e Caterina
Baroque cathedral of 1671, polychrome marble altar, fifteenth-century triptych by a Viterbo painter, wooden statue of San Bartolomeo.
Lago di Vico
Volcanic lake ringed by the Cimini hills, its waters filling the crater below the level of the town on its spur.
Borgo medievale
Tufa-brick centro storico reached only through the towers of the Rocca, its streets closed in by the same walls the Prefects raised.
Carnevale di Ronciglione
Three-day carnival granted by Pope Paul III Farnese in the sixteenth century, with the riderless Corse a Vuoto horse races.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Ronciglione fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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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.
Riva FeliceTrattoria
Riva Felice carries two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Palio di Ronciglionehistorical re-enactment
usually held in July. Lazio Nascosto - Eventi nel Lazio (monthly)
The Sunday letter
Ronciglione got its letter. One town every Sunday, free — the photo, the food, the festa.
Living here
- Population 8,447
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Rome, 1 h 34 min drive
- Regional capital Roma, 1 h 4 min drive
Common questions
- What is Ronciglione known for?
- Ronciglione is a tufa-brick borgo above Lake Vico, fortified by the Prefects of Vico and crowned Borgo dei Borghi in 2023.
- Where is Ronciglione?
- Ronciglione is a comune in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio, at 441 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Ronciglione?
- Rome (FCO), about 1h 34m by car.
- Can you get to Ronciglione without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Ronciglione?
- About 2 hours by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ronciglione?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Ronciglione?
- Yes. Palio di Ronciglione. July is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Ronciglione?
- Vitorchiano, Stroncone and San Gemini.
- How many people live in Ronciglione?
- 8,447 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 441 m
- Population: 8,447
- Surface area: 52.53 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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