Marche · Ancona
Sassoferrato
A two-level Apennine town above Roman Sentinum, where the consuls Decius Mus and Fabius Maximus defeated four allied tribes in 295 BC.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Sassoferrato is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Bandiera Lilla.
The nearest town with a letter is Gubbio, No. 91, 24 km away.
Subscribe and you get Sassoferrato's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 11 min from Perugia
- Population
- 6,814
- J8°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J27°
- J30°
- A29°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Sassoferrato sits on the eastern slope of the Apennines on two levels: the Borgo at around 310 meters and the Castello, dominated by the Rocca built in 1365 by order of Cardinal Albornoz. A kilometer south of the modern town lies Sentinum, the Roman city next to which the consuls Publius Decius Mus and Fabius Maximus Rullianus defeated a coalition of Samnites, Etruscans, Umbrians and Senone Gauls in 295 BC, in the decisive battle of the Third Samnite War that allowed Rome to unify central Italy. The archaeological park preserves the cardo and decumanus, the urban baths, a second extramural bath complex and the ruins of a metalworking shop.
The Civic Archaeological Museum inside the Palazzo dei Priori, built 1355, holds the finds from Sentinum, including a Byzantine Saint Demetrius mosaic icon on wooden support. Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Il Sassoferrato, was born here in 1609; Palazzo Oliva holds a collection of his Raphaelesque devotional paintings. The town gives its name to the Battle of the Nations historical reenactment, held each August.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 5 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 55 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 11 min or Ancona 1 h 16 min.
Coming by train into Perugia? Sassoferrato is about 1 h 10 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rocca Albornoz
Fourteenth-century fortress built 1365 by order of Cardinal Albornoz, dominating the upper Castello district at 400 meters.
Parco Archeologico di Sentinum
Roman city a kilometer south of town, with the cardo and decumanus, the urban baths and the extramural bath complex still visible.
Museo Civico Archeologico
Inside the 1355 Palazzo dei Priori, holding the finds from Sentinum and the Byzantine Saint Demetrius mosaic icon on wooden support.
Palazzo Oliva
Renaissance palace in the Borgo district, holding a collection of Raphaelesque devotional paintings by Giovanni Battista Salvi, born here in 1609.
Borgo Castello
Two-level centro storico with the Borgo at 310 meters along the Sentino river and the Castello at 400 meters around the Rocca.
Living here
Could you live here?
Sassoferrato meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 6,814 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Fano, a city of 59,903, is 1 h 9 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 6,814, down 7% since 2015
- Nearest city Fano, 1 h 9 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Fabriano, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €430 to €640 per m² to buy, €1.30 to €1.90 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 46% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 1 h 1 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 16 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Tunisia and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 35 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. There are 301 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 50% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Ancona province ranks 30th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Fabriano, 12 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 50 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Rimini, 73 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 48 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, 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 Marche spends about €2,480 a month, €620 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €643 a year for water, on the Marche average. In Ancona, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.30, a meal in a pizzeria €12.69 and a man's haircut €20.60.
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 medium for floods. 2% 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
BATTLE OF SENTINUM
Decisive 295 BC battle of the Third Samnite War, where Decius Mus and Fabius Maximus defeated the Samnites, Etruscans, Umbrians and Senone Gauls.
SENTINUM
Roman city a kilometer south of town, with the cardo, decumanus, urban baths and extramural baths visible in the archaeological park.
IL SASSOFERRATO
Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Il Sassoferrato, was born here in 1609; Palazzo Oliva holds his Raphaelesque devotional paintings.
Common questions
- What is Sassoferrato known for?
- Sassoferrato is a two-level Apennine town above Roman Sentinum, where the consuls Decius Mus and Fabius Maximus defeated four allied tribes in 295 BC.
- Where is Sassoferrato?
- Sassoferrato is a comune in the province of Ancona, in Marche, at 386 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Sassoferrato?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 1 h 1 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Sassoferrato?
- About 1 h 11 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Sassoferrato?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Sassoferrato?
- Urbania, Matelica and Pergola.
- How many people live in Sassoferrato?
- 6,814 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Sassoferrato a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Sassoferrato is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Fano, is 1 h 9 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Fabriano, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 46% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 386 m
- Population: 6,814
- Surface area: 137.23 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.
Near here, with a letter
Similar
Towns like Sassoferrato
What all six share with Sassoferrato: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 62 km away
Umbria: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Umbria guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: Two banks, no sea. 21 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.