Umbria · Perugia
Scheggino
Triangular castle village on the banks of the Nera, where the first commercial Italian truffle company was founded in 1852.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 86.
The letter
Scheggino got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 14 min from Perugia
- Population
- 426
- J11°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J33°
- A32°
- S26°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Scheggino sits in the heart of the Valnerina, the village wedged into a triangle of walls between the slope above and the Nera river below. The Duchy of Spoleto built it around the 12th century to defend one of the three bridges over the Nera; the triangular plan and the watchtower of white and pink stone, about 20 meters high, still mark the top of the castle. The Nera runs alongside the lower edge of the village, divided into channels that once turned mills and now hold trout and the springs that feed the truffle washing rooms.
Scheggino is the home of Urbani Tartufi, the first commercial company for the storage and processing of truffle, founded in 1852, which still has its plant on the river. The Diamante Nero festival each summer prepares a giant frittata with more than 2,000 eggs and 80 kilos of black truffle. The Cammino di San Francesco passes through the village on the way south.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 15 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 15 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 14 min or Ancona 2 h 27 min.
Coming by train into Perugia? Scheggino is about 1 h 14 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello di Scheggino
Twelfth-century triangular castle of the Duchy of Spoleto, with a watchtower in white and pink stone about 20 meters high at the summit.
Chiesa di San Nicola
Romanesque parish church at the heart of the centro storico, frescoes of the Umbrian school of the 15th century in the apse.
Nera river canals
Channels of the Nera divided through the lower village, once for mills and now for trout farming and the truffle washing rooms of Urbani.
Cammino di San Francesco
The Franciscan pilgrim route from La Verna to Assisi and on to Rome passes through Scheggino along the Nera.
From the guides
Where to stay
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.
Torre Del Nera Albergo Diffuso SpaHotel
Torre Del Nera Albergo Diffuso Spa holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Living here
Could you live here?
Scheggino is at the end of the road.
- A village of 426. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Spoleto, is 36 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Terni, a city of 106,310, is 49 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 426, down 11.6% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Terni, 49 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Spoleto, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 98% of homes
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 54 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 14 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Sri Lanka and Albania, against 9% across Italy. There are 371 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 54% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Perugia province ranks 37th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Spoleto, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 20 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 68 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 42 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. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Umbria spends about €2,310 a month, €550 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €677 a year for water, on the Umbria average. In Perugia, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.23, a meal in a pizzeria €12.04 and a man's haircut €20.47.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 11% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 28% in a high or medium one. 3% 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
BLACK TRUFFLE
Urbani Tartufi, the first Italian commercial truffle company, was founded in Scheggino in 1852; black truffle of the Valnerina is the village specialty.
TRIANGULAR CASTLE
Twelfth-century plan, three walls meeting at the tower, built by the Duchy of Spoleto to guard one of three bridges over the Nera.
DIAMANTE NERO
Summer festival prepares a giant frittata of more than 2,000 eggs and 80 kilos of black truffle on the banks of the Nera.
Common questions
- What is Scheggino known for?
- Triangular castle village on the banks of the Nera at 280 meters, where the first commercial Italian truffle company was founded in 1852.
- Where is Scheggino?
- Scheggino is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Scheggino?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 54 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Scheggino?
- About 1 h 14 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Scheggino?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Scheggino?
- Vallo di Nera, Moresco and Cella Monte.
- How many people live in Scheggino?
- 426 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Scheggino a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Scheggino is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Spoleto, is 36 min away. The nearest city, Terni, is 49 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Spoleto, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 280 m
- Population: 426
- Surface area: 35.85 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 Scheggino appears in
- The 6 best hidden truffle towns in the province of PerugiaPerugia provincetrufflehidden6 towns · smallest 334 residents
- The best towns worth staying overnight in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceworth staying overnight6 towns · smallest 426 residents
- The 8 best hill towns on a walking route within 90 minutes of TerniNear Ternihill townon a walking routewithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 426 residents · closest 18 min away
- The best hidden towns on a walking route in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceon a walking routehidden8 towns · smallest 426 residents
- The best small towns on a walking route in UmbriaUmbriaon a walking routesmall8 towns · smallest 426 residents
- The best towns known for what they grow within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiawithin 90 minproduce zone8 towns · smallest 334 residents · closest 40 min away
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 77.
Campello sul Clitunno
Province: Perugia
Springs of the Clitunno and the Lombard Tempietto on the valley floor at 290 meters, the temple inscribed by UNESCO in 2011.
20 min by car
- Written about. No. 73.
Acquasparta
Province: Terni
A hill town at 350 meters above the Naia valley, where a Renaissance duchy briefly became the seat of Europe's first scientific academy.
23 km away
- Written about. No. 88.
Terni
Province: Terni
Umbria's second city, rebuilt around its steelworks, home of Saint Valentine and seven kilometers from the Cascata delle Marmore.
23 km away
The letter
Scheggino got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.