Umbria · Perugia
Spoleto
Lombard ducal capital under the Rocca Albornoziana, where a 230-meter aqueduct bridge crosses to Monteluco and Menotti founded the Festival in 1958.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 87.
The letter
Spoleto got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 3 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 35,983
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Spoleto sits at the southern edge of the Valle Umbra, the Apennines rising behind it toward Monteluco. The town was Roman Spoletium from 241 BC, then capital of one of the two great Lombard duchies of Italy from 576, controlling Umbria, Sabina, Picenum and the Pescara valley for more than five centuries. The Rocca Albornoziana on the Colle Sant'Elia was built between 1363 and 1367 by Matteo Gattapone for Cardinal Albornoz, both a papal fortress and a residence, now the Museo Nazionale del Ducato.
From the Rocca the Ponte delle Torri, 230 meters long and 80 meters high, crosses the Tessino gorge to Monteluco, an aqueduct of the 13th century built over Roman foundations. The Duomo holds a Byzantine mosaic of 1207 across its façade and Filippo Lippi's last fresco cycle in the apse. Gian Carlo Menotti founded the Festival dei Due Mondi in 1958; the Roman theater, the Rocca courtyard and Piazza del Duomo still carry the program each year from late June into mid-July.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 3 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 4 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 3 min or Ancona 2 h 16 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Perugia? Spoleto is about 1 h 2 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rocca Albornoziana
Papal fortress built 1363-1367 by Matteo Gattapone for Cardinal Albornoz, now the Museo Nazionale del Ducato di Spoleto.
Ponte delle Torri
Aqueduct bridge 230 meters long and 80 meters high, crossing the Tessino gorge to Monteluco, 13th-14th century on Roman foundations.
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Twelfth-century Romanesque cathedral with Byzantine mosaic of 1207 on the façade, Renaissance portico, and Filippo Lippi frescoes in the apse.
Teatro Romano
First-century BC Roman theater in the lower town, restored and in use as the main outdoor venue of the Festival dei Due Mondi.
Basilica di San Salvatore
Fourth- or fifth-century early Christian basilica on the slope of Monteluco, part of the UNESCO Lombards in Italy serial site.
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.
Il CapannoTrattoria
Three Gambero Rosso prawns for Il Capanno, along with a Slow Food snail and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
ApollinareRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Apollinare.
San LorenzoRistorante
San Lorenzo carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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?
Spoleto meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 35,983 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Terni, a city of 106,310, is 39 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 35,983, down 6.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Terni, 39 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €970 to €1,550 per m² to buy, €3.40 to €5.90 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 40% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 52 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 3 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 102 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, the United States and France. There are 294 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 27% 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
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Terni, 18 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 63 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 37 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 0.78% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €13,000. 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 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 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. 6% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 11% in a high or medium one. 1% 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
FESTIVAL DEI DUE MONDI
Founded 1958 by Gian Carlo Menotti, the annual June-July festival of music, opera, theater and dance runs across the Roman theater, the Rocca, and the Duomo.
PONTE DELLE TORRI
230 meters long, 80 meters high, the medieval aqueduct that crosses the Tessino gorge from the Rocca to Monteluco.
DUCATO DI SPOLETO
Lombard duchy founded in 576, capital of central Italy for more than five centuries, the political horizon that shaped Umbria.
Common questions
- What is Spoleto known for?
- Lombard ducal capital at 396 meters under the Rocca Albornoziana, where a 230-meter aqueduct bridge crosses to Monteluco and Menotti founded the Festival in 1958.
- Where is Spoleto?
- Spoleto is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Spoleto?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 52 min by car.
- Can you get to Spoleto 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 Spoleto?
- About 1 h 3 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Spoleto?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Spoleto?
- Foligno, Macerata and Orvieto.
- How many people live in Spoleto?
- 35,983 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Spoleto a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Spoleto is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Terni, is 39 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 40% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 396 m
- Population: 35,983
- Surface area: 348.14 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 Spoleto appears in
- The best olive oil towns you can reach by train in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceolive oilby train6 towns · smallest 2,316 residents
- The best hill towns with a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of TerniNear Ternihill townwithin 90 minserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 3,452 residents · closest 33 min away
- The best wine towns in the province of PerugiaPerugia provincewine7 towns · smallest 3,636 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 8 best towns on a walking route that you can reach by train in UmbriaUmbriaon a walking routeby train8 towns · smallest 7,927 residents
- The best olive oil towns that eat well in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceolive oileats well8 towns · smallest 4,747 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 86.
Scheggino
Province: Perugia
Triangular castle village on the banks of the Nera at 280 meters, where the first commercial Italian truffle company was founded in 1852.
8 km away
- 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.
19 min by car
- Written about. No. 90.
Trevi
Province: Perugia
A walled town at 412 meters above the Spoleto valley, ringed by 200,000 olive trees that make it the Umbrian capital of olive oil.
28 min by car
The letter
Spoleto 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.