Umbria · Perugia
Torgiano
A walled river town at the confluence of the Tiber and the Chiascio, the first DOC and DOCG zone in Umbria.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 89.
The letter
Torgiano got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 23 min from Perugia
- Population
- 6,585
- J10°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J33°
- A33°
- S27°
- O22°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Torgiano sits at the point where the Chiascio joins the Tiber, ten kilometers south of Perugia. The Torre della Guardia, also called Torre Baglioni, was raised in 1274 to control the river customs traffic that moved up toward Rome from the Tiber valley. Torgiano was the first Umbrian wine area to receive the DOC mark in 1968 and to be elevated to DOCG in 1990.
Giorgio and Maria Grazia Lungarotti turned the wine economy of the town into a cultural project: the MUVIT, opened in 1974 inside the seventeenth-century Palazzo Graziani-Baglioni, holds three thousand pieces across twenty rooms documenting five thousand years of wine history. The companion MOO, on the olive and oil, is inside a small medieval cluster within the castle walls. Both are managed by the Lungarotti Foundation. The cantina itself, on the edge of the centro storico, has been the largest single Umbrian producer for half a century.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 48 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 15 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 23 min, Siena 1 h 45 min or Ancona 1 h 59 min.
Coming by train into Perugia? Torgiano is about 22 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
MUVIT Museo del Vino
Wine museum opened 1974 in 17th-century Palazzo Graziani-Baglioni, with 3,000 pieces across 20 rooms covering 5,000 years of wine history.
MOO Museo dell'Olivo e dell'Olio
Olive and oil museum in a medieval cluster within the castle walls, managed alongside MUVIT by the Lungarotti Foundation.
Torre della Guardia (Torre Baglioni)
Defensive tower raised 1274 to control the Tiber-Chiascio customs traffic, the only standing element of the original river fortifications.
Centro storico
Walled medieval core at the confluence of Tiber and Chiascio, with original gates and a network of small streets around the main piazza.
Cantine Lungarotti
Largest single Umbrian wine producer for half a century, with tasting rooms and tours on the edge of the centro storico.
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.
Elementi Fine Dining - Hotel Borgo BrufaRistorante
Elementi Fine Dining - Hotel Borgo Brufa has two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
Olimpia RistoranteRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (77/100), at Olimpia Ristorante.
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?
Torgiano meets our one rule for a small town.
- 6,585 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Perugia, a city of 162,050, is 23 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
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 6,585, down 0.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Perugia, 23 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Perugia, 13 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €580 to €860 per m² to buy, €2.00 to €3.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 89% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 17 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 23 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 10 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 210 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 18% 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 Perugia, 13 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 73 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 12 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 between 0.75% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €12,500. 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 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. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 4% 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
TORGIANO DOCG
First Umbrian wine area to receive DOC in 1968 and DOCG in 1990; Rubesco and Torgiano Rosso Riserva are the flagship reds.
MUVIT
Wine museum opened 1974 by Giorgio and Maria Grazia Lungarotti, the most-visited specialist wine museum in Italy with 5,000 years of history.
OLIO MOO
Companion oil museum inside the medieval walls, documenting Mediterranean olive culture from antiquity to the present.
Common questions
- What is Torgiano known for?
- Torgiano is a walled river town at 219 meters at the confluence of the Tiber and the Chiascio, the first DOC and DOCG zone in Umbria.
- Where is Torgiano?
- Torgiano is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Torgiano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 17 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Torgiano?
- About 23 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Torgiano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Torgiano?
- Bevagna, Deruta and Spello.
- How many people live in Torgiano?
- 6,585 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Torgiano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Torgiano is a small town that meets our one rule. The nearest city, Perugia, is 23 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Perugia, 13 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 89% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 219 m
- Population: 6,585
- Surface area: 37.66 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 Torgiano appears in
- The best hidden olive oil towns that eat well in UmbriaUmbriaolive oileats wellhidden7 towns · smallest 2,493 residents
- The best wine towns in the province of PerugiaPerugia provincewine7 towns · smallest 3,636 residents
- The best olive oil towns that eat well in the province of PerugiaPerugia provinceolive oileats well8 towns · smallest 4,747 residents
- The 9 best wine towns that eat well within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiawinewithin 90 mineats well9 towns · smallest 1,421 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best wine towns within two hours of AnconaNear Anconawithin 2 hourswine zone9 towns · smallest 2,120 residents · closest 25 min away
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 76.
Bettona
Province: Perugia
A hill town at 353 meters between the Topino and Chiascio rivers, the only Etruscan settlement ever built east of the Tiber.
17 min by car
- Written about. No. 62.
Assisi
Province: Perugia
A pink limestone town at 424 meters on the western flank of a mountain above the plain, the birthplace of Francis and a UNESCO site since 2000.
15 km away
- Written about. No. 79.
Foligno
Province: Perugia
A valley town at 235 meters on the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.
23 km away
The letter
Torgiano 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.