Umbria · Perugia
Trevi
A walled town above the Spoleto valley, ringed by 200,000 olive trees that make it the Umbrian capital of olive oil.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 90.
The letter
Trevi got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 45 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 7,927
- J9°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Trevi sits on a conical hill above the Spoleto valley, the centro storico still inside the Roman walls of the 1st century BC. The town stood on the Via Flaminia, the consular road from Rome to the Adriatic, and grew into a Guelph commune by the 12th century. Olive oil is what people come for.
Over 200,000 trees blanket the slopes below the walls on near-ideal calcareous, well-drained soils, and the Olivo di Sant'Emiliano, at Bovara by the abbey of San Pietro, is about 1,700 years old, identified with the tree the bishop of Trevi was tied to in 304 before his martyrdom. The Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime, built in 1487 to mark a miracle, holds a fresco by Pietro Perugino. The centro storico runs in concentric rings up the hill, each ring older than the last, with the Palazzo Comunale and the Pinacoteca holding works by Lo Spagna at the top.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 46 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 22 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 45 min, Ancona 1 h 57 min or Siena 2 h 7 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Perugia? Trevi is about 44 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime
Built in 1487 after a Marian apparition wept tears of blood in 1485, with a fresco by Perugino in the Cappella dell'Adorazione.
Chiesa di Sant'Emiliano
Romanesque parish church at the top of the centro storico, dedicated to the bishop martyred in 304, the patron saint of the town.
Olivo di Sant'Emiliano
About 1,700-year-old olive tree near the eponymous church, nine meters tall, traditionally the tree to which the bishop was tied before martyrdom.
Pinacoteca Comunale e Museo di San Francesco
Civic museum in the former convent of San Francesco, holding works by Lo Spagna, Pinturicchio's circle, and a section on the local olive oil tradition.
Chiesa di San Pietro a Pettine
Thirteenth-century rural church 500 meters north of town, built of dressed stone mixed with material from ancient Roman monuments.
Fairs and festivals
We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the organizer before you plan a journey around one.
Sagra del Sedano e della Salsiccia
Usually held in October
Trevi's celery is called black because, left alone, the plant turns very dark and woody, so growers bank earth around it to blanch it into long white stalks with no strings. You eat it raw, dipped in oil and salt, alongside pork sausages grilled over embers on huge braziers set up in the shadow of the civic tower.
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.
La Cucina di San Pietro a PettineRistorante
La Cucina di San Pietro a Pettine holds one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).
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?
Trevi meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 7,927 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Foligno, a city of 55,303, is 17 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- 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 7,927, down 6.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Foligno, 17 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Foligno, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €690 to €960 per m² to buy, €2.60 to €3.40 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
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 43% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 37 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 45 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 41 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. There are 250 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 28% 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 Foligno, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 35 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 74 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 23 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 0.79% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €9,000. 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. 9% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 12% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
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
OLIVE OIL
Over 200,000 trees blanket the slopes below the walls; Trevi is one of the Italian Città dell'Olio benchmark towns for extra virgin production.
MADONNA DELLE LACRIME
1485 apparition of a weeping Madonna led to the sanctuary built in 1487, with a Perugino fresco in the chapel of adoration.
VIA FLAMINIA
Roman walls of the 1st century BC still encircle the centro storico, on the consular road from Rome to the Adriatic coast.
Common questions
- What is Trevi known for?
- Trevi is 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.
- Where is Trevi?
- Trevi is a comune in the province of Perugia, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Trevi?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 37 min by car.
- Can you get to Trevi 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 Trevi?
- About 45 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Trevi?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Trevi?
- Spello, Nocera Umbra and Montecosaro.
- How many people live in Trevi?
- 7,927 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Trevi a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Trevi is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Foligno, is 17 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Foligno, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 43% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 412 m
- Population: 7,927
- Surface area: 71.19 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 Trevi appears in
- The 6 prettiest villages you can reach by train within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiaby trainwithin 90 minprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 3,442 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best hill towns that live slowly within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiahill townwithin 90 minslow living6 towns · smallest 1,418 residents · closest 45 min away
- 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 hidden hill towns you can reach by train in the province of PerugiaPerugia provincehill townby trainhidden7 towns · smallest 2,316 residents
- The best hidden olive oil towns that eat well in UmbriaUmbriaolive oileats wellhidden7 towns · smallest 2,493 residents
- The best hidden towns you can reach by train that eat well within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiaby trainwithin 90 mineats wellhidden7 towns · smallest 5,115 residents · closest 23 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.
7 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.
9 km away
- Written about. No. 81.
Montefalco
Province: Perugia
The hilltop wine capital of Umbria at 472 meters, where Sagrantino is grown almost nowhere else.
26 min by car
The letter
Trevi 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.