What is Acquasparta known for?

Federico Cesi founded Europe's first scientific academy in 1603 and brought it to Palazzo Cesi; Galileo demonstrated his microscope here in 1624. Late-Renaissance palace of 1561–1579 by Giovan Domenico Bianchi, the architectural anchor of the centro storico and seat of the Cesi duchy. Mineral springs known since the second century BC, bottled commercially under the Amerino brand and shared in spirit with neighboring San Gemini.

Where is Acquasparta?

Acquasparta is a comune in the province of Terni, Umbria region of Italy, about 23 kilometers from Terni.

Umbria · Terni

Acquasparta

A hill townabove the Naia valley, where Federico Cesi convened the first Accademia dei Lincei in his Palazzo Cesi in 1603.

23 km / 14 mi

Nearest hub (Terni)

4,407

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Acquasparta sitson a hill above the Naia valley, fifty kilometers south of Perugia and thirteen north of the UNESCO town of Spoleto. The Roman censor Flaminio met the Furapane and Amerino springs here in the second century BC, and the mineral waters have been bottled commercially in modern times. The town's defining building is Palazzo Cesi, commissioned by Cardinal Federico Cesi in 1561 and completed in 1579 to the design of the Milanese architect Giovan Domenico Bianchi. In 1588 Pope Sixtus V raised the territory to a duchy under the Cesi family. Prince Federico Cesi, the cardinal's descendant, founded the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome in 1603, the first scientific academy in Europe, and brought it to Acquasparta in the early seventeenth century to convene around his cabinet of natural specimens. Galileo Galilei stayed at Palazzo Cesi in 1624 to demonstrate his microscope. The palace, the Naia valley setting and the medieval upper town earned Acquasparta the Borghi più belli designation.

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Gallery

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Known for

Palazzo Cesi
Late-Renaissance palace commissioned in 1561, completed 1579, where Federico Cesi convened the Accademia dei Lincei and Galileo demonstrated his microscope in 1624.
Centro storico
Medieval upper town walled around Palazzo Cesi, with narrow stepped lanes climbing toward Piazza Federico Cesi.
Chiesa di Santa Cecilia
Main parish church near Palazzo Cesi, with a Renaissance interior and altarpieces from the Umbrian school.
Sorgenti Amerino e Furapane
Mineral springs at the edge of town known to the Romans, bottled commercially under the Amerino brand.
Carsulae (nearby)
Roman archaeological park six kilometers south, shared as a draw with San Gemini, with Via Flaminia paving and an honorary arch.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the dependable months. The Stagione Lincea, a summer programme of conferences and concerts in Palazzo Cesi, runs through July and August around the legacy of Federico Cesi and Galileo. July and August are warm in the Naia valley but the palace and the centro storico hold shade well. November through March is quiet; Palazzo Cesi keeps reduced visit hours and the springs continue bottling year-round. Spring brings green hills sloping down toward Carsulae and the Monti Martani, with clear days that show as far as Spoleto on the southern horizon.