What is Citerna known for?

Polychrome terracotta Madonna of around 1415 in San Francesco, attributed to Donatello in 2007 and the only one of his works in Umbria. Underground camminamenti and rainwater cisterns hollowed below the streets gave the town its name; sections are now walkable. The first Umbrian town to join the Kingdom of Italy at unification in 1860, ahead of the rest of the region.

Citerna is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 69 kilometers from Perugia.

Umbria · Perugia

Citerna

A medieval borgoabove the upper Tiber valley, holding the only sculpture by Donatello in Umbria.

69 km / 43 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

3,367

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Citerna sitson a ridge at the confluence of the Cerfone and Sovara streams, fifty kilometers north of Perugia in the upper Tiber valley. The name comes from the rainwater cisterns hollowed under the town, still walkable through the underground camminamenti that run beneath the medieval streets. Umbrian and Etruscan settlement preceded the Roman finds at San Fista and Pistrino. In 1221 Citerna swore loyalty to Città di Castello in exchange for protection, then passed to the Vitelli of Città di Castello as a vicariate in the early sixteenth century, and joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1860 as the first Umbrian town to do so. The Chiesa di San Francesco on Corso Garibaldi holds a polychrome terracotta Madonna by Donatello, dated around 1415, the only work by the sculptor in Umbria, alongside paintings by Pomarancio, Luca Signorelli and Raffaellino del Colle. The view from the ramparts reaches the mountains of La Verna and Gubbio on a clear day.

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Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Madonna di Donatello
Polychrome terracotta Madonna and Child of around 1415 in the Chiesa di San Francesco, the only sculpture by Donatello in Umbria.
Chiesa di San Francesco
Convent church on Corso Garibaldi with works by Pomarancio, Luca Signorelli, Raffaellino del Colle and a Della Robbia school Madonna.
Camminamenti medievali
Underground walkways and rainwater cisterns hollowed below the streets, the source of the town's name and now open to visit.
Teatro Bontempelli
Small sixteenth-century theatre built by the Vitelli family on the eastern edge of the historic core, restored and active.
Torre Civica
Medieval bell tower above the centro storico with a panorama across the upper Tiber to La Verna and the Gubbio mountains.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the months that suit the ridge. Spring and early autumn give clear views from the ramparts as far as La Verna; the air at 480 meters stays mild even in midsummer afternoons. July and August warm the upper Tiber valley but Citerna is small and the underground camminamenti stay cool. November through March is quiet, with shorter hours for the church and the theatre, and the wood smoke from the hilltop carries on still mornings. The Cammino di San Francesco passes through, picking up walkers in April and again in September.