What is Foligno known for?

The first printed edition of the Divina Commedia was produced here on 5-6 April 1472 by Numeister and Angelini, in the Palazzo Orfini. Jousting tournament first recorded 1448, revived 1946, with ten rioni racing horseback against a wooden Mars to spear three rings. Palazzo Trinci frescoes of 1411-1412 by Gentile and Jacopo Bellini count among the major late-Gothic cycles in central Italy.

Foligno is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 46 kilometers from Perugia.

Umbria · Perugia

Foligno

A valley townon the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.

46 km / 29 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

55,226

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Foligno sitsin the Umbrian Valley, on the left bank of the Topino where it leaves the Apennines and meets the plain of the Clitunno. The Romans called it Fulginium; Cicero mentions the prefecture in two surviving fragments. The Trinci family ruled from 1305 to 1439 and built the palace that still carries their name, decorated between 1411 and 1412 by Gentile da Fabriano with the assistance of Jacopo Bellini in late-Gothic frescoes that count among the most important of the early fifteenth century. The first printed edition of Dante's Divina Commedia came out of a Foligno workshop in April 1472, printed by Johannes Numeister and Evangelista Angelini. The Giostra della Quintana, a jousting tournament between the ten rioni first recorded in 1448 and revived in 1946, fills the Piazza della Repubblica twice a year in June and September. The town is also the seat of the Cathedral of San Feliciano, built between 1133 and 1201 over the tomb of the city's patron, buried here in 251 AD.

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Gallery

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Known for

Palazzo Trinci
Seat of the Trinci signoria 1305-1439, frescoed 1411-1412 by Gentile da Fabriano and Jacopo Bellini, now holding the Pinacoteca and archaeological museum.
Cattedrale di San Feliciano
Romanesque cathedral 1133-1201 on Piazza della Repubblica, built over the tomb of the bishop-martyr buried here in 251 AD.
Basilica di Santa Maria Infraportas
Oldest church in the city on the site of an 8th-century chapel, frescoes by Nelli, Ugolino di Gisberto, Alunno and Mezzastris.
Abbazia di Sassovivo
Benedictine abbey founded 1084 in the hills above town, with a Romanesque cloister of 128 columns completed in 1229.
Giostra della Quintana
Jousting tournament between the ten rioni, first recorded 1448 and revived 1946, contested twice a year in June and September.
Calamita Cosmica
Twenty-four meter Gino De Dominicis skeleton sculpture installed in the deconsecrated Chiesa della Santissima Trinità in Annunziata.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the months locals prefer. The Quintana runs twice a year, the June and September editions filling the rioni for a week each. April through October is also the season for the Topino river paths and the climb up to Sassovivo. July and August push temperatures into the mid thirties in the valley; the centro storico thins between two and six in the afternoon and the Sassovivo cloister becomes the cool refuge. November through March is quiet. Palazzo Trinci stays open year-round, and the Calamita Cosmica in winter light remains the most-photographed contemporary artwork in Umbria.