What is Magione known for?

Twelfth-century Hospitaller maison still owned by the Order, the source of the town's name and its medieval economy. Cesare Borgia's captains plotted his overthrow inside the castle; Machiavelli leaked the plan and the conspirators were liquidated. Città dell'Olio member, olive groves on the hills between the lake's eastern shore and Perugia at 250-350 meters.

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

Umbria · Perugia

Magione

A hill town east of Trasimeno where the Knights Hospitaller built their twelfth-century maison and Machiavelli later foiled the Conspiracy of Magione against Cesare Borgia.

23 km / 14 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

14,620

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Città dell'Olio

Why come

Magione sitson a hill east of Lake Trasimeno, fifteen kilometers from Perugia. The name comes from the Knights Hospitaller, who built a hospital here in the mid-twelfth century dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and called their convent Maison in their own language. The original nucleus stood on the Perugia-Tuscany route and became the Castello dei Cavalieri di Malta, the Order's fortified base that still anchors the town. In October 1502 the castle hosted what became known as the Conspiracy of Magione: Cesare Borgia's own captains and allies plotted his overthrow inside its walls. Niccolò Machiavelli, on diplomatic mission for Florence, learned the details and passed them to Borgia, who dismantled the conspirators within months. The Torre dei Lambardi, built between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by the same Gerosolimitani Knights, rises thirty meters above the lower town as a second medieval pole. The vineyards on the surrounding hills lie between 250 and 350 meters above sea level.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Magione fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Gallery

7 photos · scroll →

Known for

Castello dei Cavalieri di Malta
Twelfth-century hospital of the Knights Hospitaller, site of the 1502 Conspiracy of Magione against Cesare Borgia.
Torre dei Lambardi
Thirty-meter quadrangular tower built between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by the Gerosolimitani Knights, three floors and a summit terrace.
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
Parish church inside the Castello complex, dedicated to the saint of the original Hospitaller foundation.
Lago Trasimeno
Magione's territory reaches the eastern shore, with Isola Polvese 4 km offshore reachable from San Feliciano frazione.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the working months on the eastern Trasimeno: clear lake light, olive groves on the hills above, evenings cool enough to walk between the Castello and the Torre. July and August reach the low thirties in the basin; the lake helps but weekends fill with Perugia and Florence day-trippers and the lakefront frazione of San Feliciano runs heavy. The olive harvest in late October and November turns the territory busy with frantoi at full capacity. December through March is quiet. The Castello dei Cavalieri reduces opening hours, the ferries thin, and the hills above the lake see their first frost.