What is Pietralunga known for?

Pietralunga sits in one of the densest white-truffle districts in Umbria; the October fair is the year's biggest event. Pietralunga white potato grown on the upper slopes has its own consortium and is one of the products keeping local smallholders working. Eighth-century Lombard fortress on the highest point of the ridge, the dominating feature of the borgo since its earliest reconstruction.

Where is Pietralunga?

Pietralunga is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 61 kilometers from Perugia.

Umbria · Perugia

Pietralunga

A pre-Apennine hill town at 566 meters on the northeast Tiber ridge, ringed by truffle woods and white-potato fields.

566m

Elevation

61 km / 38 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

1,984

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Pietralunga sits at 566 meters on a hilly ridge near the Umbria-Marche Apennines, on the northeast side of the upper Tiber. The Umbrian people founded the original settlement in the period of the Eugubine Tablets, between the second and first centuries BC. The Lombards rebuilt it as a fortified hilltop village between the sixth and eighth centuries, and the Rocca Longobarda from that era still dominates the ridge. The Pieve di Santa Maria on Piazza Fiorucci dates from the seventh or eighth century in foundation, with an irregular single-nave plan and a Romanesque portal added later. The territory is one of the densest truffle districts in Umbria, with documented tartufaie in the surrounding woods and a tartufo bianco fair every October. The Pietralunga white potato, grown on the upper slopes, has its own consortium and is one of the products that have kept the smallholders in the area working.

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Gallery

5 photos · scroll →

Known for

Rocca Longobarda
Eighth-century Lombard fortress dominating the borgo; the original triangular plan and central keep survive on the highest point of the ridge.
Pieve di Santa Maria
Parish church on Piazza Fiorucci with 7th-8th century foundation and a 13th-century Romanesque portal, single nave with ogive vaults inside.
Centro storico medievale
Walled Lombard core organized around the Rocca, narrow streets and stone houses radiating from Piazza Fiorucci.
Tartufaie del territorio
Truffle grounds in the woods between Pietralunga and Gubbio, producing tartufo bianco and recognized by the Città del Tartufo network.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through June and September into October are the working months for the territory. The truffle-hunting season opens in September and runs through January, with the white-truffle fair in October the year's largest event. July and August are warm in the upper Tiber, low thirties typically; the woods cool early in the morning and the trails through the tartufaie become the local refuge. November through April is quiet. Many agriturismi close in deep winter. New-potato week in late spring is when the consortium opens the upper fields, and the Rocca above winter haze is the photograph that pulls people back.