Where to Stay in Foligno, Umbria

What is Foligno known for?

That gives the town a different character from its neighbours, since it sits on the plain where the Topino comes out of the Apennines and the lines meet. Palazzo Trinci holds the art. The Museo di Palazzo Trinci and the Pinacoteca civica keep the painting, while Santa Maria Infraportas and Foligno Cathedral hold the older fabric of the centre.

What are the main landmarks in Foligno?

Ecclesiastical buildings dominate the list. Foligno Cathedral, Santa Maria Infraportas, the Church of San Giacomo, the church of Sant'Agostino and San Niccolò are the ones that matter, and the Oratorio della Nunziatella and the Oratory of the Crucifix add two smaller ones. Secular building runs second.

The Museo di Palazzo Trinci and the Pinacoteca civica hold the paintings, the Diocesan Capitular Museum of Foligno holds what the church kept, and the Centro italiano d'arte contemporanea works at the other end of the calendar. The castle of Sant'Eraclio lies outside the centre.

What is the history of Foligno?

Foligno is an ancient town. Its position accounts for that, on the Topino where the river leaves the Apennines and the plain of the Clitunno river system opens out, and routes have run through the gap for as long as records exist. Foligno stands south-east of Perugia, north-north-west of Trevi and south of Spello.

The diocese came early. Foligno Cathedral and the palazzo delle Canoniche - Vescovado belong to that church, and Santa Maria Infraportas, San Niccolò and San Bartolomeo carry the same long record in stone. Palazzo Trinci carries a family name.

The Museo di Palazzo Trinci occupies the building, and the paintings gathered there, with those in the Pinacoteca civica and the Diocesan Capitular Museum of Foligno, are what those centuries left behind. The castle of Sant'Eraclio held ground outside the town. Railways changed the balance later, and Foligno grew into an important rail centre and one of the more industrialized towns of Umbria, which set it apart from the smaller places of the province of Perugia around it.

The Centro italiano d'arte contemporanea is the newest layer of that record.

Where is Foligno?

The Topino comes out of the Apennines here. Foligno sits where the river reaches the wide plain of the Clitunno river system, which gives the town flat ground on one side and mountains on the other. Umbria surrounds it.

The province of Perugia holds the town, with Spello and Trevi within a short drive and Perugia itself further off across the countryside.

What is the climate of Foligno?

The Apennines set the terms. Cold air comes off the mountains in winter and settles on the plain of the Clitunno, so Foligno runs sharper at both ends of the year than the coast of Italy does. Summer sits heavy on the flat.

Shade in the streets around Foligno Cathedral and an hour in the Museo di Palazzo Trinci are the usual answers to the middle of a hot afternoon.

How do you get to Foligno?

Foligno is an important rail centre. Trains are the natural way in, and the junction ties Foligno into the network that serves Umbria. Roads follow the same plain.

Drivers come along the valley from Perugia, Spello and Trevi, and the last part of the approach crosses the flat ground where the Topino runs. Inside Foligno the centre is small enough to walk, and Foligno Cathedral, the Museo di Palazzo Trinci and Santa Maria Infraportas are all within it.