Norcia

Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia

Hagai Agmon-Snir حچاي اچمون-سنير חגי אגמון-שנירNorciaMar292024 02 CC BY-SA 4.0
Niccolò LuoniImage-Norcia2 CC BY-SA 3.0
SailkoNorcia, la castellina (rocca di giulio III) 02 CC BY 3.0
SailkoVanni tuzi, tempietto (edicola) di norcia, 1354, lato nord-est 01 CC BY 3.0
Silvio sorcini39 Pala con l’Incoronazione della Vergine CC BY-SA 4.0
Silvio sorciniBasilica di San Benedetto Norcia 2 CC BY-SA 4.0
Silvio sorciniBasilica di San Benedetto Norcia 3 CC BY-SA 4.0
Silvio sorciniChiesa di Sant`Agostino (3)CC BY-SA 4.0
Silvio sorciniChiesa di Santa Maria di Piazza - Campi 05d Matrimonio della Vergine CC BY-SA 4.0
Livioandronico2013City Hall in Norcia CC BY-SA 4.0
SRC 47Criptoportico romano Porta Ascolana CC BY-SA 4.0
ManuelarosiMadonna Bianca di Ancarano 02 CC BY-SA 4.0

Saint Benedict, founder of Western monasticism, was born here around 480, and Norcia's name lives on in Italian as norcineria, the craft of pork and wild boar sausages and hams. The walled town lies on a wide plain at about 600 metres against the Monti Sibillini, a base for hiking. Earthquakes have marked it repeatedly: the 2016 quake brought down the Basilica of San Benedetto.

Highlights

Norcineria: cured hams and sausages of pork and wild boar (IT)
Palazzo Comunale, keeping the reliquary of Saint Benedict
The flowering of the Castelluccio plain in late spring
Festa dei Fauni on 9 December, with juniper bonfires in the countryside
The cycle path along the former Spoleto–Norcia railway (IT)

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Norcia (IT), Norcia (EN)), Wikivoyage (Norcia). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 4,544

Things to see

Events through the year

Festa delle Pasquarelle Seasonal · 6 January, EpiphanySingers with tambourines go house to house with dialect carols
Feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot Religious · 17 JanuaryBlessing of animals, salt and grain, parade and lamb auction
Feast of Saint Ansovinus Religious · 13 MarchHeld at the church of Sant'Ansovino in Pescia, in the municipality
Feast of Saint Benedict Religious · 21 MarchA torch that has toured European towns arrives in Norcia
Procession of the Dead Christ Religious · Good FridayProcession along the ring road beneath the old city walls
Piantamaggio Seasonal · 30 AprilA stripped poplar is planted overnight in the square
Feast of Saint Vitus Religious · 15 JuneAt the former collegiate church in Agriano, in the municipality
Feast of Saint Peter Religious · 29 JunePatron of Serravalle, in the municipality
Feast of Saint Benedict (July) Religious · 11 July
Festa dei Fauni Seasonal · 9 DecemberJuniper bonfires lit in the countryside for the Madonna di Loreto

Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.

Adapted from Wikipedia (Norcia (EN), Norcia (IT)), Wikivoyage (Norcia). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Local food & wine

Emanuele Persiani from Norcia, ItalyProsciutto di Norcia IGP in stagionatura CC BY-SA 2.0
Prosciutto di Norcia (IT)Cured meatIGP ham made with traditional pork curing methods
Corallina di NorciaCured meatSalami of three parts lean pork to one of diced hard fat
Wild boar sausages and hamCured meat
moi-mêmeTruffe02Public domain
Black truffleLocal produce

Adapted from Wikipedia (Norcia (IT), Norcia (EN)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to sleep

14 places to stay within 3 km

B&Bs and guest houses 6
Hotels 5
Hostels 2
Campsites 1

Thermal baths nearby

Hot spring: Lu Vurghe · ~42 min by car

Nearby member villages

Preci · 11 km
Visso · 15 km
Sellano · 17 km
Vallo di Nera · 19 km
Monteleone di Spoleto · 19 km