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San Giustino
For almost four centuries, from 1441 to 1826, a hamlet of San Giustino belonged to no state. Florence and the Papal States had drawn the border badly and Cospaia was left in between. It governed itself, and from 1574 tobacco was grown there.
About San Giustino
San Giustino Umbro looks like the typical border town, stretching along the main road and the hill to the north-east, and so it remained until the unification of Italy. Yet in its apparent ordinariness it preserves memories and historical legacies of great value, going back to the Roman and early Christian eras: Palazzo Bufalini, Piazza del Municipio, the excavations of Villa Plinio.
Then there is the strange case of the Republic of Cospaia, which from 1441 to 1826 skilfully exploited an error in the border between the Florentine Republic (later the Grand Duchy) and the Papal States.
Why visit San Giustino?
A window into everyday Italian elegance. San Giustino offers Renaissance art and valley tranquility without the crowds.
Art & History
Castello Bufalini, a fortress transformed into a sumptuous Renaissance villa, features frescoes by Cristofano Gherardi and Giovanni da San Giovanni. The surrounding gardens are among the finest in the Upper Tiber Valley.
Food & Atmosphere
The valley's agriculture yields excellent olive oil, fresh vegetables, and the local specialty of torta al testo — a flatbread cooked on hot stone, filled with cured meats and greens.
