Scheggino: The Village Where Water Runs Through Houses

There are villages that win you over with the perfection of their proportions, and Scheggino is one of them: small, vertical, merciless in its beauty. The Nera river grazes it at its feet, almost as if wanting to wash it clean, while the grey stone houses clamber up a rocky ridge that is called, fittingly, scheggia — a splinter.

The women who saved the village

1522 is the date Scheggino never forgets. The men were in the fields and the woods when troops from neighbouring centres launched their attack. It was the village women who took up stones, kitchen utensils, anything that could be hurled from the top of the walls: the siege was repelled. The episode entered the chronicles of the era and is still commemorated as the great feminine feat of Scheggino — which some still call the village of women.

The black diamond of the Valnerina

If there is one scent that accompanies Scheggino in every season, it is that of the Valnerina black truffle, the so-called black diamond. The company Urbani Tartufi — the world's largest truffle producer — was born here, and still has its historic headquarters in the village. The Truffle Museum tells the story of truffle hunting, trained dogs, winter markets, and the biology of this fungus that loves the roots of oak trees. A truffle omelette at the village restaurant costs around 10-12 euros and is worth every cent.

Valcasana and fishing

Just outside the village, the Valcasana Park is a nature area where the springs of the Fiumarella feed pools and channels of crystal-clear water. A historic hatchery once raised trout, eels, and river crayfish: today the facility can be visited and the stream teems with protected aquatic life. A walk along the banks takes about half an hour and is free.

How to get there

Scheggino is on the SP470, in the upper Valnerina, about 30 kilometres from Spoleto and 45 from Terni. The village is part of the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy network and has no hotels, but there are several apartments for rent in the historic centre and farmstays in the surroundings.