Foligno is one of the very few Umbrian cities built in the plain. It rises up on the banks of Topino river where the river erupts into the valley in an area where extensive drainage of the large swamplands took place, first during Roman times, then during the 15th and 16th centuries, and finally in the 19th century.

Very probably, the most significant part of one's stay at Foligno is a visit to the Piazza della Repubblica and the adjoining Piazza Duomo. The former, in its present-day appearance, with its elongated shape and the junction of four streets at the corners was planned according to the lay-out popular in the 12th and the 13th centuries for many Umbrian town squares. The Cathedral and the Town Hall, erected between 1262 and 1265, the Pretorio Palace, the Orfini Palace (1515) and the Trinci Palace, which preserves traces of the original beautiful decorations and some rooms with valuable frescoes, look down on the square.
More attentive tourists should not leave Foligno without having visited the Romanic church of St. Mary Infraportas and the Abbey of Sassovivo,(actually in restoration) situated at only 6 km's distance from the city center. The former is distinguished, other than by the frescoes dating back to to the 15th and 16th centuries, by its beautiful bell-tower and by its 11th century portico. You'll remember the latter because of its Romanic cloister (13th century), with its 128 slender columms and its mystical atmosphere, typical of Benedictine places of worship.
Among the most important manifestations taking place in the city we should absolutely mention the festival Tournement of the Quintana.