San Giustino
Welcome to San Giustino, in Umbria
San Giustino is a charming Umbrian municipality with 10,978 inhabitants, located in the Upper Tiber Valley. Together with the adjacent Tuscan city of Sansepolcro, it forms a single agglomeration of about 26,000 inhabitants. Although belonging to different regions and provinces, these two cities have always been connected by a double thread of territorial and demographic continuity. Join us in discovering this wonderful city!
Physical geography
San Giustino has an enviable position. It is surrounded by the hills of Alpe della Luna and crossed by the Tiber river. The climate, which falls under the Italian municipalities' climatic classification zone E, is humid and temperate with mild winters and hot summers.
History
The city of San Giustino has a history dating back to the seventh century when the remains of a large church were discovered thanks to the Arezzo archives. The name of the village derives from the Christian martyr Giustino, killed in Pieve de' Saddi, in the municipality of Pietralunga. After being a fiefdom of the Dotti of San Sepolcro and subsequently of the Bufalini, it was subject to Città di Castello, Perugia, and the Vitelli. At the end of the sixteenth century, the city permanently became property of the Church.
But the most interesting aspect concerns the fraction of Cospaia, which corresponds to a microstate existing between 1441 and 1826 with the name of the Republic of Cospaia. If you are passionate about history, you cannot visit San Giustino without a trip to Cospaia.
Symbols
The coat of arms of the municipality of San Giustino and its gonfalon were granted by decree of the President of the Republic on August 29, 2014. The gonfalon is a yellow cloth.
Monuments and places of interest
San Giustino boasts numerous tourist attractions. The Bufalini Castle is the most important monument, considered almost the city's symbol. The castle, of medieval origin, was ceded by the community of Città di Castello to Niccolò di Manno Bufalini, of the wealthy Tifernate family, who in the 1630s renovated and decorated it. The archpriestal Church of Giustino stands in the center of the city and is modern in appearance. Inside, however, it preserves the ancient crypt with a Greco cross, supported by pillars and ancient columns of African marble inserted upside down into the ground, forts coming from the Roman Villa of Colle Plinio.
The Church of the Santissimo Crocifisso, erected at the end of the seventeenth century by Cardinal Giovanni Ottavio Bufalini, is highly appreciated for the precious wooden crucifix from the late sixteenth century. The Villa Magherini Graziani, in the Celalba fraction, was commissioned in the early 1600s by Carlo Graziani of Sansepolcro, who entrusted the project to the architect Antonio Cantagallina. The villa houses the Museum of the Villa of Pliny in Tuscis.
Finally, the village of Cospaia deserves a visit. Here, you can admire the headquarters of the Republic of Cospaia, which was active from 1441 to 1826.
Conclusions
San Giustino offers many opportunities for tourists and history enthusiasts. You can enjoy ancient architecture, visit museums, and explore the surrounding nature. Come and discover all its attractions!
