Qibla · Umbria
Qibla direction in Perugia
To face the Kaaba in Perugia, turn to 124.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (34.8° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,501 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Perugia should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 124.8°, the Qibla of Perugia. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 125° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Perugia
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 34.8° towards south: the result is the bearing of 124.8°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Perugia.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Perugia, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Perugia to Mecca points to 133.4° (south-east), 8.6° away from the correct 124.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 10 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
How is the figure of 124.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Perugia (43.1122° N, 12.3888° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Perugia to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,501 km from Perugia as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,234 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 37 min, although most pilgrims from Perugia connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Perugia run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Perugia rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Perugia
On 324 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Perugia while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 January 2027 it happens at 08:14 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Perugia during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 08:14 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 08:32 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 08:48 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:02 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:15 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:30 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:42 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:56 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:08 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:21 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:28 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:31 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:15 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:00 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:38 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:17 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:53 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:33 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 08:12 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 07:59 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 07:52 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Perugia: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Perugia compared with other cities
Compared with Rome, 136 km away, the Qibla in Perugia is turned 1.5° further clockwise (124.8° against 123.3°), and Mecca is 84 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Arezzo (57 km), prays towards 124.6°, a difference of 0.2°.
Across the 42 cities in Italy on this site, the Qibla ranges from 115.2° in Cagliari to 130.0° in Trieste, a spread of 14.8°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Italy.
Qibla in cities near Perugia
Qibla in Perugia: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Perugia?
It is 124.8° from true north, which is south-east: 34.8° south of east.
How far is Perugia from Mecca?
3,501 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,234 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Perugia?
On 324 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Perugia not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 133.4°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Perugia at 124.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 124.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.