About Umbria

A visit to Umbria is as much about an encounter with a culture and a way of life as the observation of a beautiful place.

Umbrians are of course proud of their past and the buildings and monuments which are part of their world. But anyone who lives in Umbria quickly absorbs the pride that Umbrians take in the routines of daily life; the time taken to be with families, the time tending the gardens, the time spent within their communities and of course the time taken over food.

Umbrians celebrate life at every opportunity. There are festivals celebrating :

Food: The harvests of truffles, olives, asparagus, celery, and many more, and of course the annual wine production.
Wine: The distinctive sagrantino grape is grown in the Montefalco area and the wine it makes rarely leaves Italy because it is enjoyed so much locally.
Faith: Patron Saints Each village has a Patron saint - not just St Francis of Assisi or St Benedict of Norcia – and there are annual festivals to honour their memory.
History: There are famous street events in Gubbio and Spello but also on a smaller scale in small villages like Scheggino. Here they pay respect to their women each August in memory of the defence and protection organised by the women when the village was raided in the absence of the men.
Music: Is everywhere and Spoleto has a rolling programme of musical events throughout the year. Almost every church is used as a venue for performances in the summer and you may well meet visiting music groups from UK who enjoy the audience enthusiasm.

There may be wonderful opportunities to share these celebrations in Umbria and so take time to check whether there are local festivals happening during your visit.

Your visit to Umbria is an opportunity to genuinely experience this life-style, to discover your inner snail and to have time to do as Umbrians do, whether walking on Sundays for the weekly passiagiata or taking time each morning to visit a café for coffee.

Umbria
The region is mostly mountainous and hilly and presents a landscape rich in woods and water resources. It is crossed by the Apennines, which form numerous valleys. This region has a comparatively large lake: the Trasimeno.

Cities: Perugia is the regional capital. Other important cities are Assisi, Gubbio, Orvieto, Todi, Spoleto,Terni.

Art
In Umbria the traces of the Etruscan civilization are remarkable, as visitors can see in Todi, Bettona, Orvieto and Perugia. Spoleto has important Roman remains; Spello is a city, where the Romans left some impressive remains. Other important Roman works can be found in Assisi and Gubbio. The Romanesque architecture thrived in thins region at the beginning of the twelfth century: some beautiful examples are the Cathedrals of Spoleto and Assisi, St. Silvestro and St. Michele in Bevagna. The Gothic style reached very high levels, and imposing examples are present in almost every city. The Renaissance can be seen in magnificent monuments in Perugia, Gubbio, Todi, but it enjoyed a smaller development than other styles.

Museums
In Perugia there is the National Gallery of Umbria, which is one of the most important exhibition of the Gothic painting, with masterpieces by Duccio di Boninsegna, Beato Angelico, Piero della Francesca. The National Archaeological Museum of Umbria houses a splendid and very rich Etruscan collection. Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis, one of the greatest figures of Christianity, has the superb Basilica of San Francesco with the world famous Giotto’s frescoes, showing in 28 splendid paintings the life of the Saint; the Pinacoteca Civica and the Cathedral’s Museum. Spoleto has the Gallery of Contemporary Art. In Gubbio there is the Civic Museum, which holds the famous “Eugubine tables”: seven bronze plates, from the second century B.C. Foligno can offer the tourists the Archaeologic Museum and the Pinacoteca Civica.

To be visited
Rich in history and in nature, Umbria offers the Falls of the Marmore, which are the highest in Italy; the sources of the Clitunno and Mount Subasio. The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Rocca Maggiore. The ancient city of Spoleto offers the Roman Theater and Druso’s Arch. Near Perugia, people can visit the Ipogeo del Volumni, which is an Etruscan tomb.

Visit www.bellaumbria.it for further information on Umbria.