Nearby Towns	Sites
Local Fairs and Crafts	Shopping
Restaurants	Holidays
Recommended Reading

While staying at the houses, you'll want to visit obvious places in Umbria such as Assisi, Perugia, Gubbio and Orvieto. However, if you have the time, there are also plenty of lesser-known places to explore: Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco, Trevi, Spoleto, Todi, Citta di Castello, Citta della Pieve to name just a few. In Tuscany, unusual nearby towns include Sansepolcro, Anghiari, Arezzo, Castiglion Fiorentino, Cortona, Lucignano, Pienza, the famous wine-growing towns of Montepuliciano and Montalcino, the Abbey at Monte Oliveto Maggiore and, of course, Siena.

A few of the multiple possibilities for day trips and interesting excursions include the following:

Assisi: Famous Giotto fresco cycle about the life of Saint Francis plus other frescoes by Cimabue, Simone Martini and others in the church of Saint Francis. The city is also full of other spectacular late romanesque and early gothic buildings and has an important pinoteca (picture gallery).

Cortona: One of the twelve towns that made up the Etruscan Federation, the city is located on high hillside above the Valdichiana with spectacular views southward towards Lake Trasimeno, westward towards Monte Amiata and northward to Castiglione Fiorentino, architecture and dramatic remnants of the old Etruscan and Roman walls that still surround the fortress-like town. A perfect place for a leisurely day or half-day trip. Points of particular interest include:

Etruscan Museum (Cortona): Located in the Palazzo Civico, in Piazza Signorelli near the 18th Century Teatro Signorelli.

Pinoteca, Museo Diocesano (Cortona): This lovely, small picture gallery displays important works by Duccio and Lorenzetti, Fra Angelico's Annunciation a Sassetta, and several paintings by Luca Signorelli and the Futurist Gino Severini, who were both born in Cortona.

Convento delle Celle (Cortona): Founded in 1211 by Saint Francis, this rustic sanctuary is located in the hills outside Cortona, offering a place for meditation and superb walks. The beauty of Umbria inspired St. Francis' Canticle of the Sun.

Etruscan Tombs (Cortona): Tombs are located at Tanella di Pitagora in Cortona, Ipogeo dei Volumni in Perugia, and at Chiusi (ask at the museum). Also, the necropolis at Orvieto is well worth visiting.

Gubbio: Gorgeous medieval town, built into a forbidding hillside, with buildings and artifacts dating back to Etruscan and Roman times. Also, rich paleolithic finds.  

Perugia: The capital of Umbria, a city which contains some of the most beautiful art and architecture in the province. The National Gallery located in the ancient and beautifully restored town hall along the Corso Vanucci has the best collection of Umbrian painting in Italy, including important works by Gentile da Fabbiano, Perugino, and Piero della Francesca. The City also has a score of beautiful churches and an important Etruscan museum. Good shopping and restaurants. This is the home of one of Italy's most famous chocolate factories.

Torgiano: The wine museum, founded by the Lungarotti wine family, includes a tasting room featuring Umbrian wines, especially Chardonnay and red Rubesco, with direct sales of local oils and wines. The family also owns Le Tre Vaselle, a deluxe hotel and restaurant nearby.

Deruta: A hill town south of Perugia well known for its ceramics. Pottery is for sale, or visit the Museo delle Ceramiche to see work by Deruta's artisans dating back to the 14th century.

Montepulciano, Montalcino, and Pienza: Make wonderful day trips through the countryside to these small Tuscan hill towns to taste some of Italy's best red wines (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino) and to visit Pienza's food shops (mushrooms, oils, vinegars, wines, sausages and extraordinary pecorino cheese).

Citta di Castello, Museo Burri: A large collection of works by Alberto Burri, one of Italy's best known contemporary artists, distributed between a converted tobacco drying barn and a Renaissance palazzo in the town of his birth.

Paintings by Piero della Francesca: Nearly all of the most famous paintings by Umbria's revered artist of the early Renaissance are within an hour's drive of the houses:

Sansepolcro, Piero's birthplace, 25 minutes north of Umbertide. The Resurrection in the Pinoteca has been called Piero's single greatest painting.

Arezzo, the Church of San Francesco fresco cycle.

Monterchi, Madonna del Parto (The Pregnant Madonna)

Urbino, in Le Marche region to the east. The Galleria Nazionale della Marche houses The Flagellation and others. The painter Raphael's birthplace can also be visited.

Antiques and Antiquarian Fairs:

If you are interested in antiques, there are shops in Arezzo, Assisi, Gubbio and most of the large towns. Cortona is a famous center for antiques, with some shops also open on Sundays in summer.

 

Regular Fairs:

Arezzo - first Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month.

Assisi - second weekend every month and annual fair in the spring.

Citta di Castello - third weekend every month.

Cortona - Antique Furniture Fair, end of August/beginning September; regular fair on third Sunday (and preceding Saturday).

Gubbio - third weekend every month and annual fair in the spring.

Perugia - last weekend every month.

Spoleto - second Sunday every month at Piazza del Marcato.

Umbertide - annual fair in mid-September.

 

Ceramics and Pottery: Umbria is noted internationally for its ceramic and pottery work; especially famous are the centers of Deruta, Gubbio, Gualdo Tadino and Orvieto, all producing different but distinctive designs. Across the border in Tuscany, Cortona produces attractive green-and-cream pottery ware.

Festival of St. Michael: Many towns celebrate the festival of cuckolded husbands on November 15. Gubbio's version of this entertaining fertility ritual is highly recommended.

International Festival of Chamber Music: Citta di Castello, August/September.

Preggio Chamber Music Festival: Fine singers and musicians perform under the stars in the shadow of a 10th century Romanesque church. Professional and intimate. Weekly concerts throughout late July and August.

Chestnut Festival, Preggio: Usually the second or third weekend of October, featuring dishes made with local chestnuts (hence, the name of Preggio's favorite restaurant: La Castagna).

New Europe Film Festival: Umbertide, showing films by independent, international film makers, generally scheduled for the last week in June and the first week in July.

Palio Horse Race in Siena (Tuscany) takes place every year on July 2nd and August 16th. The Palio is run to celebrate the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary near the old houses that belonged to Provenzano Salvani. 

Festival of The Two Worlds, Spoleto: World-renowned music festival runs three weeks between mid-June and mid-July.

Umbria Jazz: Perugia, great jazz artists from around the world play in medieval piazzas where the sound reverberates off heavy stone walls and sizzles around the fountains; throughout the summer.

Lake Trasimeno: The fourth largest lake in Italy (and a favorite retreat of the ancient Romans), offers swimming, sailing, and wind surfing. From Passignano enjoy a cruise of the lake with Trasimeno Viaggi or take a "traghetto" to visit Isola Maggiore, the only inhabited island, with its fishing village and community of lace makers. There are one or two fine restaurants on the island. Or make up a picnic and lounge around the shores of this sleepy lake where Hannibal once clashed with the Romans.

 

Recommended reading:

Facaros & Pauls, Tuscany & Umbria, Cadogan Guides; Langdon, The Knopf Traveler's Guides to Art--Italy, Knopf

Rick Steve, Italy, John Muir Publications, Santa Fe, New Mexico

William Murray, The Last Italian: Portrait of a People, Grafton Books, London, 1991

Edited by Susan Cahill, Desiring Italy, Ballantine Books, New York, 1997