Umbria – The sacred lands of San Francesco and the Middle Ages at your fingertips

Green region, heart of Italy, land of San Francesco. These are some of the names with which Umbria is often defined, the only region in central Italy that is not bathed by the sea. Green is undoubtedly, and it is not only the position of the heart. There are places in Umbria that know how to excite in a unique way. Small region, great emotions.

• Perugia:

after the era of Roman domination, it has its moment of greatest splendor between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries: it is in this period that most of the monuments and buildings that characterize it are built, such as the Fontana Maggiore, the Palazzo dei Consoli and del Podestà and the Palazzo dei Priori. The main itineraries to visit Perugia concern the historic center within the Etruscan walls, and the northern villages of Porta S. Angelo, Porta S. Antonio and Fonte Nuovo. Also not to be missed is the National Gallery of Umbria, which houses the largest collection of Umbrian works of art.

• Gubbio:

called ” gray city ” for the color of the limestone blocks with which this splendid village is built. Gubbio is one of the oldest Umbrian settlements, a fief of the Montefeltro and Della Rovere families in the period of the Signorie, over the centuries it has jealously preserved its medieval aspect reflected both in the physiognomy of the buildings and in the structure of the streets. The town is made up of five parallel streets located at different levels and connected to each other by steps, alleys and stairs.

• Waterfall marmore:

its beauty has struck poets and writers over the centuries, and continues to fascinate thousands of tourists every year who decide to visit it. Considered one of the highest in Europe : the overall difference in height between the top and the base is 165 meters, divided into three jumps that give it its spectacular current appearance. The name Marmore derives from the peculiar calcium carbonate salts that settle on the rocks of the mountain, whose reflection of the sunlight makes them resemble crystals of white marble.

• Cascia:

located on the hill of Sant’Agostino, a religious center linked to the devotion of Santa Rita, the village offers jewels of great artistic interest such as the monumental church of San Francesco. In addition to the spiritual side, you can appreciate local products that make Cascia a flag of culinary art, such as saffron, spelled, legumes, truffles, and roveja, a slow food presidium, as well as a refined processing of meats and cured meats. . But the wonders of the “green heart of Italy” are not over:

• Assisi :

“ Assisi is a very beautiful thing, town, city and sanctuary”, wrote Giosuè Carducci. Country, because it has all the characteristics of the Umbrian village. City, because Assisi has played a fundamental role in the history of the world : from here St. Francis left to change the church. Sanctuary, because of the passage of San Francesco and Santa Chiara, small and large churches remain, miraculous places, crypts that attract thousands of faithful every year. (click here to discover a splendid itinerary)

• Spoleto :

the charm of Spoleto is captured by observing the landscape in which the city is immersed, the buildings that testify to its history full of events and characters, the artistic heritage that it preserves. Spoleto still preserves precious monuments such as the Rocca Albornoziana, the Ponte delle Torri and finally Piazza del Duomo. Here, a long and wide staircase starts from the center of the square and extends in the opposite direction to the Duomo. Turning around you will notice the main church of the city, which you can also look at from above. A real show. (at this link a fantastic way to discover this beautiful city)

• Spello :

there are numerous remains from the Roman era when Spello, or rather Hispellum, was the “splendid colony Julia”, as a sign on the facade of the Portonaccio states. Of these centuries of splendor today we have the best preserved Roman fortified walls in Italy. 3 magnificent entrance gates to the village and the dense network of streets that from May to July become a flowery stage and reach their peak with the Infiorata. (click here to see our schedule)

• La Scarzuola :

the Scarzuola, a large global work that is always open , never finished, in which elements of the past overlap with those of the present and the future. It owes its name to a scarza (straw) hut that, according to tradition, St. Francis built during one of his wanderings. Along the way you will encounter buildings with a strong symbolic value: the Tower of Babel, the Musical Staircase of the Seven Octaves and the Staircase of Job. You can admire the wonders just described, in our GO IN ITALY programming – click here to discover it.