Umbria - during a tour, one can see clearly the presence of man starting from the Etruscans, or the Umbrians, to the Romans and their wealthy villas, the Middle Age with its many fortresses and castles, the Renaissance and its fabulous paintings and the elegance and eurhythmics of its courtyards.

 
Umbria is a region in the middle of Italy.  The capital being Perugia.  The beauty of this land, the endless green of its holm-oak groves, its millenary history, its flavours, its unicity should belong to us only and be something only the resident population should be entitled to enjoy.   A territory which is characterized by hills warm as the ploughed land, green as the Mediterranean bush, embellished with urban centres small, but all perfect as for city planning, and their burden of history.

Museums, castles and fortresses, modern and contemporary art, artistic and historical events: the secret of Umbria’s beauty lies in the bond that Umbrians have always had with their rich and glorious past.    In the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, it was a pulsating region at the heart of Italian historical, cultural, and religious events, and its cities flourished in an extraordinary manner, accumulating an enormous wealth of artistic jewels

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Assisi

Around 1000 BC a wave of immigrants settled in the upper Tiber valley as far as the Adriatic Sea and also in the neighbourhood of Assisi.   These were the Umbrians, living in small fortified settlements on high ground.   From 450 BC these settlements were gradually taken over by the Etruscans.

The Romans took control of central Italy by the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC.  They built the flourishing municipium Asisium on a series of terraces on Mount Subasio.   Remains from these Roman times can still be found in Assisi : city walls, the forum (now Piazza del Comune), a theatre, an amphitheatre and the Temple of Minerva (now transformed into the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva).

 

Temple of Minerva		Internal

 

The Sacro Convento IX - Assisi		Roman Amphitheatre

• Roman Amphitheatre
  In the town quarter of Porta Perlici, a town gate of the 12^th century with a double inner arch and door-posts in Umbrian and Roman blocks.
  
  Nothing is left but the shape, you will note the remains of the structure of the Roman Amphitheatre of the 1^st century A.D., the elliptical form of which can still be recognized in the lay-out of the medieval houses.    All the stone was quarried out in the Middle Ages.
  
  A garden occupies the area of the former arena, while the only remain is a travertine arch, it's not quite what you'd expect, but it's the real thing, even if there's a restaurant and a large garden inside it. 

After the fall of the Roman Empire the town, in about 545, was sieged by the Gothes and the Longobards.   Only in 1000 it became an independent commune and, precisely in this period, it had an extraordinary development, above all thanks to the monastic activities (in particular the Benedictines’ ones).

Rocca Maggiore		San Damiano Sanctuary

• Rocca Maggiore
  The Rocca Maggiore was apparently built and then used by Barbarossa during his stays in Italy.    Destroyed during a popular uprising in 1198, it was rebuilt by Cardinal Albornoz following the original plan (1356). The castle is inside the city’s ring wall.

• Santuario di San Damiano
  It was here, just outside Assisi, that according to biographers, the crucifix spoke to San Francesco in 1205, inviting him to restore the church.   It was here that the Saint composed the Cantico delle Creature (1224-25).   Santa Chiara and her companions settled in the convent from 1212 until the death of the Saint in 1260.

St Francis was the most famous Assisi’s citizen, his father was a wealthy merchant.  St Francis was born here in about 1180, Francis in his youth was a wild bon vivant: he loved to sing, and was a troubadour; he loved fine clothes and in 1202, during a war against the nearby Perugia, Francis was imprisoned for more than a year.  Once freed, he completely changed his life: he gave all he owned to the poor, he tended lepers, and preached a message of poverty, humility, and joy.

From 1206 he devoted himself to Christ by serving and helping the poor and living as a poor himself.  His very famous public renunciation of all his rich father’s possessions was made in Assisi square.

In 1228, only two years after his death, Francis was proclaimed saint by Pope Gregory IX. From that moment on, the town became first an imperial and then a papal dominion.   Later it went under the rule of some important signorie: Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Montefeltro family, Braccio Fortebraccio and Francesco Sforza.   This went on till the first half of the 16^th century, when Umbria was conquered by Pope Paul III, who built the famous fortress called “Rocca Paolina” in Perugia, re-establishing in this way the papal control over the town and over all the other settlements.    Some centuries later, in the 19^th century, the town became part of the rising Italian State, together with the Umbrian towns.

St Francis blessing the birds		Picture of St Francis embracing and kissing the feet of Christ		St Francis by José de Ribera

The picture of St Francis embracing and kissing the feet of Christ crucified (above middle). This is a detail of the great crucifix painted on board, found in the vast "San Francesco" church at Arezzo, built in Franciscan style.   The Crucifix is centrally hung at the entrance to the choir, against the backdrop formed by the choir itself, with its stained glass windows and celebrated “legend of the Cross” by Piero della Francesca.    The work goes back to the XIII century and is attributed to Margaritone d'Arezzo, whose visible Byzantine features nonetheless show a vigorous psychological expressionism, which is best admired in the masterpiece – certainly by his own hand – depicting Saint Francis and housed in the art gallery of Arezzo.
 

Assisi - the town of St Francis:- full day
 

A visit here means seeing some very fine churches: the Basilica of San Francesco is the great monument to the Saint and was started after he was canonized in 1228; it has frescoes by Giotto, Cimabue and Lorenzetti.

Three more churches merit your attention: the Cattedrale di San Ruffino and the Basilica di Santa Chiara.   The third church is the Basilica degli Angeli, built over and around the little chapel, the Porziuncola, where the angels visited St Francis.   Besides its many churches, Assisi also has some fine secular buildings: there is a fine Piazza del Comune with a torre and  Palazzo del Comune, and Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo.

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Perugia & Gubbio

Fontana Maggiore - Perugia		Priori Palace - Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria

Perugia - Called by Henry James the "city of the infinite view."   Perugia's stunning medieval municipal palace overlooks the main square graced by the Fontana Maggiore, a medieval fountain designed by Fra Bevignate and sculpted by Nicolò and Giovanni Pisano. (Pisano masterpiece of Gothic sculpture and Perugia's pride and joy) and the Cathedral of S. Lorenzo.   Our tour will include Etruscan city gates, the massive 16th c. Papal fortress (which encompasses the medieval quarter of Perugia), Renaissance masterpieces of Perugino and the magnificent frescoed Notaries' Guild Hall.

• The Priori Palace (Town Hall, encompassing the Collegio del Cambio, Collegio della Mercanzia, and Galleria Nazionale) dominant expression of the spirit of the period of comuni, was built between XIII and XV century and from the main door you can visit the

• National Gallery of Umbria which is located on Piazza Novembre IV.    This art museum displays works  of Umbrian art in Middle Ages and Renaissance, of famous Italian artists, such as Duccio, Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Arnolfo di Cambio, Gentile di Fabriano, Orazio Gentileschi, Pietro di Cortona. 

Fra Angelico		Portrait  of Piero della Francesca from Vasari, 'Le Vite'		Pietro Perugino - self-portrait c 1500

Pietro Vannucci, also known as “Perugino”, a contemporary of Leonardo and Botticelli, was born around 1450 in Città della Pieve in Umbria.   He  founded a school of art in Perugia and was in high demand for his religious paintings and frescoes throughout Italy.   His works are in Florence with the prestigious Bottega di Andrea del Verrocchio, where Perugino meets Leonardo.   His first frescoes are in 1478.   Between 1478 and 1483 he participates with other great artists in the decoration of the Sistine Chapel, where he painted some panels.   Perugino worked extensively in Florence and in Umbria, where he died of the plague in 1523.

Some works of Pietro Perugino
Madonna and Child with Saints		St Sabastian		The family of St Anne about 1507

• The Collegio del Cambio has frescoes by Pietro Perugino, while the Collegio della Mercanzia has a fine later 14th century wooden interior

• Church and abbey of San Pietro (late 16th century).
   

• Basilica of San Domenico (begun in 1394 and finished in 1458). It is located in the place where, in Middle Ages times, the market and the horse fair were held, and where the Dominicans settled in 1234.  According to Vasari, the church was designed by Giovanni Pisano. The interior decorations were redesigned by Carlo Maderno, while the massive belfry was partially cut around mid-16th century.   It houses examples of Umbrian art, including the precious tomb of Pope Benedict XI and a Renaissance wooden choir.

Etruscan city gates -  Perugia		Cathedral- San Lorenza

• Church of Sant'Angelo (Founded in the 6th century).

• Church of San Bernardino (with façade by Agostino di Duccio).

• Church of San Severo, retains a fresco painted by Raphael[5] and Perugino.

• Ipogeo dei Volumni (Hypogeum of the Volumnus family), an Etruscan chamber tomb
  National Museum of Umbrian Archaeology, where is conserved one of the longest inscription in Etruscan, the Cippus perusinus.

• Etruscan Arch (also known as Porta Augusta), an Etruscan gate with Roman elements.
  the Rocca Paolina, a Renaissance fortress (1540-1543) of which only a bastion today is remaining. The original design was by Antonio and Aristotile da Sangallo, and included the Porta Marzia (3rd century BC), the tower of Gentile Baglioni's house and a mediaeval cellar.

• Centro Direzionale (1982-1986), an administration civic center owned by the Umbria Region. The building was designed by the Pritzker Architecture prizewinner Aldo Rossi.

Perugia has become famous for its chocolates, mostly because of a single firm, Perugina, whose Baci (kisses) are widely exported.   Perugian chocolate is very popular in Italy, and the city hosts a chocolate festival every October.

Perugia also hosts one of Europe's largest jazz festivals in early July.

In July 2007, Perugia hosted the International IUGG Assembly, a four-yearly event that is one of the largest gatherings of Earth scientists.

Perugia today hosts two main universities, the ancient Università degli Studi and the Foreigners University (Università per Stranieri).   Stranieri serves as an Italian language and culture school for students from all over the world.   Other educational institutions are the Perugia Fine Arts Academy "Pietro Vannucci" (founded in 1573), the Perugia Music Conservatory for the study of classical music, and the RAI Public Broadcasting School of Radio-Television Journalism.  The city is also host to the Umbra Institute, an accredited university program for American students studying abroad. The Università dei Sapori (University of Tastes), a National centre for Vocational Education and Training in Food, is located in the city as well.

The city symbol is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city.
 

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We'll leave this town Perugia, of "medieval elegance", to head up to Gubbio, dramatically perched on a hill overlooking the ruins of its Roman theater, here in Gubbio time seems to have literally stopped in the Middle Ages.    Here we stop for lunch followed by a memorable tour with stops on the way to see the works of talented local artisans and to taste Umbrian delicacies in a gourmet food shop.

Gubbio is known as the city of the wolf.  What became of them?  According to popular tradition, the wild beast liberated by Saint Francis lived for a long time in peace with the citizenry and at the end of his days was buried just where they found a skeleton (via Savelli della Porta) during the excavations of 1872: the skeleton of a wolf.

Civic Palace - Gubbio

Our walk through the labyrinthine, picturesque medieval backstreets will lead us to the splendid imposing 14^th c. Palazzo dei Consoli, Gothic civic palace, symbol of Gubbio's medieval power and one of the most beautiful public palaces in Italy and said to rival Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in its beauty.    Built between 1332 and 1337 and attributed by some critics to Gattapone and by others to Angelo da Orvieto, the building, elegant and majestic, has plain and simple walls decorated by a row of windows in its upper storey; above there are a series of hanging arches and a Guelph battlement.  Notable is the fanishaped staircase leading, through a Gothic portal, to the large entrance hall, used in the Middle Ages for city assemblies.    Now the Palazzo dei Consoli houses the Civic Museum and the important Picture Gallery, containing works by local painters as well as by Tuscan masters.

Another building of great interest is the Palazzo Ducale: of very ancient Lombard origin and restructured at the end of the 15^th century by order of Federico da Montefeltro, it is an important example of Renaissance architecture. The inner courtyard, built of stones and bricks, is splendid, and the interior is extremely elegant: unfortunately when the palace became a private property the furnishings were dispersed and today one may admire the Duke's studio – made of inlaid and carved wood – at the Metropolitan Museum of New York

Palazzo Ducale		Court-yard

In front of this building stands the Cathedral, a Gothic 14^th century church built where there was an older one; the façade, restored in the 16^th century, has a beautiful Gothic portal and is decorated with the symbols that represent the Evangelists and the Mystic Lamb, the latter a testimony to the older structure.   Its interior has a nave characterised by ten great Gothic arches that support the roof.   This church contains interesting paintings and a splendid Flemish cope made of golden brocade.   

In the Piazza 40 Martiri is situated the Church of San Francesco, built in Gothic style in the 13^th century and attributed, but not definitively, to Fra' Bevignate; the façade, uncompleted and altered, has a Gothic portal, a row of hanging arches and a small rose-window coming from the church of S. Francesco in Foligno.  The interior has a nave with two aisles, and contains a rich painting decoration; the chapel in the right apse is dedicated to St. Francis and they say it was built above the Spadalongas' house, where the Saint took the habit.

Near the square there is the austere Mausoleum of the 40 Martyrs, erected in commemoration of the 40 citizens of Gubbio executed by the German Nazi forces on the 22 June 1944.
 

In the low-lying part of the town can be admired the Roman Theater, from the I century AD, a large and well-preserved building  which once hosted almost 6000 spectators – the cavea measures 70 metres – built of square blocks; thanks to the good restoration important cultural events, especially classical theatre performances, are held in it.   The theatre conserves extraordinary mosaics.
 

Other buildings:

• The Palazzo del Bargello, very elegant medieval house;

• the Church of S. Maria della Vittoria, the so-called Vittorina: near a Franciscan monastery, it was one of the places frequented by St. Francis and, according tradition, it was here that took place the meeting between the Saint and the savage wolf, the famous wolf of Gubbio;

• the beautiful Gothic Church of S. Giovanni Battista;

• the Church of S. Domenico, with notable paintings; other small churches, noble palaces or simpler houses, the alleys, the wonderful landscape; and also

• the famous Fontana della Pazzia: they say that it's sufficient to run round it three times to be admitted in the category.

Basilica of S. Ubaldo		The giant procession candles and the central nave of the Ubaldo church

Franciscan Cloister		The relics of St Ubaldo

The Basilica of S. Ubaldo: the church, dedicated to St. Ubaldo, bishop and patron Saint of the town, has a medieval origin, but was enlarged in 1514 by order of the Duchesses Elisabetta and Eleonora Della Rovere.   It has a fine 16^th century portal and a delightful Franciscan cloister.    Its interior is divided into five aisles and on the major altar is placed the Renaissance urn that preserves the relics of St. Ubaldo, brought here in 1194.  In the aisle on the left, houses the famous Candles of S. Ubaldo which are used during the celebrations on the 15^th of May every year, it is the run of the Ceri the most important celebration in Gubbio.  The candles are transported in a procession from Piazza Grande to the church of S.Ubaldo.

The Basilica may be reached either by road or by a cable-car:

Church and the view  over Gubbio

departure from the centre, near Porta Romana, and in few minutes' trip one arrives at the Basilica, on the slope of the Mount Ingino, enjoying a magnificent panoramic view of the town and the valley below.   If time permits, take a walk out of the city wall, in the north direction, through Porta Metauro, you will find a narrow road surronded by hills.   Climb the one on the left following a well traced track, after few minutes you will reach a small church along the hill side. (above)
		View from the cableway of the Roman Teatro

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Deruta

It is a picturesque hilltown in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region of Italy. Long known as a center of refined majolica manufacture, Deruta is still known for its ceramics, which are exported worldwide.  The local clay was good for ceramics, whose production began in the Early Middle Ages, but found its artistic peak in the 15^th and early 16th century, with highly characteristic local styles, such as the "Bella Donna" plates with conventional portraits of beauties whose names appear on fluttering banderoles with flattering inscriptions.   

In the 16^th century Deruta produced the so-called "Rafaellesque' ware, decorated with fine arabesques and grottesche on a fine white ground.   Deruta produced some of the finest Italian majolica.

The historic town center, features the Gothic Church of San Francesco built in 1388. A visit to Deruta is not complete without a stop at the municipal hall, the Palazzetto Municipale, which dates from about 1300, located on the Piazza dei Consoli (the "Square of the Consuls").  In addition to the usual governmental offices, the municipal hall houses a stunning Museum of Ceramics, an art gallery (the Pinacoteca), and a capacious atrium in which one can view a variety of archaeological finds, some of which date to Neolithic times.
 

Along the Tiberina road, at the foot of the old town, yet another church—the Madonna delle Piagge—is clad in a colorful array of ceramic tiles, which give one a sense of the entire history of Deruta ceramiche.
 

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Todi

Commune in the province of Perugia, founded by the Umbrians, 15.907 inhabitants. Monuments: S.Maria della Consolazione, Palazzo dei Priori, Cathedral of S. Maria Annunziata, Palazzo del Capitano.

Almost all main medieval monuments — the co-cathedral church (Duomo), the Palazzo del Capitano, the Palazzo del Priore and the Palazzo del Popolo — front on the main square on the lower breast of the hill: the square is thus one of the most picturesque in Italy and is often used as a movie set eg The Agony & Ecstacy with Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison.   The whole landscape is sited over some huge ancient Roman cisterns, with more than 500 pits, which remained in use until 1925.

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Spoleto- Discover a monastery founded by San Francesco on hilltop Monteluco.  Spoleto has shepherd's trails and panoramic high pastures of grazing sheep, through thick forests teaming with wildlife including eagles, hawks, song birds, roe deer and wild goats.

Ancient olive groves and past abandoned farm houses overlooks the majestic 13th-century Ponte delle Torri, once a Roman aqueduct and Spoleto's magnificent 14th-century hilltop fortress Rocca Albornoz, built during by the rule of the Papal States.

Discover Spoleto's Roman and Medieval sites on a casual tour of the town.

Spoleto was the Roman town Spoletium, colonized in 241 B.C., on the important Roman road the via Flaminia, and it is still well equipped with evidence of the Roman era.   Spoleto's Duomo has beautiful frescoes by Fra Lippo Lippi in the apse; the painter is also buried in the church.

The Eroli Chapel in the rear of the church has frescoes by Pinturicchio, the Cappella dell' Assunta, has a 15th century frescoes by Jacopo Siculo.  The Museo Dicesano is now reopened after repair of earthquake damage and is just around the corner from the duomo.   

It has an interesting collection of artwork, but its best feature is the church of St. Eufemia, an early twelfth century church that has been restored to something like its original design (minus nearly all the original frescoes) despite being on the receiving end of some of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune through the centuries.  It preserves the matronei, raised galleries which was reserved for women in churches of the period. 

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Orvieto,

Velzna was Orvieto’s ancient name, here is where you’ll be able to visit two of Renaissance Italy’s masterpieces: the town’s spectacular Cathedral and Luca Signorelli's impressive 16^th century frescos of the Last Judgement, which are in the cathedral.    

This exciting and unique trip takes you straight to the heart of Orvieto where Etruscan, medieval and renaissance times are intricately woven together creating an amazing tapestry of historical heritage to be explored in an outstanding journey through time.

Orvieto’s origins have Etruscan roots, since the cliff was inhabited first by these populations in the 9^th-8^th centuries.   It was a flourishing settlement, which based its economy on the ceramics’ production (the buccheri) and on the bronze manufacture.

The town, which was in conflict against Rome’s expansionist politics, was then occupied by the adverse army in 254 B.C. and it was razed to the ground.  The consequence was the flight of its inhabitants and some of them were forced to move on the high grounds of Lake Bolsena.     During the barbarian invasions the town was occupied by Alarico and Odoacre and was the scenary of numerous fights and battles.     From 596 on, Orvieto was occupied by the Longobards of King Agilulfo and, later, in the context of the religious revival desired by Ottone III, many abbeys and monasteries were built in the whole surrounding territory.
 

The commune was founded beginning from 1137 and, twenty years later, under the influence of Pope Hadrian IV, the fights between the Guelph factions (pro-Pope) and the Ghibellini ones (pro-Emperor) began and went on for a long time.   These fights marked the city history, transforming this centre into a Guelph stronghold.   In 1200 the Four Hundred General Council was created, with the following election of the People’s Captain, of an Elders’ Government and of the Arts, with a prior and its own magistracy.  

Moreover, in 1290, they began to build the Cathedral, besides other churches present in town.  Between the end of 1200 and the first years of 1300, with Pope Martin IV, the French arrived in town.   The people rose against them and began a series of fights among factions.    In 1354 Cardinal Albornoz occupied Orvieto, subjugating it to the Church State, even if the town continued to maintain its communal institutions.   Only in 1860 the town was annexed to the Italian Kingdom.

 

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