Umbria, is the most central region in Italy, is entirely landlocked
and often referred to as being the 'green heart of Italy'.
Umbria
still loudly echoes the Middle Ages, and boasts (albeit quietly)
a landscape of mediaeval hilltop villages, castles and monasteries.
This
is a region that, despite being on the doorstep of Tuscany and en
route to Rome, is largely untouched by large-scale tourism; there
are many bargains to be had, and the countryside and towns will
offer up many a sight to match those of neighbouring Tuscany.
Perhaps
it is the evocative nature of the place, or a certain enchanted
air (we might almost say "mystic") that you breathe to
some extent everywhere, but sooner or later whoever visits Umbria
ends up thinking: San Francesco - Saint Francis -, that great, gentle,
tender and poetic Saint of happiness and meekness could only have
been born here in Umbria.
In
this place of ever-green, enchanted and radiant nature. In these
towns the concept of "historic centre" seems inadequate
and reductive, so widespread is the monumental and artistic component
in the towns of Umbria.
Perugia,
for example, the regional capital. Just to describe it is to lose
oneself in the richness, complexity and magnificence of its architectural
and artistic treasures: from the Etruscan walls to the splendid
Palazzo Gallenga, seat of the antiqu and prestigious University
for Foreigners, and many other buildings and historic monuments
that lead out from the central Piazza IV Novembre, itself dotted
with architectural and artistic jewels such as the Great Fountain
and the magnificent Palazzo dei Priori.
The
same is true for splendid Gubbio, rich with Franciscan memories
and monuments from the medieval and renaissance eras. And then Todi,
Spello, Spoleto, Orvieto, Città di Castello and many other
small towns: all magnificently enriched by monuments, palaces and
churches of high artistic merit. Even Terni, a modern industrial
city, boasts jewels such as the churches of S. Salvatore and S.
Francesco and, close by, the masterpiece of nature that is the Waterfall
of Marmore. Finally Assisi, the town where Saint Francis was born
(as was Saint Clare, founder of the Poor Clares), one of the best-known
Christian destinations frequented by pilgrims.
You
have to see it for yourself. |