Italy Travel » Umbria

Visiting the Charming Towns of Umbria

internetauthor — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:13:55 +0000

Source: Visiting the Charming Towns of Umbria

This beautiful region in the center of Italy is often called the green heart. Rolling, lush hills and spectacular sights make the region relaxing, rejuvenating and just plain fascinating. Umbria might be the smallest region in Italy, but it is home to one of Italy’s largest lakes. Here you’ll also find spectacular waterfalls and truly unique small towns to visit.

Perugia
The largest town in Umbria and the region’s capital, Perugia has ancient medieval and Etruscan roots. Easily one of the nicest things about this ancient city is how well the public transportation works making it a nice place to start as you branch out to explore other territories as well. Come to Perugia in the summer and you’ll be able to enjoy the jazz festival. If you can put off your travels until the fall, you can enjoy a chocolate festival instead.

Orvieto
A lovely hill town, Orvieto sits over huge cliffs with a vast collection of monuments and museums. Thousands of years of history are shown in the Orvieto museums and when you’re done digesting what you can find in the many museums, there is a lovely duomo to explore as well. The mosaic façade of the cathedral is one of the best medieval monuments in Europe. Orvieto is another nice base for branching out and exploring Umbria as well as nearby Rome and Tuscany. Simply wandering outside of Orvieto will bring you in contact with Etruscan tombs and vineyards.

Assisi
This popular pilgrimage location is the home ot the tomb of Saint Francis. The Saint Francis Basilica in Assissi is home to the tomb and many other fine artifacts and art pieces as well. Visiting Assisi also puts you in close contact with Roman ruins, medieval sites, museums and plenty of shops. There are also nice nature walks leaving from Assisi and reaching out into the countryside.

Spoleto
A walled hill town, Spoleto is one of the largest towns in Umbria. Within the walled city of Spoleto, you can find Etruscan, Roman and medieval sites. Among these are the most famous sites in the town, a medieval Rocca and Ponte delle Torri, or Bridge of Towers. Visiting Spoleto in the summer months provides warm weather ideal for exploring the lovely countryside around the area as well as an opportunity to enjoy the world famous Festival dei due mondi, or Two World’s Festival, in June and July of every year.

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4 Must-Sees in Umbria

internetauthor — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:14:03 +0000

Source: 4 Must-Sees in Umbria

Popular with tourists who are anxious to skip the crowds of Rome, Florence and Tuscany, Umbria is just far enough off the beaten track to not attract the large swarms of Italian tourists in the summer months, but full of the same sorts of scenery and treasures you’d expect from the most popular areas of Italy. While in Umbria, you can get a full sampling of what the region has to offer by visiting these absolute must-see areas.

Perugia – The capital city of Umbria, Perugia is the biggest city in the region and has become increasingly well-known for its chocolate. The chocolate and hazelnut kisses or “Baci” that comes from the Perugina factory is the basis for one of the largest festivals in the city. In July, you’ll find the enormous chocolate festival and one of Europe’s largest Jazz festivals as well. Inside Perugia are two major universities, a large cathedral, town hall and a gallery featuring Umbrian art among other historic buildings.

Assisi – The Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the main attraction of this town, but there is much else in the city to enjoy. In 1997 an earthquake badly damaged the church, but the damage has been repaired and the basilica has been repaired. On a pilgrimage or not, Assisi abounds with the influence of St. Francis, who is buried in the church. Also in Assisi you’ll find more churches, basilicas, two medieval castles and the often overlooked cobbled streets that date back to the medieval periods.

Spoleto – While not a large city, Spoleto is the home to a large arts festival in the summer. Begun in 1958, the Festival dei Due Mondi, or Festival of the Two Worlds lasts three weeks and celebrates music, theater and dance performances. Outside of the festival, Spoleto also is home to structures that date back to the Roman era and other historic churches.

Hill Towns – Just like the more famous Tuscany, Umbria is home to many charming hill towns. Rent a car or take the bus to visit the lovely towns of Orvieto with dramatic views and Etruscan ruins, Gubbio with Roman ruins and medieval center and Montefalco known for a 13th-century town hall. The scenery alone as you journey from one town to the next is astounding. Umbria is a hilly land, but unlike its close neighbor, Tuscany, Umbria has a more rugged feel and slightly craggier hills creating a more dramatic landscape.

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Marmore Falls: a wonder of Italy

grazia — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:25:05 +0000

Source: Marmore Falls: a wonder of Italy

Marmore Falls is located about 7.5 km far from Terni, in Umbria and ir is an artificial waterfall among the highest in Europe, backed up by a vertical drop of 165 meters in three jumps.

They are located in Valnerina and are formed by the river Velino that near the village of Marmore flows from Lake Piediluco and dives with a roar in the underlying gorge of River Nera, a tributary of the Tiber.

Nowadays Marmore waterfall are intensely exploited for the production of electricity.

This means that the cascade is not constantly running, but for most of the time is reduced to the size of a stream.

To adjust the operation of the plant and ensure the vision to visitors, the waterfall is operated at maximum capacity ensuring a spectacular effect: between 12.00 and 13.00 and between 16.00 and 17.00 (times change in different months of the year).

A sound advises of the opening of the floodgates of regulation, and the small stream becomes in a few minutes a roaring river.

Within the tourism Hiking Waterfalls Marmore it is also possible to follow various paths:

some belong to the botanical gardens and offer the opportunity to admire the main species of spontaneous flora including poplars, willows, beeches, and many rare plants finding here their natural habitat;

others enable visitors to admire the natural caves carved in travertine and through a tunnel to reach the balcony of Lovers on the first jump of the waterfall, about 90 meters high;

some other offer views of the rapids and waterfalls, reaching to touch the water, or through a path with stairs provide access to view points arranged at different heights.

Marmora falls since the early seventeenth century assumed a key role in European culture, striking the imagination of travellers, artists, illustrators and poets. Their rainbow is still considered among the wonders of Italy.

Where to stay in Italy.

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3 Must-See Locations in Umbria

internetauthor — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:56:09 +0000

Source: 3 Must-See Locations in Umbria

Umbria, the lovely region directly in the calf of Italy’s boot is lovely for many reasons – the least of which is its simplicity. The rolling hills and the quiet, modest people of Umbria welcome tourists with open arms, but don’t expect the same crowds here that you’d find in one of the larger cities or in the countryside of Tuscany. Umbria is a raw beauty just outside of the most popular locations in Italy.

The Main Square of Perugia
Perugia’s main square is dominated by Fontana Maggiore, a large fountain covered in intriguing base-relief structures. Piazza IV Novembre is also home to the city’s and region’s premier art museum, La Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria. Here you can view works by local artists as well as those not from the region. Perugia’s main square is a nice starting point as well for exploring the rest of the city as well. Stop by the churches and monasteries of the town to experience the peace and solitude that brought so many to the region long ago.

Spello
In this ancient city, you don’t have to compete with cars or motorbikes. The city is closed to traffic allowing only pedestrians to explore the wonders of the old town. Ancient walls and portals and towers still stand outside the narrow steep streets of Spello. The standing artifacts date back to the times of Caesar Augustus. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore holds surprising artifacts in the form of lovely frescoes and a detailed tile floor.

Lake Trasimeno
Lake Trasimeno is the place where Hannibal defeated the armies of the Roman Empire in 217 BC. The lake is home to many castles and fortresses – albeit a bit too late. Monte del Lago and Torre dei Lombardi are two of the most famous in the region. A trip by boat to the islands in the center of the lake is worth a day of relaxation. On Isola Polvese, you can enjoy the olive groves or sit and relax on the white sandy beaches found here. Around the lake you’ll find medieval towns of every creed. Drive and wander from town to town to see the elements of history that make Umbria such as rich and vibrant area of Italy.

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Pick Italy, Pick Umbria

internetauthor — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:05:26 +0000

Source: Pick Italy, Pick Umbria

When planning a trip to Italy, you’ve likely included the hot spots – Florence, Rome, Milan – but when you begin planning a stop in the Italian countryside, are you immediately considering Tuscany?

If so, consider a journey into Umbria instead. Tuscany is beautiful, certainly, but Umbria has many assets over the extremely popular Tuscan region that might make it the better choice for your family.

Umbria is Less Crowded than Tuscany
Tuscany has feature films, books and every other sort of publicity imaginable. And with good reason. The region is beautiful and the scenery is diverse, but it is certainly not the only region in Italy that can boast these features. Umbria is just as beautiful, albeit a bit less varied. But the biggest asset to Umbria over Tuscany is the lack of tourists. Tuscany is full of tour buses and commercialism designed to draw in as many tourist dollars as possible. Umbria is simply beautiful and the simple is refreshing after the large cities.

Umbria Has Astonishing Sights
Like all regions, Umbria has many impressive sights to see in its villages and towns, but some of the ones you find in Umbria are ancient and wondrous. Consider the town of Assisi. Dating back to the 4th or 5th century BC, the town has ancient roots that still flow deeply. The most famous inhabitant of Assisi is buried there today in the Basilica of St. Francis. This lovely town includes century-old fortifications, stone castles and a spirit you won’t find anywhere else in Umbria or in Italy.

Umbria is Peacefully Delicious
Umbria is primarily an agricultural region which accounts for its laid back pace and attitude. Leaving the big bustling cities behind, you are finally free to relax, wander the hillsides at your leisure and explore the many small towns and architectural treasures to be found in this region of Italy.

You can expect your appetite to grow as you sample the authentic wares of the towns and hopefully catch a festival or two in a village. From the field to the table, Umbria has amazing cuisine and the company is certainly enjoyable as well. The seemingly sleepy towns are bursting with local history and the residents can direct you to some of the more interesting sites you might have otherwise missed. To visit Umbria is to find a new, wonderful way of life.

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Sagras in Umbria

internetauthor — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:50:48 +0000

Source: Sagras in Umbria

If you want to truly experience life in Italy, head out into the more rural areas of the country, and then find a community festival, or sagra. The sagra is a festival organized by the town or by a smaller subdivision of the town, and the entire affair is designed to honor various Italian foods. Umbrian specialties range from wild boar to truffles, but you can find a sagra dedicated to all of the local items if you search hard enough and have a bit of luck.

Enjoying a Sagra
To fully appreciate a sagra, you have to understand how the Italians behave and the expectations of the event. A sagra can be one of the most enjoyable evenings you spend in Umbria, but to appreciate the time you spend in such a special setting, you’ll need to behave as the locals do.

The Sagra Festival
A typical sagra might last for ten days and involve thousands of people. A large tent will be set up to serve food and tables will be placed end to end to provide a place for eating. There will be a handful of carnival style tents around the area holding simple games and lotteries, and best of all – there will be a large dance floor that is put heavily to use every night.

The entire scene is one of carefully orchestrated chaos. Hundreds of people run the show and orders are barked above conversation and laughter of guests. The best festivals are small and held locally in the city square or market. Ones held in large fields lose their appeal as they aren’t as authentic in feeling or as intimate. A sagra focuses on food items, so the better the food, the more popular the sagra. Local residents can direct you to the best ones in the area where you’re staying.

Dining and Dancing at the Sagra
The main appeal of a sagra is the dancing. Arrive early to eat in the relative calm before the storm. Then, once you’ve enjoyed your meal, prepare yourself for some serious entertainment. Italian bands at these events are loud and they focus heavily on ballroom music. It’s amazing the grace and style with which Italians of every age can take to the dance floor. Weekends are the most crowded with many people coming to dance, and the week days might be calmer if you choose a night without dancing. All in all, however, any night of a sagra will be the most memorable evening of your trip.

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Italian Foods You Must Try

internetauthor — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:32:37 +0000

Source: Italian Foods You Must Try

When in Italy, eat as the locals do. This means you should sample a wide variety of foods from premium restaurants as well as the local fruit stands at the morning markets. Italians take their food very seriously, so everything is delicious, especially if you avoid restaurants specifically catering to tourists. Here are a few must-have items while traveling:

Gelato
Why not start with dessert? Italian ice cream is rich and gooey and usually overflows the cup or cone. There are plenty of flavors that you might not find at your neighborhood ice cream shop and the experience of the tiny cone alone is a fun memory. Be aware, however, that more than one person has become addicted to gelato, especially if they sample it early on in the trip. It might very well become a daily habit.

Pizza
Italian pizza is nothing like the kind you find in most restaurants back home, even the Italian ones. During your travels, find time to order both an authentic wood-fired pizza and sample take-away pizza or pizza al taglio. Pizza al taglio is sold in square sections by weight at small bakeries and corner stores. It makes a great snack while walking the city as you can have as little or as much as you’d like in a single sitting.

Fresh Fruit
If you stick to restaurants and cafes that specialize in the heavier versions of Italian food you may miss the opportunity to sample one of Italy’s finest dishes – fresh fruit. The best fruit is available at markets. Stroll through the market looking not keepsakes while stopping to sample as many varieties of local fruits as possible.

Fiorentina
Fiorentina is a delicious beef dish. In fact, it’s a T-bone steak that is prepared with the flare for flavor and presentation that Italians relish. While in definition a simple steak, the fiorentina is anything but a slab of meat. It’s an experience in its own right.

Cotoletta alla Milanese
A favorite of Milan, the rib of a calf is breaded and fried in butter. The fried rib is then covered in the butter used for frying, or in more modern times, it is coated in lemon or tomato sauce.

Lasagna
It might be favorite in your kitchen at home, but sometimes the most familiar foods are the ones that show us the biggest differences between cultures. Try a traditional lasagna and see how the country can affect the flavor. If you want to try a different variety of an old favorite, consider lasagne al pesto instead.

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Holiday Events Not to Miss in Italy

internetauthor — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:40:19 +0000

Source: Holiday Events Not to Miss in Italy

The holidays are special everywhere, but if you plan on spending even part of the holiday season in Italy, you can do no better for fun, festivity and interesting customs you certainly won’t see anywhere else. When in Italy, celebrate as the Italians do!

Nativity Scenes
Sir Francis of Assisi was the first to create a full manger scene including animals and such as we know the nativity scene today. Since that time, the presepio has become legendary among the Italian people. Every town, city and church will be displaying their presepio throughout the holiday season, which in Italy lasts through Epiphany. Many of the oldest, wealthiest families in Italy have rooms devoted to their elaborate and priceless nativity scenes. The rooms are opened for only two months and closely guarded the rest of the year.

You can see hundreds of the world’s finest nativity scenes in Verona. Verona’s ancient arena hosts 200 presepi from early December through January. If you’d prefer a live nativity scene, you won’t be disappointed either. You can find live nativity scenes almost everywhere on December 23 and 24, but the 200 plus participants in the nativity scene in Barga, a small town in Tuscany, are truly astounding.

“Throwing Out the Old Year”
If you plan on celebrating New Year’s Eve and the ringing in of the New Year in Italy, by no means celebrate on the street. The custom in Italy is to throw out the old year, and the Italians take this quite seriously. As one Italian explained, “No person in his right mind would be on the streets at midnight on New Year’s Eve!”

Why? Because that foolish person stands a very real likelihood of being pelted with furniture, old appliances and the accumulated junk of last year. In Italy, you literally throw out old items through the window (regardless of the floor you’re on) so that you have good luck in the coming year. It’s customary, but just a bit dangerous if you’re trying to walk home.

January Sales
While Italy is nowhere near as commercially driven as the United States, there are special sales and reduced prices following the holiday season. The lowest prices of the year on any number of Italian goods can be found following Epiphany in January, although some merchants begin offering lower prices as early as December 26.

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Specialty Christmas Markets

internetauthor — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:26:25 +0000

Source: Specialty Christmas Markets

When visiting Italy over the holidays, it is critical that you not only visit the magical sites of antiquity, but also the kinds of events you just can’t find anywhere else in the world. Where else can you get authentic, handmade Christmas gifts from genuine Italian craftsman other than the special Christmas markets spread throughout Italy.

Epiphany Fair in Piazza Navona
In the heart of Rome, the Piazza Navona is transformed during the holiday season. Booths offer handmade lace and handkerchiefs, delicate carvings and wooden creations, and homemade cakes and biscotti. Most especially, you can find beautiful presepio, or carved Nativity scenes. Artisans from the areas surrounding Rome have been bringing their wares to this fair for generations. Father Christmas is present to take pictures and fresh candy and treats are prepared on the spot filling the air with the smell of toffee and roasting chestnuts.

Prato in Tuscany
In Prato, the area surrounding the Town Hall building is transformed on the Saturday before Christmas. Fifty booths are erected or under porticos and beautiful linens and antique books are brought forth among other items to be sold. This is a wonderful market for gifts as many can fit neatly into your suitcase.

Bastia Umbra in Umbria
The 13th-century church of Santa Croce near Assisi is the backdrop for this holiday fair. On the Sunday before December 21, a bric-a-brac fair is held with a certain emphasis on prints, stamps and, of course, local handicrafts.

Campo San Maurizio in Venice
Near St. Marks in Venice, the Campo San Maurizio hosts a gathering of collectors from the entire northeastern corner of Italy on December 16-18. The collectors gather to display and sell small objects and painting both new and antique. Prices can be high, but so is the awe of seeing hand crafted ornaments over 400 years old.

Trentino in Alto Adige
The mountain communities have always had outdoor markets around the holiday season, and even with the addition of cheap toys and obscure video games, the market in Trentino is still wonderful. A wide range of items are sold in the market, but the majority of items include breath-taking artifacts to be used as gifts or decorations. The best time to visit the market is after dark as hundreds of lights illuminate the area and rich smells of cider and chocolate fill the air.

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An Italian Christmas

internetauthor — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:23:25 +0000

Source: An Italian Christmas

If you’re looking for snow and fir trees this Christmas, you’d do well to travel outside of Italy, for the larger cities of Italy are not especially Christmas-y by traditional standards. Of course, Italy sets its own standards and that includes the celebration of Christmas. In Italy, there might not be giant blow-up lawn ornaments, but the Italians show their love for the season by celebrating it for an entire month.

The Month of Celebrations
In Italy, the Christmas celebration starts on December 8. This makes it easy for visitors to enjoy the holiday both in Europe and again at home with authentic Italian gifts for friends and family. The holiday season begins on December 8, and officially ends of January 6, Epiphany, an important religious holiday in Christianity.

The month of celebration has been a tradition from time preceding Christianity however. The pagans made the month one of constant parties and revelry. Before adopting Christianity, the people celebrated Saturnalia, a winter solstice festival, and ended with the Roman New Year, the Calends. When Christianity took hold, the end of the season became Epiphany, the date the Wise Men were thought to have arrived to see Jesus bearing gifts. In ancient times, Romans began to exchange fits on this date as well.

The Italian Christmas Traditions
In Italy, you are likely to find decorated trees, but the true centerpiece of the Italian Christmas scene is the nativity scene. Since the mid thirteenth century, the Italians have created truly astounding manger scenes. Some credit St. Francis of Assisi with the creation of the manger – a publicity stunt of kind to draw the peasants into the holiday celebration.

Regardless of the source, the manger scene has lived on throughout time growing grander and more meaningful over the years. Nativity scenes are considered great art as well with one even on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The presepio is comprised of figures carved from wood and dressed in satin garments. Thirty gold-trimmed angels of the Magi are present in the scene as well.

The bagpipes, as played by the shepherd in the Christmas story, are still played in the streets and markets today. The zampognari, the shepherds who play the bagpipes, come down from the mountains to play their music in markets and squares. It is said the zampognari entertained the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, and today the shepherds make their own pilgrimage, stopping at every Madonna and nativity scene along the way.

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