Majestic countryside, exotic walled towns - Umbria
Umbria PropertiesRegion UmbriaCountry ItalyWorld Region Europe
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We just returned from two weeks of touring Umbria, based in a fabulous 5-bedroom villa on a farm about 20 minutes from Todi with sheep, donkeys and goats in our vista. We spent a few warm days at the pool, but other days we used a fabulous guide (annesitaly.com) to take us to the various towns, each of which has something exotic and unique, all of which have magnificent histories, art and cathedrals.
Gubbio was a favorite and we rode the chairlift to the monastery at the top, which the men of Gubbio run on May 15th, carrying the ceri (enormous “candles”), an even that must be spectacular to see. Here she took us for the best lunch we had in Italy. Tours, depending on time and size of your group, seemed to run about $400-$600, which may sound high but we felt were worth it. There were usually 5-8 of us.
Perugia is a college town, active and fun to see and, of course, you feel obligated to pick up some of the chocolates.
Assisi has everything about St. Francis, and Anne took us to meet a Franciscan monk, who’s divested himself of possessions and lives a simple life in a monastery. If you take one of her tours, ask about Brother Paul.
Bevagna was another tour she did extremely well, showing us the local merchants as well as medieval sites. She has a medieval meal available if you’re interested. Anne coupled this with a wine tasting in Spello, making for a memorable day. Even if you’re not with her, I recommend doing the wine tasting at Enoteca Properzio. We ordered their fine olive oil and some wines, which arrived home (New York) almost immediately after we did.
Orvieto is a must-see, and once you’ve moved around Umbria, you’ll understand why it’s become popular.
We ate dinners in Todi several times, enjoyed La Scaletta and Il Mulinella. Meals were inexpensive, particularly if you order individual pizzas. The food may not be as celebrated as in other parts of Italy. Umbria is known for mushrooms and truffles.
A car seems essential. Trains don’t service effectively since you generally had to get to Terni to take a train. We drove from Rome, which was 2 1/2 hours and it’s about the same distance from Florence. We rented an automatic car that used diesel fuel, and since there was a younger driver, we rented a car from Hertz, who will allow drivers aged 21 and up.
You can rent a place and visit from there, as we did. Having a group in a villa was extraordinarily wonderful. They provided services, such as a cook, who made a pizza party, and general concierge services. The other option would be to drive from town to town and stay at each place for a day or so.
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Via dei Priori PropertiesCity PerugiaRegion UmbriaCountry ItalyWorld Region Europe
Perugia PropertiesCity PerugiaRegion UmbriaCountry ItalyWorld Region Europe
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