Things to do in Umbria & Le Marche
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Enopolis
A visit to this restaurant and international wine establishment is worth it simply for the tour of the labyrinthine cellars of the 18th-century Palazzo Jona, as the cellars descend a full three levels under the streets above. With fresh fish as the main event (besides, of course, the wine), you can sit amongst contemporary art or next to an ancient well as you sample the fixed-price menus (€36 to €45) along with recommended wines for each course.
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Osteria dell'Enoteca
Extremely fit waiters carry dishes up and down a curving iron staircase into this 12th-century tavern. Diners sit on dark wood benches under a high stone ceiling surrounded by rows and rows of local wines from which to choose. Dishes are typical of the area - strangozzi alla spoletina ('shoelace' pasta in a tomato, garlic and chilli sauce, truffle omelette - and priced to allow at least one or two meals while in town.
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Il Gufo
The owner/chef gathers ingredients from local markets and cooks up whatever is fresh and in season. Try dishes such as cinghiale (wild boar) with fennel (€12.50) or riso nero (black rice) with grilled vegetables and brie (€12.50). There is always a good selection of salads for €5. Note: no credit cards.
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Sandri
When you enter into your third century of business, something must be right. Known for delectable chocolate cakes, candied fruit, espresso and pastries. Staff wrap all take-home purchases (picked up at the counter but paid for at the till), no matter how small, in beautiful red paper with a ribbon bow.
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La Cantineta
Off Piazza del Plebiscito, the upstairs restaurant offers checked tablecloths, a constantly going TV and cheap and filling meals. It specialises in seafood, including local salted fish, which is best sampled over pasta as tagliatelle allo stoccafisso.
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Caffè di Perugia
The fanciest sit-down cafe in town, its desserts are worth the high prices. It also serves a fine choice of basic pasta and meat dishes and offers outdoor seating in summer.
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Trattoria Il Cortile
Home-cooked meals are lovingly prepared by the nonna of a boisterous family. Top off a healthy meal of bitter greens with homemade gelato or delectable cakes.
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Basilica di San Francesco Lower Church
The Basilica di San Francesco Lower Church was built between 1228 and 1230. The stained-glass windows are the work of master craftsmen brought in from Germany, England and Flanders during the 13th century, and were quite an architectural feat at that time.
In the centre of the lower church, above the main altar, are four frescoes attributed to Maestro delle Vele, a pupil of Giotto, that represent what St Francis called 'the four greatest allegories'. The first was the victory of Francis over evil, and the other three were the precepts his order was based on: poverty, obedience and chastity.
Lorenzetti's triptych in the left transept ends with his most famous and controvers…
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Orvieto Cathedral
Confoundingly beautiful, the cathedral is otherworldly in its striped magnificence. Started in 1290, it was originally planned in the Romanesque style, but as work proceeded and architects changed, it became more Gothic. The black-and-white marble banding of the main body of the church is surpassed and complemented by the dancing polychrome colours of the façade. Pope Urban IV commissioned the cathedral to celebrate the Miracle of Bolsena in 1263, but it took 30 years to plan and three centuries to complete. It was probably started by Fra Bevignate and later additions were made by Lorenzo Maitani, Andrea Pisano and his son Nino Pisano, Andrea Orcagna and Michele Sanicheli…
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Basilica di San Francesco Upper Church
The Basilica di San Francesco Upper Church was built just after the lower church, between 1230 and 1253, and the change in style and grandiosity is readily apparent. One of the most famous pieces of art in the world is the 28-part fresco circling the walls. The fresco has been attributed to Giotto and his pupils for hundreds of years, but the question of who produced it is now under debate within the art-historian community.
The fresco starts just to the right of the altar and continues clockwise around the church. Above each image is a corresponding biblical fresco with 28 corresponding images from the Old and New Testament (possibly painted by Giotto, or Pietro Cavallin…
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Upper Church
The upper church was built just after the lower church, between 1230 and 1253, and the change in style and grandiosity is readily apparent. One of the most famous pieces of art in the world is the 28-part fresco circling the walls. The fresco has been attributed to Giotto and his pupils for hundreds of years, but the question of who produced it is now under debate within the art-historian community. The fresco starts just to the right of the altar and continues clockwise around the church. Above each image is a biblical fresco with 28 corresponding images from the Old and New Testaments (possibly painted by Giotto, or Pietro Cavallini, who might or might not have painted …
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Arnaldo Caprai
Next to Torgiano's Lungarotti, the second most famous winery in Umbria is Arnaldo Caprai, the wine-makers who single-handedly brought the now-famous DOCG Sagrantino back from obscurity. The Caprai winery has just built a beautiful new tasting room and is one of the few vintners in Umbria open to the public on a regular basis. Plus, if you love the wine (we suggest the white fruity Greccheto and the earthy Sagrantino), you're in luck; Caprai is one of the largest Umbrian wine exporters and distributes their goods in about two dozen countries, from Australia to Brazil and Korea to the US. To reach the winery, follow the signs on the road towards Bevagna to Località Torre or…
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Casa Romana (Roman House)
East of Piazza della Libertà, around the Piazza Fontana, are more Roman remains, including the Arco di Druso e Germanico (Arch of Drusus and Germanicus; sons of the Emperor Tiberius), which marked the grandiose entrance to the Roman forum. The excavated Casa Romana isn't Pompeii, but it gives visitors a peek into what a typical Roman house of the area would have looked like in the 1st century BC, and still has vestiges of mosaics and paintings.
The city boasts an Anfiteatro Romano (Roman Amphitheatre), one of the country's largest. Unfortunately it is within military barracks and closed to the public. Wander along Via dell'Anfiteatro, off Piazza Garibaldi, in search of a…
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Crocifisso del Tufo Etruscan Necropolis
Besides the Hypogea di Volumni outside of Perugia, the Crocifisso del Tufo Etruscan Necropolis is one of only two Etruscan necropolises that travellers can visit in Umbria. It dates back to the mid-6th century BC. Several series of burial chambers feature the etched names of their deceased residents. The manner in which the graves are laid out shows the preciseness of good ancient urban planning, albeit one whose residents couldn't quite appreciate it.
Many of the furnishings from the Necropolis can be found at the Louvre, British Museum and various other museums, though some of the collection hasn't left: the Museo Claudio Faina e Civico still holds onto a good chunk.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria in Camuccia
While you might walk past this fairly nondescript church, we are here to let you in on the little secret that lies below the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Camuccia. A Dominican monastery founded in 1394, it’s certainly worth a look-see for the stunning examples of wooden Madonna sculptures. However, the lead archaeologist, Carlo Zoccoli, has offered to give our readers a private tour under the church, where an archaeological treasure trove awaits. Sift through an ever-growing collection of pottery shards or walk through ancient roads, burial chambers and houses, much of it dating back to Roman times.
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Basilica di Santa Chiara
Basilica di Santa Chiara is 13th-century Romanesque, with steep ramparts and a striking facade. The white and pink stone that makes up the exterior here (the same stone that makes many buildings in Assisi look like they glow in the sunlight) came from nearby Subasio. The daughter of an Assisian nobleman, St Clare was a spiritual contemporary of St Francis and founded the Sorelle Povere di Santa Chiara (Order of the Poor Ladies), now known as the Poor Clares. She is buried in the church’s crypt. The Byzantine cross that is said to have spoken to St Francis is also housed here.
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Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral
The cathedral was consecrated way back in 1198, but later-day (17th century) remodelling included a striking Renaissance porch. In the 11th century, huge blocks of salvaged stones from Roman buildings were put to good use in the construction of its rather sombre belltower. Mosaic frescoes in the domed apse were executed by Filippo Lippi and his assistants. Lippi died before completing the work and Lorenzo de Medici travelled to Spoleto from Florence and ordered Lippi’s son, Filippino, to build a mausoleum for the artist. This now stands in the right transept of the cathedral.
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Rocca Paolina
A once-massive 16th-century fortress (Palazzo della Provincia) is now known as the Rocca Paolina. Pope Paolo III Farnese built the monstrosity in the 1540s, wiping out entire sections of what had been a wealthy neighbourhood. Now used as the throughway for the scale mobili, you can still see former homes of Perugia’s powerful medieval families, capped with the bricked-over roof of the papal fortress. Its nooks and crannies are now used for art exhibits throughout the year, and the last weekend of the month sees the antiques market held here.
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Azienda Agricola Ragani
The Pro Loco (and the tourist office in Assisi) has a badly drawn map called the Passeggiata Tra Gli Ulivi, a walking route between Spello and Assisi down the Via degli Ulivi (Road of Olives). It's not a long walk (8km) and passes through scenery of flower fields and ancient gnarled olive trees, but you will be walking on a lightly trafficked asphalt road for a spell. Stop in (by foot or car) at the Azienda Agricola Ragani which is open sporadically to the public, but a lucky few passers-by will have a chance to taste their renowned olive oils.
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Museo della Ceramica a Lustro e Torre Medioevale di Porta Romana
Just below the Funivia Colle Eletto is the Museo della Ceramica a Lustro e Torre Medioevale di Porta Romana. The a lustro ceramic style has its origins in 11th-century Muslim Spain. On the 2nd floor, ceramics from prehistoric times share space with medieval and Renaissance pieces. There’s also a collection of crossbows from the 18th century, some of which have a target range as far as 50m. Check out the really unfun-looking chastity belt on the 4th floor and appreciate the fact that you are alive today instead of 300 years ago.
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Cathedral of San Lorenzo
On the north end of Piazza IV Novembre is the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Although a church has been on this land since the 900s, the version you see was begun in 1345 from designs created by Fra Bevignate in 1300. Building of the cathedral continued until 1587, and the doorway was built in the late 1700s; however, the main facade was never completed. Inside you’ll find dramatic Gothic architecture, an altarpiece by Signorelli and sculptures by Duccio. The steps in front of the pink facade are where seemingly all of Perugia congregates.
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Fontana Maggiore
In the very centre of the Piazza IV Novembre stands the Fontana Maggiore. It was designed by Fra Bevignate, and father-son team Nicola and Giovanni Pisano built the fountain between 1275 and 1278. Along the edge are bas-relief statues representing scenes from the Old Testament, the founding of Rome, the 'liberal arts', and a griffin and lion. Look for the griffin all over Perugia - it's the city's symbol.
The lion is the symbol for the Guelphs, the Middle Ages faction that favoured rule by the papacy over rule by the Holy Roman Empire.
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Perugina Chocolate Factory
The trick for independent travellers visiting the Perugina chocolate factory is to either call ahead to arrange a guided tour, or simply latch on to a tour group (conducted in either Italian or English). After visiting the simple museum, you’ll wend your way through an enclosed sky bridge, watching as the white-outfitted Oomp...er, factory workers go about their god-granted talent of creating chocolate. Drive through the gates of the humorously nondescript factory entrance marked Nestlé, or take the bus to San Sisto.
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Ipogeo dei Volumni
About 5km southeast of the city is the Ipogeo dei Volumni, a 2nd century–BC Etruscan burial site. An underground chamber contains a series of recesses holding the funerary urns of the Volumnio family. The surrounding grounds are a massive expanse of partially unearthed burial chambers with several buildings housing artefacts that haven’t been stolen over the years. Take a train or APM bus 3 from Piazza Italia to Ponte San Giovanni and walk west from there. By car, take the Bonanzano exit heading south on the E45.
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Duomo
On the eastern flank of Piazza Arringo, Ascoli’s Duomo was built in the 15th century over a medieval building and dedicated to St Emidio, patron saint of the city. In the Cappella del Sacramento is what is considered by critics to be Carlo Crivelli’s best work, the Polittico, a polyptych executed in 1473. The crypt of Sant Emidio has a set of mosaics any ceramicist will appreciate, but be sure to look through the locked gates at the ancient tunnels.
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