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Umbria

Just two hours drive north of Rome, Italy's smallest, greenest and most unspoilt region has something for everyone. It's natural beauty protected by Parks and Reserves, the eco-friendly nature paths of Italy's "green heart" invite hiking, riding and mountain biking. Traces of the ancient and mysterious Etruscan culture can still be found walking the narrow streets of Orvieto or Umbria's capitol of Perugia. Medieval hilltop villages such as Todi, Assisi, Trevi (and many more), that are hauntingly perched above rustic valleys, and stubbornly bear witness to the fabric of the ages.

Shop in the open air markets of a nearby village or sip a cappucino at a sidewalk cafe in the piazza - Italy is always simultaneously exciting and relaxing. And Umbria is Italy at it's best. With less toursits than neighbouring Tuscany, Umbria has a sense of life simply led and true to it's traditions. Here there is time for an honest smile of welcome.Time for local festivals (called Sagra) in even the smallest places - where you can taste freshly prepared regional dishes. Time also for the Giostra - where villagers in fine costurmes re-enact games and events dating back to the Middle Ages.

	Art Local painting produced it's own distinct style (the Umbrian school) in the 14th and 15th centuries - with great artists such as Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Perugino and Pinturicchio.
	Food and Wine Known for it's honest simplicity and freshness, Umbrian cuisine naturally uses local ingredients such as fragrant olive oils have been produced here since Etruscan times, lamb from it's mountains, trout from it's pure, fast-flowing streams, truffles from it's forests, cheeses such as pecorino and salami made from wild boar. Regional specialities include a hearty pie made with macaroni and minced meats, spaghetti served with a rich truffle sauce, spit-roasted piglet cooked with aromatic herbs and wild pigeon roasted and then sauteed with wine. And, to accompany these treats, fine wines such as Orvieto and the more robust Sagrantino.
	The History Through the mists of time the beautiful ruins of Carsulae and Otricoli tell the story of conquest and settlement by the Roman Empire - and the placid shores of Lake Trasimeno that whisper of Hannibal's defeat of two great Roman armies (with more soldiers killed on a single day by swords and arrows than were killed on the Somme in the first World War with artillery, rifles and machine guns). In villages such as Gubbio, Spello, Spoleto, Todi etc one can feel and see the Middle Ages - aloof, spendid, fortified settlements with twisting alleyways yielding to sudden glimpses of the outside world below over their high ramparts.
	Nature At Her Finest Umbria's natural beauty is at it's most enchanting in the bush mountain scenery and the impossibly pictoresque villages of the Valnerina (south east of Spoleto). This is the "real" Umbria of isolated hill towns and superb panoramas.