Umbria

Major cities to visit

Umbria offers tourists an extraordinary variety of landscapes of rare beauty, so it is called the Green Heart of Italy.

Many of the villages and towns in Umbria have retained their medieval or Renaissance look, especially because the characteristics of the region did not favor the development of large industrial cities. That is why today the region offers tourists to visit many villages, all with unique charm: just think of cities such as Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio, Spoleto, Città di Castello, ...

Describe all the sights to see in Umbria is not the main purpose of this website and therefore we will portray only some towns, referring to a thematic portal for complete information:

Perugia

Perugia today is the extraordinary result of the various artistic influences that have shaped it during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The city retains much of that its former appearance made of churches and important buildings, iron stones, arches and ancient streets.

Not to be missed in Perugia:

• Piazza IV Novembre, one of the most beautiful squares in Italy.
• The Fontana Maggiore, built in the second half of the thirteenth century, with two overlapping polygonal tanks, lined with beautiful panels depicting the months, mythological and biblical figures, saints, animals, and personifications of science, virtue and places.
• The fourteenth-century Palazzo dei Priori, built in travertine and red and white stone. Through the great arched portal you enter the beautiful Sala dei Notari, once supported by the large Romanesque arches and walls covered with frescoes.
• The National Gallery of Umbria, which houses the largest collection of art of Region
• The Cathedral of St. Lorenzo, begun in 300 and finished in 400. The left side presents a bronze statue of Julius II, the portal of the Barefoot and large Gothic windows: Of note in the Chapel of the Holy Ring, which is preserved, according to an old tradition, the ring of the Virgin, the Chapel S. Bernardino, a beautiful chorus of Giuliano da Majano and Domenico del Tasso.
• The Church of St. Domenico, built in early 1300, designed by Giovanni Pisano. It is a large Gothic church, with ten octagonal pillars that support pointed arches and imposing large windows with stained glass windows.
• The church of St. Severo with a fresco by Raphael
• The Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo.
• The ancient walls that house the magnificent Port Almond, Port Marzia end the Etruscan Arch.

Assisi

Assisi is a medieval town that has retained its original architecture, giving the visitor a truly fascinating. The city is still a place of pilgrimage for many followers of St. Francis and St. Clare, who has given birth.

The monumental complex of the Basilica of St. Francis and other Franciscan sites were included in 2000 list of World Heritage by UNESCO.

Do not miss:

• the Basilica, with the crypt of St Francis, Chapel St. Catherine, Chapel St. Martin, the treasury of the Basilica and the beautiful frescoes by many artists such as Giotto, Cimabue, Torri, and others.
• S. Chiara
• S. Maria Maggiore
• the Cathedral
• Rocca Maggiore, where you can see Assisi from above.
• The Hermitage of the Prisons,
• Abbey St Benedictus
• Santa Maria degli Angeli
• the convent of S. Damian.

Orvieto

Built on top of steep cliffs of tufa, has always been a majestic and fascinating city. Its strengths are its central location and charm of small town art on a human scale.

Among the most important Etruscan cities, it has been redesigned and enlarged during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and since then it has remained essentially intact.

All in Orvieto speaks of a past that is visible everywhere, protected and enhanced thanks to the works of rehabilitation and recovery of recent years.

Attractions in Orvieto:

• The Romanesque cathedral built in 1263, with frescoes by Fra Angelico in the Chapel of the Holy Body and Luca Signorelli in the so-called New or of San Brizio.
• The Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, majestic building in tuff at the center of Orvieto, built in the thirteenth century in Romanesque-Gothic style.
• The Albornoz Fortress founded by Cardinal Albornoz in 1364, under the command of Pope Innocent VI. Destroyed in 1390 was again rebuilt, with the addition of the tower in 1450 by Antonio Rossellino and Bernardo Carpi.
• The Necropolis of the Crocifisso del Tufo dated around sixth century. A cemetery area planned according to a precise system that seems to follow the regular patterns implemented in the founding of the city: the tombs lined along straight streets, parallel and perpendicular to each other, recalls the urban residential neighborhoods. Many artifacts found in the necropolis are now in the Louvre and the British Museum.
• The subterranean cities, a path made of caves rich in archaeological finds brought to light recently. It is a huge historical and archaeological heritage which is a basic component for the understanding of Orvieto and, perhaps, one of the most striking keys to enter the dimension in which history, cultural roots and time have left a deep, tangible sign in the heart of the city.