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The reason why I place Bevagna at the top of my to-do list for Umbria is very simple. First of all this very charming town is sadly overlooked and neglected by many foreign travellers who mostly head for nearby Montefalco. But Bevagna really deserves to be visited for many reasons. First there is this exceptional restaurant (I even don’t dare to call it restaurant as it is more of a culinary temple), Redibis which is located in parts of Bevagna’s old Roman theatre. The theatre is not the only Roman remains in the village but there is also a Roman mosaic floor which once belonged to a thermal bath. And while I was walking through the village I found a building which obviously was built on using what was left of a Roman temple (photo 2).
Bevagna is very old, it was already a settlement during the old Umbrians’ days and eventually renamed Mevania by the Romans. The western branch of the famous ancient Roman road, Via Flamina, lead through the village – today it is called Corso Giacomo. It is said that Bevagna does have the most intact and authentic of Umbrian’s Medieval town centres and indeed, standing on the Piazza F. Silvestri is like a travel back in time. I always expected people in Medieval clothes coming around the corner :-) This piazza is the centre of town, with a nice octagonal fountain resembling the famous Fontana Maggiore in Perugia, albeit it does not have the splendid carvings. Two churches and the Palazzo dei Consoli are situated around the piazza and create this very special atmosphere. San Silvestro (next to the palazzo) is the oldest one, built in 1195 with a simple but beautiful façade of Master Binellus. San Michele, opposite, has a splendid door with wonderful carvings. Most interesting are two old birds left and right of the door (photo 5).
The village is very laid back, and has of course everything one needs in daily life. Shops are mostly lined along Corso Giacomo and at Piazza Garibaldi. Bevagna’s locals live mostly of wine and olive oil, so most naturally you can buy very excellent products here. As far as I know it has 3 hotels, one of them L’Orto degli Angeli next to Redibis restaurant. Their cheapest rooms start at 200 € (double rooms), but given the old building and the most splendid atmosphere, it might be well worth to stay here.
But the most fascinating event in Bevagna must be the Mercato delle Gaite, a Medieval festival of 10 days length where many market stalls are spread over the whole town and where Bevagna locals show old and traditional skills like candle making, dyeing, knitting, where Medieval contests are held in bow and arrow shooting and others. If you are in Umbria during June, make sure you don’t miss this festival. I will definitely come back during this time!
My Bevagna is also finished in the meantime. Leave a Comment
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Although it was mostly raining and the sky was greyish while I drove through Valnerina, I did feel the magic of this part of Umbria. I will definitely come back, explore more of the wonderful little villages and go for some serious hiking. The mountains here are just too precious to ignore them.
The name Valnerina derives from the river Nera which has its spring in the Sibillini mountains, and after a detour around Piano Grande it flows gently in southwestern direction through this part of Italy until after 120 km it feeds river Tevere. But only the approx 50 km between Visso in the north and Ferentillo in the south are called Valnerina, as only here the landscape really looks like a gorge (val = gorge, canyon). It is now a protected mountain and river landscape, called Parco Fluviale del Nera and ideal for any kind of outdoor activities. Of course you can explore the river with canoe, kayak or rafting boats or simply hike along the river through a magic and enchanting landscape. Look at the video of the park (click on “Il video del Parco on the left hand side menu) and you know what I mean. Even if it is in Italian, the images speak for themselves. While I drove through this enchanting valley (April 2008) it was partly a sea of violet – the blooming Judas trees (cercis siliquastra) really added to the magic of the region (photo 2). From what I read, the meadows and hill slopes are heaven for wild plants such as wild green asparagus (which is used in Umbrian dishes and tastes so delicious!), herbal plants, orchids, other vegetables and so much more.
But Valnerina is not only a paradise for nature lovers, it is also dotted with little villages which still have the charm of Medieval days. Among them is Vallo di Nera (photo 1), maybe the most interesting one. It is built in such a nested way that it is said to be impossible to use a car. I haven’t been up there (given my phobia with the narrowness of Gubbio in the morning) but will come back during my next Umbria trip. Leave a Comment
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Retrospectively, this was one of the most permanent impressions why Umbria caught my heart and soul and makes me want to come back again and again and again. I already mentioned in my intro that the weather wasn’t “the best”, but then what is best and what would be worst? It was raining very often, but then it was April and we all didn’t have splendid Aprils here in Europe’s 2008. When I look at the photos now, I am still caught by these light scenarios Umbria presented to me.
Umbria is called the green heart of Italy. And it seems that it is so lush and green not without a reason – which is the rain.
I was a bit worn out anyhow before I started my April holidays, so the rain didn’t matter much to me, plus I had some very interesting books in my luggage. It was most fascinating to watch the weather. During the rainy days it was not grey at all, but the days started with shining sun but very soon some clouds popped up which were darkish and then very dark. As if someone would open the zippers, water fell out in streams and only a good raincoat could protect me. Or the car, although driving in this rain wasn’t fun at all, the wipers had to work hard but I still almost could not see the road.
But at a point in time during these rain days the sun would reappear behind these clouds, mostly in the late afternoons and these brilliant light scenarios started. So often I ran out to look for the rainbow and often found it. Very often I also found two, as in one of the photos. Most magic was this very strong low light which gave special illumination to the trees or the landscape. These were the moments for me when I started to understand why San Francesco had chosen this part of the world to inaugurate his Franciscan order.
Sometimes also some rays of sunshine found their way through the clouds and illuminated the landscape. When these rays did hit one of the villages, it almost looked as if God sends blessings to this village (photo 3 and 4).
What I want to say here is that it is not necessarily bad to experience rain in Umbria. In contrast – it is one of the most powerful experiences one can have there, and it is even free of charge and unavoidable off season. April is highly recommended :-) Leave a Comment Address: Umbria - all over the region :-)
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Abbazia San Pietro in Valle was on my wishlist ever since I saw a photo on Google Earth. And when I finally arrived there and I was so much amazed that I even wasn’t disappointed that I couldn’t get into the church, because it was closed for restauration. This whole place has such a spiritual atmosphere which makes it easy to understand why it was choosen for a place of worship by Syrian hermits Lazzaro and Giovanni very long time ago. Then, in 8th century, Duke Faraldo II from Spoleto, who was dethroned by his son, had a dream where San Pietro told him to build an abbey in his honour. He also found this little place in Valnerina to be the perfect spot and what we can visit today, Abbazia San Pietro in Valle, was built on the remains of the little hermitage. Faraldo II took monastic vows and lived here until his death in 728. The abbey was set up according to benedictine rules. Interesting that Faraldo’s son finally also ended up here as a monk and the church became burial place for Spoleto’s Langobard dukes. In 9th century, the abbey was ransacked by Saracens and rebuilt later by Otto III and Henry II. But during the course of time it lost its importance and influence and was pretty much deteriorated until the first restaurations started early 20th century. These are still ongoing in case of the church, and while I was staying in the hotel, I could not visit the church due to restoration of the frescoes. However, the hotel management told me that there is an old lady who would come with the keys on Sundays to open it for visitors. But as it was raining it might have well be that the old lady simply left her house (2 km away) a bit later. She does not have a car and walks up to the abbey. Which is, by the way, very much typical to the spirit of Umbria – life simply does not race here, but is slow and sedating. And this is not meant in a negative sense!
Anyhow: if you plan to visit the church, better do so during “season” – April might be too early. The photos I saw if the interior (see website below) are most magic, even if they show how the church is set up for a wedding. The frescoes are said to some of the most magnificent example of Romanesque Umbrian wall paintings.
But also the outside of church and abbey are most beautiful. Even if you don’t stay in the hotel, the staff will let you have a look inside of their premises so that you can visit the cloister and all its wonderful details. At the entrance to the church for example you’ll see two reliefs of apostles St. Peter and St. Paul (photo 4), most probably of 11th century.
I wrote about this enchanting place on a separate page already:
San Pietro in Valle Leave a Comment Address: Via Case Sparse N. 4, Ferentillo, TR (Terni), 0503Directions: Valnerina, SS209. This is the street parallel to the highway from Assisi to Terni (exit Spoleto). It's 3 km north of Ferentillo. Be careful, the sign leading uphill is small. Coordinates on GoogleEarth: 42°38’44,00’’N; 12°48’43,50’’EWebsite: http://www.sanpietroinvalle.com/eng/galleria_chiesa.htm
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Home town boy St. Francis is the reason thousands of tourists and Pilgrims flock to Assisi every year. Besides, the must see site - Basilica of St. Francis, the town is a very well preserved midieval hill town with a days worth of sites. We loved the town, in spite of the scorching temps on our visit.
The heart of the town for us lies not at the Basilica but in Piazza comune. A perfect Piazza with water fountain and well preserved Roman columns of the Temple of Minerva. The tourist information is in the square.
Heading East of the Piazza along Via San Ruffino leads you to the church of San Ruffino. Duck inside to see the baptismal font where St. Francis. and St. Claire where baptised. Further East takes you to the Roman Arena. There are a number of other churches around town as well.
Rocca Maggiore is the castle above the Basilica and worth a visit for the views.
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What a great town all around. Gubbio is a bit away from the autostrada and has no rail station, which keeps it a little light on tourism; however it is by no means undiscovered.
The town is picturesque and will have you reaching for your camera at every turn. The piazza Grande is uniquely positioned above the town and must visit. Other than that, we wondered the streets and shops. The town is famous for its ceramics.
Gubbio is on a hill and most of the east west streets are on incline. Not the lost stroller friendly town but maneagable. You can ascend to the Duomo at the top of town, in 2 person "baskets", a fun ride so long as you have no fear of heights. Pick up the funicular outside Porta Romana at SW corner of town.
At the opposite end, outside the city walls at the NW corner are neat ruins of the ancient Roman Amphitheatre.
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During my almost one week stay in Bevagna (resp. in the hills above the town) it was raining quite often so I often stayed at home and relaxed. But when the weather cleared up I started to do some exploring of the surrounding hills. Once in Umbria, I could not help but adapt to the very slow atmosphere and life, it just grabs you and is part of the enchantment of visiting Umbria. So I didn’t race through the hills but drove very slowly around and stopped many times for photos or just for exploring some village or backstreet. Almost every hour I found another gem like a church or a cute little village with fountains, an old temple of 5th century or an old spring with a lovely park and landscape around. I will mention some in my off-path section.
Others I drove through or stopped briefly at are:
In the valley:
Viepri,
Massa Martana,
Gualdo Cattaneo,
Castel Ritaldi,
Cannaiola,
Bastardo.
At the eastern slopes:
Trevi,
Campello sul Clitunno.
When you open the links you will soon see that they all lead to the same website, the one of Bill Thayer, who has travelled several times to Umbria (and other parts of Italy) and has visited all 92 commune. I love his website, which is so full of information and certainly a love for this part of Italy. And unknowingly he helped me much in preparing my trip to Umbria. Careful though, you can easily spend days on his site.
For looking up specific villages, I did not mention above, please see his list of Umbrian towns.
I can only highly recommend to spend at least one or two days to explore this fascinating part of Umbria, and you surely will discover even more gems than I did :-) Leave a Comment
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Oh and now Orvieto. Despite that it was full of tourists when I was there I really liked the town. Maybe it was the location high on a tuffa plateau, maybe it was the very much contorted maze of streets or maybe it was the “underground”, as the whole town is hollowed out (or was by Etruscans and later continued by the locals).
I would set Orvieto very high on the list of a tour through Umbria but looking back it was good that I have visited it at the end of my travel. Somehow it gave me the chance to arrive in reality, in a beautiful reality, just before I had to go back to catch my flight back home. The small villages of Umbria’s centre and its eastern part have so much of a spiritual atmosphere that it would have been hard to come back into my daily world. It is difficult to describe (would be even in my native language) but anyone who has been here in Umbria will understand what I mean.
But back to Orvieto. It is old, very old and nearby once was one of the most important Etruscan settlements Fanum Voltumnae. Almost at the bottom of the northwestern part of the city, Necropoli Etrusca di Crocifisso is a magnificent witness of their burying habits, 3 € entrance fee (in April 2008), and should not be missed! There is a small room with excellent explanations of the tombs at its entrance.
But the most famous sight and why tourists come to Orvieto in herds is the magnificent Duomo. Ever since I saw a photo of its so beautiful façade I knew I must see it, as I adore mosaic work. And this one is a feast for the eyes indeed! Make sure you don’s only look at it but take minimum 30 minutes time to take in every little detail of it, from the magnificent mosaic pictures to the wonderfully pillars around the main and side entrance portals (photo 1 and 2; the main one is actually closed). Inside it is covered with wonderful frescoes, among them the very famous Last Judgement by Luca Signorelli. Breathtaking!!
And then the caves! The soft tuffa stone was ideal to be carved and almost the whole town has little and bigger caves beneath the houses, many of them connected and msot of them still in use. Two caves can actaully be visited, the one via a guided tour “Orvieto Underground” (ticket office is near the Duomo, entrance fee 5,50 €) and the other one is Pozzo della Cava in the western part of Orvieto, which I actually liked more, as it is filled with life and many explanations of the history of the caves. Entrance fee is 3 €.
The surrounding is also worth a visit, minimum one day. Civita di Bagnoregio is only 20 minutes to the south, and just south of Orvieto is a beautiful old Abbazia di La Badia, now a hotel, but possible to visit with most marvellous old frescoes.
And last but not least, Orvieto’s wine – the famous white Orvieto Classico. Very much delicious!! Leave a Comment
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These "churches" are on par with many museums in the depth of art they contain. Actually 2 churches, with the newer upper Basilica being constructed over the existing, which holds St. Francis' body in the Crypt- this means there are actually 3 levels to explore.
I won't go into detail on the wealth of art and frescoes in the Basilica; it is really worth picking up some literature reading into it before a vist. The web site below provides a great overview of the art and history. I really like the way The Rick Steves' Italy guide (not always my favorite) describes the self guided tour.
The Basilica is a pretty special place; we met a Chinese Franciscan Monk who turned out to be from the same town in China as Teresa's mom.
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 Happy Norcinerio with his
products - yumm!!! by Trekki, 4 more photos
The city’s roots date back to 6th century B.C. when it was an important Sabine settlement and called Nursia in the days of the Romans. San Benedetto was born in 480 and founded the Benedict order. During Medieval times (now) Norcia had another period of haydays until it evenztually ended under papal governing. The city is fully enclosed by a city wall and the only entrances are through the several gates. But it is wise to leave the car parking outside (in case you are coming by car), it is free parking outside and you won’t get trapped in the narrow streets.
I recommend to stay a minimum of 2 days in Norcia (3 nights) as this will give you time enough to explore the beauty and hidden gems of the city and nearby Piano Grande as well. Norcia’s centre is the big Piazza San Benedetto with a statue of San Benedetto (photo 3) almost in the middle. There is the basilica, which was built over the house where San Benedetto and Santa Scolastica were born, a beautiful building with very interesting remains of the old market days in its outside right arcade: stone vats for measuring the correct amount of grain. There is Palazzo Comunale (photo 2) with a beautiful loggia and there is the Castellina, a small and even cute looking fortress which was built to host the pope and his folk. But there is more in the backstreets! A little walk further uphill to the north brings us into the somehow more private part of Norcia (well, I felt it was more private as I didn’t see any other tourists), with the cobbled street and very much uneven pavement it reminded me a bit of backstreets in Colombia. That’s where I found.. well, now what did I find? It looks like a small shrine or temple, but it is definitely not of “Roman” origin as it was built in 1354. I fully rely on Bill Thayer when he writes that the reason for this little temple? is not yet solved, as he knows Umbria and its gems. It has marvellous stonework which is not visible in my photo (5) but on his page.
Now after all the sightseeing we do deserve some treat, don’t we? I mentioned already that Norcia is famous for excellent meat products. Since ages, given the excellent location, wild boars find only the best food in the surrounding landscape and the city’s butchers produce the most delicious sausages and other meat products. These are even so famous that the Italian name for delicatessen is Norcineria! I bought four wild boar sausages (approx. 20 cm in length) at the happy Norcerinero in photo 1 and paid 15 €, which is not that bad! And they tasted better than any other sausage I bought anywhere else so far. But there are also other delicatessen waiting for the hungry visitor. I found a lovely shop with a huge amount of different chocolate! Vetusta Nursia not only produces many different flavoured chocolate but also make fantastic Easter eggs. It was after Easter that I was there and they still had some eggs left. Huge in size and decorated with old traditional icing (the one, our grandmothers could do, made of pure sugar). Ahh, it was hard to resist but I resisted as I didn’t know how the weather would turn out. Make sure you look at their website, even if it is only in Italian: Pasqua is Easter and Natale is Christmas, they make torrone as well. I bought several of their chocolates where it wasn’t that important to stay “formed”. 100 g of chocolate is 2,20 €. And it tasted excellent!!
Did I convince you now enough to plan a visit to Norcia?
Transport other than car: Norcia is not connected to the train system but it is easy to reach by bus from Spoleto (6x per week) and Foligno (2x per week).
In the meantime, I wrote a separate page about Norcia Leave a Comment
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