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Roberta’s Italian Adventures - July in Umbria!

We’ve been to Rome, Pisa, Pompei, Amalfi, Naples and Siena. We’ve ‘taken the waters’ in one of Italy’s finest spas, Montecatini Terme. We’ve sampled regional olive oils and wines, each claiming to be the best. We’ve gazed in wonder at magnificent frescos and paintings by the great masters. We’ve stayed on the sparkling Ligurian coast and we’ve learnt how to make Italy’s national food, pasta.

Now, early on the morning of July 2nd we were ready to embark on the eighth of ‘Roberta’s Italian Adventures’ this time we were heading for Umbria, first stop the medieval city of Perugia.

The ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ coming from the group were an indication of just how beautiful Perugia is. Each time we turned around another stunning view presented itself. It’s one of of Umbria’s many medieval hill-towns and one of the best preserved in Italy. The citizens of 13th century Perugia must have been very fit as our aching muscles reminded us when we finished exploring its steep streets.

Our reward was a visit to a chocolate factory where we sampled the famous ‘baci’ (kisses) chocolates then had lunch in its restaurant. Perhaps lunch is too mild a word a feast, in true medieval style, would be more accurate. A long, refectory style table was laden with food, including chocolate pasta and all was washed down of course with the local wine.

We were actually staying in another medieval hill-town, Gubbio which is about an hour’s drive northeast from Perugia. Neatly fitted into our little white minibus we were treated to a spectacular drive through Umbria’s gentle green countryside, often broken by splashes of bright yellow sunflowers and backed by the high Appenine mountain ranges with hill-towns clinging to their sheer slopes.

Gubbio, with its twisting streets and terracotta tiled houses was a perfect place to stay and there were more expressions of delight when we reached the hotel that Roberta had carefully chosen. The owners of the Hotel Relais Ducale, which is laid out on several levels, have cleverly blended together different architectural features of the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance to form this stunning hotel which opens out onto a grand piazza.

The next day, a refreshed group was ready for more of the ‘wow’ factor. On the itinerary were visits to Bevagna and Spello both clinging like the others to the mountainside. In these towns the Roman influence is also very clear (........).

In Bevagna we went wine tasting and then we were treated to a magnificent lunch. In Spello we tried out the olive oil after seeing it through the different processes, by now we considered ourselves to be expert tasters! But our tour, with our extremely knowledgable guide Alessandra, also contained charming surprises such as the paper maker in Bevagna. We were led through a tiny doorway, made for the much shorter medieval residents and nto a beamed room where there was all the original paper making equipment and in working order, as we saw when we were given a demonstration. It was a trip back in time from which we emerged once more into the brilliant sunshine shaking our heads as if to say ‘which century are we in.’

One of the highlights of our trip was saved for the last day, Assisi, birthplace of the gentle Saint Francis. (........) .

A group of us headed straight for the Lower Church with its dim candlelit recesses,low ceilings and fresco covered walls. This is the last resting place of St. Francis, his tomb is in the crypt below the main altar. Suddenly the dimness was filled with the sound of the most beautiful voices, the priests processed to the altar and the mass began. It was accompanied throughout by the soaring voices of the choir. Even the non-church goers amongst us voiced the opinion that it was the most perfect way to start the day.

From then on we spent our time feasting our eyes on the paintings and frescos in the many churches we visited, we regularly stopped for caffè in charming pavement restaurants, we munched our way through cones filled with gelato of every imaginable flavour and went shopping for the last minute gifts to take home. We were very weary travellers when we arrived back at the mini-bus waiting to take us ‘home’ to Gubbio weary, but with wonderful memories of another Roberta adventure.

Trish Williams

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