LIVING UMBRIA

Day 1 | Tuesday 21 April
Arrive Rome - To Montefalco
The tour commences in the early afternoon at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, followed by a coach transfer to the Umbrian town of Montefalco. Once we have settled into our boutique accommodation in Palazzo Bontadosi, our home for the next nine days, we will enjoy an introductory talk followed by a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Montefalco (D)

Day 2 | Wednesday 22 April
The Balcony of Umbria
Perched on a hilltop overlooking the Vale of Umbria, the medieval town of Montefalco is known as the ‘Balcony of Umbria’ thanks to its exceptional location where one can admire a sweeping panorama from Gualdo Cattaneo and Perugia to the north, then to Bevagna, Assisi, Spello, Foligno and Trevi and on to Spoleto to the south. Montefalco, ‘Mount of the Falcon’, was named in honour of the beloved hawks of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, the Duke of Swabia, through whom the practise of falconry was introduced to Europe. We begin our first day with a stroll through the olive groves and vineyards that surround the town, the latter producing Sagrantino – the ancient, tannic red wine for which the town is famous. We then embark on a walking tour which takes us through its ancient walls, punctuated by medieval towers, as we wind our way through the picturesque streets of this unspoilt town, richly steeped in history. In the afternoon, we have a guided tour of the excellent local museum, housed in the former church of San Francesco. The museum is home to one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art – Benozzo Gozzoli’s Life of Saint Francis fresco cycle, painted in 1450. We return to our hotel where the rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B)

Day 3 | Thursday 23pril
Bevagna
Today begins with a leisurely drive through verdant countryside as we make our way to the private villa of Casa Gola near the medieval town of Bevagna. Here we have the chance to live like a local, being treated to a private and quite exceptional cooking class in the home of our host, chef Luciana Cerbini. Our lesson will focus on preparing local dishes using seasonal, organic produce harvested from Luciana’s diverse vegetable garden. We’ll also learn about Casa Gola’s award-winning olive oils as we sample their distinct flavours, the experience culminating in a communal lunch where we savour the dishes we’ve crafted. We then proceed to Bevagna, known in Roman times as Mevania, a quintessential Umbrian town on the ancient consular Via Flaminia that goes north from Rome to the Adriatic Sea. The city is now famous for its medieval-themed “Gaite” festival, where citizens celebrate the lives of their ancestors by wearing medieval attire, cooking and eating the typical dishes of the time, and rediscovering ancient arts, trades and pastimes. Here we will enjoy a guided tour through the town’s magnificent piazza, considered to be one of the finest in Umbria, and there will also be time for a visit to a recreated medieval house in the vaults once supporting the Roman theatre, and a traditional water-powered paper-making mill where we witness how paper was actually produced in the Middle Ages. Returning to our hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 4 | Friday 24 April
Neil Moore’s Tower House
This morning we make our way to Colle del Marchese, a charming and historic village situated on a hill that was once part of the defenses of the ancient city of Spoleto, a minor regional power that in the medieval period controlled the southern part of the Vale of Umbria that stretches out to the north. The morning is devoted to Neil’s labour of love – the restoration of a 13th-century castle tower with panoramic views of rolling green hills, olive groves and distant mountains which has been his home for the last 30 years. This exclusive private tour of the estate and surrounding village offers a priceless glimpse of local life in the region, as we hear about the history of this fortified town and the extensive work undertaken to preserve it. After the tour, we stop for lunch at an excellent local restaurant and then proceed along some fascinating backroads towards the Monti Martani, the gloriously verdant mountain range that forms the western side of the Vale of Umbria from Assisi to Spoleto. Here we arrive in the medieval village of Giano dell’Umbria with its lovely limestone circular gated walls and urban structure spiral, and then pay a visit to the nearby ‘Olivo Secolare di Macciano’, an ancient olive tree with a trunk measuring over 2.5 metres estimated to have been planted around the year 800 CE. Returning to our hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 5 | Saturday 25 April
A Roman Ghost Town
Umbria is famous for its “ghost towns”, once thriving ancient and medieval centres that are now sparsely populated or entirely abandoned due to natural disasters, migration and the decline of traditional industries. Nevertheless, they offer a captivating glimpse into the region’s past, and today we visit one of the most significant, Carsulae. Situated on the slopes of the Monti Martani along the ancient via Flamina which formed the principal axis of the city, and much of whose paving is still intact, we will explore the archaeological area which includes the well preserved remains of the theatre, the amphitheatre, Roman shops and the remains of the basilica. Leaving the urban centre through the arch of San Damiano – in reality a Roman triumphal arch marking the northern limit to the town - we encounter impressive funerary monuments lining the road that belonged to important families from the city’s Roman past, abandoned around the 6th-century CE. After our tour, we will enjoy lunch together at a restaurant in the nearby hill town of San Gemini. We return to our hotel, where the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 6 | Sunday 26 April
Charcoal Burning
This morning we drive to the commune of Gualdo Cattaneo, an important part of Umbria’s cultural heritage, and once under the control of the infamous Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, who commissioned the military fortifications and defensive walls that are largely intact today. Nearby in the hamlet of Pomonte, our destination for the day, we encounter a once widespread but now almost extinct tradition, that of the “cabonari” or charcoal burners. This centuries old activity has been passed down through the generations, and here we visit the family of one of the last surviving members of the charcoal burning fraternity where we’ll learn about this ancient cooking technique and its unique properties, as well as the delicate aromas it imparts to the dishes it’s used to cook. If the weather permits, we’ll then witness a traditional burning followed by a delicious barbecue lunch on the family’s estate. We return to our hotel in the afternoon where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 7 | Monday 27 April
Truffles in the Sacred Forest
Today, we devote the morning to nature and the outdoors, taking a winding uphill road through dense forest to the Sacro Bosco, or Sacred Wood. Our first stop is the hamlet of Monteluco, where we explore the layers of religious history– from its origins as a place of worship dedicated to Jupiter, to its time as a retreat for anchorite monks, and finally its transformation into a Franciscan hermitage. Umbria is also the heart of truffle production in Italy, and we continue on to the village of Patrico where we will be treated to a demonstration of truffle hunting, followed by a rustic lunch in this isolated village high in the Appenine mountain range. In the afternoon, we descend to Spoleto, a captivating town with a fascinating history. Conquered by the Romans in the the 3rd century BCE it played a crucial role in the Second Punic War in refusing entry to the Carthaginian General Hannibal in 217 BCE after his victory at Trasimeno. During the dark ages it was the base of a Lombard duchy that ruled this part of central Italy from coast to coast and then in the Middle Ages it was an independent commune and minor regional power before being incorporated into the Papal State. We arrive in the town by crossing its massive medieval acqueduct, the Ponte delle Torri, rising 83 metres above the valley below, for a guided tour of the charming medieval streets and picturesque piazzas, taking in architectural treasures such as the Rocca Albornoziana, a commanding fortress guarding the town and in 1499 the residence of Lucrezia Borgia, and the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, housing great renaissance painter Filippo Lippi’s last masterpiece, the Death of the Virgin of 1463. Returning to our hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 8 | Tuesday 28 April
Frescos, a Farm and Foligno
Today we journey down to the hamlet of San Giacomo, once a garrison fort and horse change on the old Via Flaminia as it left Spoleto. Here we visit the parish church, home to one of the Renaissance’s least-known major fresco cycles, incidents from the life of Saint James by local artist Giovanni di Pietro, known as Lo Spagna. We then proceed to the green oasis and village of Campello sul Clitunno for a special visit to a locally run biological farm, where we have the opportunity to observe the region’s farming life up close. After pausing for lunch together, we then proceed to our final destination of the day – Foligno, the Vale of Umbria’s largest town, quite distinct from the classic Umbrian hilltop villages that surround it. Founded by ethnic Umbrians at the beginning of the 1st millenium BCE, it then became Fulginium when conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BCE. The current city on a site a little to the south-west preserves the rectilinear structure of a Roman military encampment, and in the middle ages became an important regional power before being taken over by its aggressive neighbour Perugia. Being on a major train line it suffered some damage during the war and then again from the 1997 earthquake, but is now a vibrant and elegant regional Italian city. We visit Piazza della Repubblica, site of the main civic and religious buildings, and Palazzo Trinci, home to the family that ruled Foligno in the middle ages. The rest of the evening is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 9 | Friday 29 April
The Artist’s Studio
This morning we return to Neil’s castle home for the day, beginning with a special introduction to the foraging of edible plants in the fields near Colle del Marchese with a neighbour and long-term friend of the family whose skills have been passed down through the generations. This is followed by a masterclass with Neil on the oil painting techniques which he uses in his own work, alongside a delicious and locally sourced light lunch prepared by the neighbour’s family. In the early afternoon Neil will then use his own press to give a demonstration of how etchings are printed, his principal form of expression before he began painting when he settled in Italy. The plates are copper, prepared with a conventional hard ground and etched with ferric perchloride acid. We then return to our hotel where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Montefalco (B, L)

Day 10 | Thursday 30 April
Todi on the Tiber
En route to our afternoon destination and second tour base of Orvieto, we stop in the important Etruscan town of Todi, perched atop a hill overlooking the River Tiber and sitting at a crossroads – halfway between Orvieto and Spoleto. We have a guided tour of the town, winding our way through the streets to view its historic sights from the impressive Piazza del Popolo to its Romanesque–Gothic Cathedral. There will be free time for lunch before we follow the Tiber through impressive gorges to our final destination, Orvieto – one of Umbria’s most striking towns. Situated at the heart of the city in the medieval quarter is the Palazzo Piccolomini dating back to the 16th century which will form our base for the next four nights. After checking in, there will be a short orientation walk followed by dinner at an excellent nearby restaurant. Overnight Orvieto (B, D)

Day 11 | Friday 1 May
Etruscan Orvieto
Sitting majestically high above the valley floor atop an expansive platform of volcanic tuff with panoramic views of mountains and cypress-dotted Umbrian fields, Orvieto is older than Rome and was once the cultural and religious centre of the ancient Etruscans, as well as a favourite destination for a number of Popes throughout the Middle Ages. We begin our day with a guided tour of this impressive city, following its charming cobblestoned streets lined with buildings unchanged since medieval times to visit the magnificent Duomo, known as the ‘Golden Lily’ of cathedrals for its golden mosaics that illuminate the splendid façade. Here in the Chapel of San Brizio we encounter the masterpiece of Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli, whose magnificent fresco cycle of the Apocalypse deals with themes of resurrection and salvation, and reflects the turbulent political and religious atmosphere of Italy in the late 15th century. Following a break for lunch, we then embark on a guided tour of Orvieto underground, tunnels and chambers carved from the soft volcanic tuff during the Etruscan period, and then re-used in medieval and modern times. The rest of the day is at leisure, and for those who wish to learn more about Etruscan culture, there is an optional visit to the National Archaeological Museum. Overnight Orvieto (B)

Day 12 | Saturday 2 May
A Park of Monsters
With its rich cultural heritage, the Lazio region – ancient latium, from which we derive the word latin - has been important in numerous historical periods, including that of the Etruscans, the Roman Republic and Empire, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Italy and the current Italian Republic. This morning, we’ll take a walking tour of one of the region’s lesser-known cities – Viterbo. Known as the ‘City of the Popes’, Viterbo blends traces of its Etruscan past with impressive architecture of the medieval period, from aristocratic palaces in Piazza del Plebiscito, to the elegant medieval streetscapes of the San Pellegrino district, to its magnificent Papal and Priori Palaces and Romanesque Cathedral of San Lorenzo. We then stop for lunch together in the lovely commune of Bagnaia before heading to the neighbouring town of Bomarzo. Here we will visit the ‘Parco dei Mostri’ or Garden of Monsters. The park features fascinating and otherworldly sculptures created in the 16th century by an eccentric aristocrat, Pier Francesco Orsini. The garden’s layout is anything but symmetrical, unlike other Renaissance gardens, and the sculptures can be seen as a 16th-century precursor to Surrealism. Returning to our hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Orvieto (B, L)

Day 13 | Sunday 3 May
Bagnoregio & Bolsena
This morning we head to picturesque Lake Bolsena, Europe’s largest crater lake, whose volcanic eruptions from 750,000 years ago have shaped the geology of this whole region. Now a peaceful and idyllic place, we pay a visit to the historic centre of the town and the church of Santa Cristina, famous for being the scene of the miracle of Bolsena in 1263 which led to the establishment of the catholic Feast of Corpus Christi, before embarking on a boat trip on the lake followed by a farewell lunch along the shoreline. After lunch we make our way to Civita di Bagnoregio, a fairytale village perched atop a crest rising high above a vast canyon ruled by wind and erosion, and considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in all of Italy. The saddle of volcanic tuff that once connected Civita to its larger and busier sister town, Bagnoregio, has worn away, and today the only way in or out is by a footbridge through the main entrance – a towering stone passageway, carved by the Etruscans 2,500 years ago and decorated in the 12th century with a Romanesque arch. On our return to Orvieto our final evening is at leisure. Overnight Orvieto (B, L)

Day 14 | Monday 4 May
Depart to Rome
The tour ends this morning after breakfast. There will be a group transfer to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, arriving in time to meet departing flights. (B)