The
Magic of Umbria
(as printed in La Gazzetta
Italiana - http://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com)
The mountainous region of Umbria is flanked
by Tuscany to its west and Marches to its east,
with Latium located just south. Umbria, one of
Italy's smaller regions, is crossed by the Apennine
Mountains and is split into two provinces: Perugia
and Terni.
Perugia, home to Perugina chocolate and confections,
is also the regional capital of Umbria. The largest
of Umbria's two provinces, Perugia is encompasses
59 communes and is one of the region's last remaining
walled towns. It is also home to Umbria's popular
Jazz Festival, which takes place each July.
Situated on a hill above the Tiber Valley, Perugia
commands far-reaching views. The city's 15th century
duomo is flanked by a statue of Pope Julius II
(1555) and a pulpit built for Siena's San Bernardino.
An ancient university was founded in 1276 and
the Palazzo Gallenga houses the University for
Foreigners (language courses), where more than
30,000 students from ninety-three nations have
studied. The classes afford a wonderful introduction
to Italy.
Assisi, located in Perugia and known as the birthplace
of St. Francis, is the first stop for tourists
from all over the world who come to the valleys
and hills of Umbria. The closeness to nature and
perhaps the quiet of the peaceful landscape is
reason enough why this great humble man and the
land's medieval gems have influenced so many for
so long a time.
Rocca Maggiore, a fortress built to defend Assisi,
is the focal point, next to the Basilica of St.
Francis, of Assisi. It was built as a feudal castle
in 1174, destroyed in 1198, and then rebuilt in
1367 by Cardinal Albornoz. It has since been added
on to twice; once in 1458 when Jacopo Piccinino
added the twelve-sided tower and the long wall
that connects the castle to the city then again
between 1535 and 1538 when Pope Paul II but the
round tower near the gate. The fortress was also
restored in 1478 by Pope Sixtus IV.
The town, the Basilica di San Francesco and the
hilltop Monastery of the Franciscan Order is built
into the slopes of Monte Subasio. The remains
of St. Francis lie in a crypt at his church founded
two years after his death on October 3, 1226.
Part of the walls and ceiling of the Gothic church
structure were painted by the master Giotto and
dedicated to Italy's patron saint. The Ecstasy
of St. Francis is one of twenty-eight panels that
make up Giotto's cycle on the Life of St. Francis.
Another series represents the Franciscan ideals:
chastity, obedience and poverty. The paintings
are a testament to the spiritual life of the saint
and the friars. Other foremost artists of their
day decorated the upper and lower churches, among
them Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini.
The Gothic lines of the upper church symbolized
the heavenly glory of St. Francis.
Down Corso Mazzini lies the Basilica di Santa
Chiara, the burial place of St. Clare, founder
of the Poor Clares. One of its chapels contains
the crucifix that is said to have bowed its head
and ordered Francis to "Repair God's church."
Retaining its historic culture, Todi is another
town in Perugia that was home to a saint -- St.
Fortunato -- who was the first bishop. The church
is in the center of the town at the top of steep
stairs. The tombs of St. Fortunato and Jacopone
da Todi, a Franciscan Friar and noted poet, are
behind the outstanding Gothic doorway. The town,
with its several tiny churches and public palaces,
still preserves an uncorrupted medieval air and
is perfect for excellent meat and wines. Craft
production including household goods, jewelry
and ceramics is a major business of the town.
Nearby towns include Orvieto, whose duomo was
begun in 1290 and boasts a breathtaking façade.
It was inspired by the Miracle at Bolsena in which
real blood from a consecrated host fell on an
altar cloth at a church in nearby Bolsena. In
the 13th century church, San Lorenzo in Arari,
are the wall frescoes that describe the martyrdom
of St. Lawrence who was grilled to death.
Spoleto was one of Italy's most important Roman
colonies. Its wooded setting is home to the Festival
dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds), one of
Europe's leading art festivals. Spoleto's 12th
century duomo with its eight rose windows and
Renaissance portico, bears one of the most elegant
facades in Italy. The tower was built from Roman
remains. In the interior is the final work of
Fra Lippo Lippi (1467-69), which describes episodes
from the Life of the Virgin.
Montefalco draws its name from its position and
views in the Vale of Spoleto. A brief walk of
the very narrow streets takes one to the simple
San'Agostino, dotted with frescoes from the 14th-16th
centuries and containing three mummies.
Spello is one of the better-known villages in
the Vale of Spoleto and is renowned for its fresco
cycle, which depicts scenes from the New Testament
in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Spello
boasts Roman ruins from the age of Augustus. The
least known village in the Vale of Spoleto is
Bevagna. It came to be as a way station along
a Roman road that passed through this section
of Umbria.
The birthplace of St. Benedict is the mountain
town of Norcia. Norcia is a renowned culinary
delight famous for its truffles, sausages and
salamis. Legend claims that the church marks the
site of Benedict's birth.
Better known in Umbria are Gubbio and Lake Trasimeno.
Gubbio ranks with Assisi for the title of Umbria's
most medieval town. Founded by the Umbrians in
the third century BC, it assumed greater prominence
as a Roman town in 1AD. The 13th century Palazzo
del Bargello has the Fountain of the Mad (Fontana
dei Matti) named after the tradition that anyone
who walks around it three times will go insane.
It was on the shores of Lake Trasimeno, the largest
lake of the Italian peninsula, that the Romans
suffered one of their worst-ever military defeats.
Hannibal lured the Romans into an ambush at the
Place of Bones/Blood where they suffered 16,000
casualties. By contract, Hannibal lost 1,500 men.
Today, one can explore the battlefield and the
mass graves.
Rich in history and in nature, the region of
Umbria provides its visitors with the magical
wonderment of ancient Roman remains, Renaissance
sculptures and Gothic architecture with every
turn of a corner.
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