Introduction to the region: Umbria

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Umbria has long existed; in fact, it was home to ancient civilizations before the Romans, namely the Etruscans. That said, by reading some travel guides from the 21st century, you would think Umbria only started to exist once Toscana reached a critical point of saturation by American tourists. I knew if I googled ‘Umbria is the new Tuscany’ I would find an article just like this. Indeed, this article identifies reasons why tourists (and people looking to buy property) might want to turn attention to Umbria instead of Tuscany. They are neighbors and thus the landscapes and regional cuisines are similar; yet, prices in Umbria are lower overall, and you will find fewer tourists.

Views of the Umbrian countryside

Umbria, like Tuscany, is brimming with medieval towns perched upon hilltops. As mentioned, both regions have a formidable Etruscan heritage. Tuscany is better known and more developed in terms of wine growing, but Umbria has fertile soil and boasts a wine culture with interesting varietals of its own. (Find out more in Food and Wine.) You can book truffle hunts in both places and then find cozy trattorie in which those truffles with be generously shaved atop your tagliolini.

I really like Umbria. It does feel a bit less entailed to take a trip from Rome to a city in Umbria than in Toscana, for some reason. Assisi and Perugia have made it on to central Italian travel itineraries with increased frequency over the last two decades. Of course, the appeal of Assisi is not only a contemporary travel trend; it is the birthplace of St. Francis (1181–1226) and the 13th century frescos that were created by Giotto found in the church dedicated to the saint. Perugia, on the other hand, rose to fame for a vastly different reason in 2007 when British study abroad student Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher was murdered. Her American roommate Amanda Knox was initially convicted of the crime and spent four years in an Italian prison. Tragically, this lurid and tragic tale made Perugia famous and has, in some ways, distracted from its beauty and charm. International students go to Perugia because the oldest and most prestigious university for foreigners to study the Italian language is here; it is the Università per Stranieri di Perugia. It is a shame that this legacy of an active university town is darkened by terrible happenings and was further sensationalized by the media to such a great extent. This Netflix documentary about Amanda Knox appropriately (in my opinion) vilifies the British ‘journalist’ responsible for much of the hype. I definitely recommend it if you are interested in learning more about the case.

The other featured town, Orvieto, is an excellent day trip from Rome that I have done many times. The train, directly from the central Termini station, takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. When you arrive at the Orvieto stop, you alight by taking a funicular which is waiting for you at the bottom of the hill. The city of Orvieto lies above you on a high steep cliff. I have enjoyed visiting the city in all seasons, but winter was extra special. Find out more information on Orvieto here. The city was a close second choice for me, honestly; however, Spoleto epitomizes everything I love in the region of Umbria, and I believe, it is underrated when compared to Tuscany.