Territory

Todi’s origins lie deep in the chronicles of history: a legend tells of a majestic eagle which delivers a drape to the Veii Umbri population to transport them to the peak of a hill, where the same Veii decided to found the city which was given the name “Tutere”, whose origin is unknown but likely means “confine”. From this was born the city emblem: an eagle with spread wings clinching a drape between its talons. In the 13th century a third circular wall was built, the very same which today can be admired and which enclosed – practically unaltered up until the 1970’s, when Todi saw its first urban expansion outside its protective city walls – the whole medieval city which had sprung within its embrace. Today along the walls can still be admired the great city gates of Porta Romana, Porta Fratta or Amerina, Porta Orvietana and Porta Perugina. Along with the magnificent Piazza del Popolo can be seen other beautiful monuments such as the gothic Church of San Fortunato (1400), whose cript buries one of Todi’s most famous historical figures: Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306. Also to be discovered the hidden and majestic Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione (16th century) attributed to the works of Bramante, as well as the “ Temple of the Crucifix”, found on the opposite side of the city.

The town has been actively settled since the times of the Umbri. It has been under the successive domination of the Romans, Lombards, being called Coccorone in the Middle Ages. In 1249 it was sacked by Federico II, but was soon rebuilt with the modern name. from the 13th century it had been a free comune under the domination of local nobles and merchants, but later, as with many other Umbrian locales, the comune gave way to government by a Signoria — in this case, that of the Trinci from the nearby Foligno (1383–1439). In 1446 it fell under the rule of the Papal States where it remained until the unification of Italy in 1861.St. Clare of Montefalco, sometimes known as St. Clare of the Cross, was born in Montefalco and died there in 1308. Montefalco today has several churches, some in the Romanesque, some in the Gothic and some in the Renaissance style. Historically, the most important is the church of San Francesco, which is now the town’s museum, and, given its collection of art and artifacts, one of the most important museums in Umbria. The church is notable for its fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis, from the Florentine artist Benozzo Gozzoli (1450–1452). Other artists represented in the museum include Perugino, Melanzio, Pier Antonio Mezzastris, Antoniazzo Romano and Tiberio d’Assisi.

Bevagna, included among the most beautiful villages in Italy, is the ancient Mevania, important agricultural town and part of the ancient Via Flaminia. The city was originally an Etruscan-Oscan settlement. Around 80-90 BC it became a Roman municipium, called Mevania. In the 3rd-4th centuries AD it was probably an episcopal seat and, after the Lombard conquest, the seat of a gastald in the Duchi of Spoleto. After the year 1000 Bevagna was a free comune. In 1152 Frederick Barbarossa set it on fire. In 1249 it was again destroyed by the Count of Aquino. In 1371-1439 it was ruled by the Trinci family. Later it was part of the Papal States until the unification of Italy. Probably In 1439, the city passed in to the State of the Church, where he remained until 1860. Do not miss the mosaics in the Roman churches and the medieval walls.

Spello "Splendidissima Colonia Julia" (Caesar), founded by the Umbrians and then be called Hispellum in Roman times. The remains of the walls, much larger in the past than we can see today, attest to the greatness that was the city, as well as the archaeological ruins that surround it. Populated in ancient times by the Umbri, it became a Romancolony in the 1st century BC. Under the reign of Constantine the Great it was called Flavia Constans, as attested by a document preserved in the local Communal Palace. The densely-inhabited town, built of stone, is of decidedly medieval aspect, and is enclosed in a circuit of medieval walls on Roman foundations, including three Roman Late Antique gates (Porta Consolare, Porta di Venere and the “Arch of Augustus”) and traces of three more, remains of an amphitheater, as well several medieval gates. Spello boasts about two dozen small churches, most of them medieval: the most important are: Santa Maria Maggiore (1159), probably built over an ancient temple dedicated to Juno and Vesta. The façade has a Romanesque portal and a 13th-century bell tower, while the pilasters next to the apse have frescoes by Perugino(1512). The most striking feature is the Baglioni Chapel, frescoed by Pinturicchio. Sant’Andrea (known from 1025). The interior, on a single nave, has 14th-century frescoes. There’s also a panel by Pinturicchio. San Lorenzo (12th century). San Bernardino da Siena began his preaching season in this church in 1438.

Set on the slopes of Mount Subasio, Assisi is the town of S. Francis. Its medieval historic centre is arranged along the original Roman streets; on the Piazza del Comune look major palaces like the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, the Palazzo dei Priori and the temple dedicated to Minerva. World famous monuments and buildings are the Franciscan monastery with its Basilica widely decorated by Giotto, the XIV century S. Chiara church, the S. Maria Maggiore church with the frescoes by Pinturicchio, and the Rocca Maggiore set on a cliff overlooking town. The S. Maria degli Angeli church houses the Porziuncola chapel, where the Franciscan order was founded, the Transito chapel, originally the cell where S. Francis died and the Roseto chapel. A few kilometres from here one may visit the Franciscan Eremo delle Carceri, built by S. Bernardino da Siena in XV century.

Spoleto, conquered by the Romans during the Third Samnite War, it became a Latin colony in 241 BC (Spoletium). With the Lombard invasion was the capital of a duchy between 570-1230. Set on fire by Frederick Barbarossa (1155), resources soon thanks to Pope Innocent III who, in 1230, make the city of Spoleto, one of the most important city of the Church State. In the 14th century Spoleto was the scene of the struggle of a party, favored by the Montefeltro. Having rebelled against the Papal States (1474), Spoleto was reduced to obedience by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere. From 1809 to 1816 it was the capital of the department of Trasimeno. In 1860 it was occupied by the troops of Piedmont.

Perugia is one of the most beautiful Etruscan cities of Italy. Its stones in warm colors, its majestic palaces and the ups and downs have fascinated poets and artists of every age. When the city of Rome was little more that an encampment of huts, one could already enter the etruscan Perugia Italy using one of 7 portals, among which one was particularly mighty, the Porta Pulchra or of Augustus, dating back to Etruscan times. Entering the city via Porta San Pietro, whose exterior was remodelled by Agostino di Duccio in 1475, you’ll arrive at the basilica of St. Dominic on the right-hand side; the very important National Archeological Museum of Umbria is to be found in the adjacent cloisters and convent. Continuing along, you’ll reach the Piazza del Sopramuro, where the 15th century Palace of the Old University and the adjacent Palace of the People’s Captain look down on the square. Further on, after a short climb, you’ll find yourself in one of Italy’s most important squares, where you’ll see the Priors’Palace, the Cathedral and the 13th century fountain Major Fountain at the center. These monuments render the Piazza Grande of Perugia (now called Piazza IV Novembre) a superb architectural complex. At the extreme end of Corso Vannucci you’ll find famous panoramic gardens built on the foundations of the Rocca Paolina, a strong-hold built by Pope Paul III in 1540.

The Cascade Falls, praised for centuries for its beauty, looks like a roaring column distributed on three drops. Wrapping the flora in a cloud of white foam, cover a different in high of 165 metres. The scenery disclosed to the visitors eyes is the work of men made since centuries, from the Roman period, tried to canalize the waters of the Velino river to fall the into the Nera river (where is possible to do rafting).

The city’s origins are very ancient. The hills above the town were already occupied in the Bronze Age. As Ikuvium, it was an important town of the ancient Umbrian people in pre-Roman times, made famous for the discovery there of the Eugubine Tables, a set of bronze tablets that together constitute the largest surviving text in ancient Umbrian. Gubbio has historical attractions spanning many periods. The 14th- century Palazzo dei Consoli houses Umbria’s largest collection of Roman artifacts. Gubbio’s most important date is May 15. Every year for centuries on that day, the Corsa dei Ceri has taken place: Three teams of twenty, each carrying three large wooden statues, race through the streets. The historical centre of Gubbio is beautiful and of decidedly medieval aspect: the town is austere in appearance because of the dark grey stone, narrow streets, and Gothic architecture. The main monuments and sightseeings of the city include: The Roman Theatre, the Roman Mausoleum, the massive Palazzo dei Consoli, the Duomo (Cathedral), built in the late 12th century, the Palazzo Ducale, built from 1470 by Luciano Laurana or Francesco di Giorgio Martini for Federico da Montefeltro. Famous is the inner court, reminiscent of the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino, the Church of S.Francesco.

Lake Trasimeno is the fourth largest lake in Italy. Has fluvial origin and probably is in part tectonics. Heart-shaped, covers an area of 128 sq km. Its waters are deep at most 6m, has shore, steps, sometimes fringed with reeds, surrounded by green hills covered with vineyards and olive trees, vegetable gardens and plots of land intended for industrial plants, rural settlements. Administratively, the area is part of the Lake Trasimeno in Umbria, but culturally and geographically, and 'both Umbria and Tuscany; is located in an area where the border between the two regions remains undefined in the language and landscape, so as the flavors of the cuisine and tradition.