UMBRIA

De: MARTIN GANI

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Roughly diamond shaped, landlocked Umbria is set in the middle of Italian peninsula in a hilly landscape covered with woods, wheat fields, olive groves, fruit orchards and vineyards that surround many ancient townships and small cities virtually all worthy of a visit. It is home to around 850,000 inhabitants, two thirds of whom live in the province of Perugia, and the remaining in Terni province to the south bordering with Lazio, the region where Rome is. To the east and south the hills morph into mountains topping 2,400 metres. The region is blessed with a lake, Trasimeno, and numerous streams and rivers. More peaceful than its more famous neighbour Tuscany, to the west and north-west, Umbria offers numerous churches and monasteries packed with art and history, St Francis Basilica in Assisi for instance is adorned with frescoes by the likes of Cimabue and Giotto. The magnificent cathedral of Orvieto was frescoed by Fra Angelico, Luca Signorelli and other major artists of Renaissance. St Benedict was born in the small town on Norcia and is credited as the inventor of monastic life. Besides spiritual indulgence, interesting architecture, art galleries, the region also boasts captivating sceneries like the blossoming lentils and other plants in Castelluccio, a plateau at an altitude of 1,400 metres named after the village of Castelluccio di Norcia, and the spectacular Marmore waterfall close to Terni. At the small town of Deruta, population 9,500, visitors are surprised to find wonderfully decorated ceramics made by gifted, local artisans. The even smaller township Spello is truly pleasant to check out not only for its architecture and churches but floral decorations throughout its historical core. That's not all, every summer Umbria attracts huge crowds to its cultural events such as Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, and Spoleto Festival celebrating international arts. In November Eurochocolate brings tens of thousands of chocolate lovers to Perugia.