Often referred to as ‘the green heart of Italy’, Umbria is a profoundly beautiful and largely unspoiled region of forested hills, lakes, valleys, olive groves and vineyards, with a generous smattering of storybook towns and countryside hotels.
One of Italy’s most beloved hill towns, Perugia is also one of the most ancient, dating back to the days of the Etruscans, before even the Romans had begun their rise to power.
Head to Assisi to admire the frescos in the Basilica of St Francis, then wander the back streets and linger for a while in the main Piazza del Comune.
For almost 300 years, artists and architects from all over Italy laboured to complete Il Duomo in Orvieto, a fascinating hybrid of Romanesque, Gothic and High Renaissance styles.
Hire a car for sunlit days exploring picturesque hill towns such as Gubbio, Bevagna, Spello and Todi.
Join an expert truffle hunter and his dog in search of one of Italy’s most prized ingredients, then enjoy your findings over lunch and local wine.
Umbria is home to a dozen or so classic hill towns, each resolutely individual and crammed with enough artistic and architectural treasures to rival far more famous cities. The Duomo in Orvieto, for example, is one of the greatest Gothic buildings in the country – a riot of columns, spires, bas reliefs and sculptures. The town itself sits on a tabletop plug of volcanic lava known as tufa and rises 300 metres straight up from the valley floor.
Sharing top billing with Orvieto are Perugia, known for its chocolate and jazz festivals, and Assisi, birthplace of St Francis and famous for the extraordinary frescoes by Giotto in the Basilica di San Francesco.
To truly get a feel for Umbria, however, it’s essential to explore its more understated charms, such as Todi, an increasingly chic but still unspoiled hill town; Gubbio, arguably the prettiest of Umbria’s medieval towns; and Lago Trasimeno, the largest lake in the Italian peninsula. Two exceptional estates, Reschio and Tenuta di Murlo, both north of Perugia near the Tuscan border, make wonderful bases for exploring the area.
Set in rural Umbria close to the Tuscan border, Reschio Hotel provides luxury accommodation in a beautifully restored 11th-century castle, on a vast estate that includes stables home to some of the world’s most skilled dressage horses.
The family-owned Murlo estate offers the ultimate Umbrian countryside retreat, with seven luxury villas, a charming apartment, three deluxe rooms and a romantic cottage scattered across thousands of acres of forested hills, valleys, lakes, olive groves and vineyards.