Treasures of Umbria : small group tour

We rendezvous at Rome Fiumicino airport at 1pm and drive for an hour and a half along the older branch of the Via Flaminia to the charming town San Gemini – a stone’s throw from Terni.

Once checked in to our hotel, there is some time to relax and stroll through the medieval streets of this quintessential Umbrian hill town, stopping perhaps to admire the 12th-century cathedral or the 13th-century Oratorio San Carlo.

In the early evening we meet in the hotel garden for our welcome aperitif before our dinner in one of the town’s fine restaurants.

Today’s excursion takes us to the Lago di Piediluco and the Cascate delle Marmore. One of Europe’s tallest waterfalls (165m) is actually an artificially one – created by the Romans when, in 271BC, Curius Dentatus dug a channel to drain the marshlands of Rieti and divert the water in the River Nera.

We visit the charming village of Piediluco, from where we take a short boat ride on the lake of the same name.

After lunch, we pay a visit to the archaeological site at Carsulae, founded by the Romans in the 3rd century BC and which was once famous for its waters and wines.

Evening meal and overnight in San Gemini.

After breakfast we depart San Gemini for the nearby hill town of Narni, one an important stop on the old Via Flaminia. Pliny wrote of its unassailable defences and the Emperor Nerva was born here in AD32. The great Venetian condottiero Gattamelata (1370 – 1443) was also of Narnian birth. And, more recently, CS Lewis borrowed the name for his Chronicles of Narnia after finding the name on Murray’s Small Classical Atlas.

We stroll along the Via Garibaldi, visit the Duomo di San Giovenale and admire the magnificent Palazzo dei Priori.

In the late morning we depart Narni for Orvieto.

Orvieto is a town that owes much of its success to an ancient volcano which created the city’s rupe – the magnificent pedestal of golden tuff forming a 322m sheer-cliffed table-top.

We visit the iconic 13th century cathedral, with its particularly striking facade and its exterior striped in white travertine and greenish-black basalt.

After our visit to Orvieto we continue to Montefalco passing through Todi on our way.

Evening meal and overnight in Montefalco.

San Michele Arcangelo church, Gavelli – Umbria

Campello Alto on the route to Trevi, Umbria

Our excursion this morning takes us to the nearby town of Bevagna, once known to the Romans as Mevania and lying on the western route of the Via Flaminia.

We visit some of the Roman remains in the town including the monochrome mosaics of the Roman baths and there is a chance to watch demonstrations of ancient crafts such as candle-making and paper-making.

Nowadays, Bevagna is also known as the capital of Italy’s cashmere trade and we visit local artisans to learn about their trade.

In the late morning we make the short drive to Montefalco where we have our lunch.

After lunch we visit the Complesso Museale di San Francesco where we admire the frescoes depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis by the15th-century painter Bernardo Gozzuli.

Evening meal and overnight in Montefalco.

San Rufino cathedral, Assisi

This morning, we depart Montefalco and make the half hour drive to the charming medieval village of Rasiglia which has been described as a “little Venice” with its many canals. We visit the Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie where we admire the well-preserved quattrocento frescoes.

Departing Rasiglia, we head for the very lovely Spello, which, dressed in the same pink-cream Umbrian stone could almost be Assisi’s little sister. Walking up its steep, narrow, cobbled streets with their hidden archways and stairways is a joy and we pay a visit to the recently opened Roman villa with its mosaic-covered floors.

After lunch, we head for Assisi famous as having once been the home of St Francis.

We stroll through the medieval streets, past the church of Saint Rufino to the arrive at the Basilica di San Francesco, one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. Decorated with frescoes by numerous late-medieval painters, such as Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti the basilica holds a unique importance in demonstrating the outstanding development of Italian art.

After we have had time to enjoy the basilica, we we continue our journey to Gubbio to check in to our hotel.

Evening meal and overnight in Gubbio.

Sagrantino grapes

We begin the morning by exploring the stony, taciturn and mystical town of Gubbio, once the political and religious centre to the ancient Umbrii. But it is also a town of culture, with its own school of painters and there is much to admire here, starting with the Cathedral di SS Mariano e Giacomo and the Palazzo Ducale.

After lunch, and once we have had our fill of Gubbio, we make an afternoon excursion to the nearby town of Fabriano: one of the first cities in Europe to manufacture paper at the end of the 12th century. The watermark, sizing, and other techniques were all invented here and Fabriano is still famous for its paper production.

The medieval Piazza del Comune is a beautiful stage set and we can enjoy some time to sit in the spare and soak up the atmosphere.

Once we have had time to admire Fabriano, we return to Gubbio.

Free evening (no evening meal included) and overnight in Gubbio.

Village on the route to Spoleto

Casteldilago, Umbria

Ponte delle Torri bridge on the way to Spoleto, Umbria

Today we make an excursion to the nearby city of Urbino – a town which perhaps demonstrates elegance, learning and intelligent patronage of the arts perhaps more than any other Italian hill town.

We pay visits to the Palazzo Ducale and the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, and for those who wish, the Botanical gardens.

In the mid-afternoon we return to our hotel in Gubbio.

Evening meal and overnight in Gubbio.

After breakfast, we depart Gubbio to visit a trio of towns – Monterchi, Anghiari and Sansepolcro – on our way to Arezzo.

In Monterchi, we can admire the the fresco of the Madonna del Parto by Piero della Francesca, painted between 1450 and 1465 in honour of the painter’s mother.

At nearby Anghiari, a battle that took place on 29 June 1440 between the Republic of Florence and the Duchy of Milan inspired a Leonardo da Vinci fresco designed for Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio.

And at Sansepolcro, the Resurrection by Piero della Francesca, on display in the Museo Civico, was once described by Aldous Huxley as “the greatest painting in the world”.

After our visits to these three towns, we continue our journey to Arezzo.

Evening meal and overnight in Arezzo.

It was an outsider to the town who gave Arezzo its greatest monument – Piero della Francesca whose frescoes for the church of San Francesco are of a stature comparable to Michelangelo’s in Rome. This morning we venture to the church to admire these frescoes inspired by the them of the Legend of the True Cross. Other  sights that will detain us are the twelfth century church of the Pieve di Santa Maria and the Piazza Grande.

In the afternoon, there is some free to to explore the town at your leisure.

Evening meal and overnight in Arezzo.

We begin the morning at the Campo in Siena: in every sense the heart of the city. Overlooked by the imposing 320-foot bell tower, the Torre del Mangia and with its amphitheatre curve, the Campo appears an almost organic piece of city planning. We spend the first part of the the morning in the Museo Civico before making our way to the Duomo which will detain us for much of the rest of the morning.

In the afternoon we visit some of the more outlying areas of the city – perhaps the Terzo di Camollia, San Domenico and the Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

Free evening (no evening meal included) and overnight in Siena

A free day to explore Siena at your leisure.

Evening meal and overnight in Siena.

08:30am departure for Rome Fiumicino for approximate midday arrival and drop-off at Rome Fiumicino.