Italy's only landlocked region that touches neither the sea nor a foreign border, and the quieter answer to Tuscany. Assisi is the pilgrimage centre of the Franciscan world, its basilica frescoed by Giotto and Cimabue; Orvieto's cathedral façade is the most extravagant in Italy; Perugia is a walled Etruscan-Roman-medieval layer cake that fills with jazz each July. Between them lie Spoleto, Gubbio, Todi, Lake Trasimeno and the Piano Grande of Castelluccio, which flowers in late June.
- Assisi and the Basilica of St Francis
- Orvieto's cathedral and underground city
- Perugia and Umbria Jazz
- Spoleto and the Ponte delle Torri
- Castelluccio's flowering
- Lake Trasimeno
- Best time to go
- April–June and September–October. Late June for the Castelluccio fioritura; Umbria Jazz is mid-July.
- Getting there
- Perugia San Francesco airport is small; most arrive via Rome (2h by train to Perugia) or Florence. A car is worth it for the hill towns.
© OpenFreeMap · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn · boundaries © EuroGeographics (Eurostat GISCO)
Headline places
What italia.it leads with in Umbria.
-
Basilica of St Francis, Assisi Two churches stacked over the saint's tomb, frescoed by Giotto and Cimabue -
Castelluccio & the Piano Grande A high plain that turns to sheets of wildflowers in late June -
Lake Trasimeno Italy's fourth-largest lake, with three islands and Hannibal's battlefield -
Orvieto Cathedral The most extravagant striped façade in Italy, and Signorelli's Last Judgement -
Marmore Falls A 165-metre waterfall the Romans built in 271 BC — switched on twice a day
Cities & bases
Where to sleep, and what each place is good for.
Umbria by experience
The themes this region delivers on.
-
Art & culture More UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country on earth -
Food & wine Regional to the point of parochial — and all the better for it -
Italian lakes Como, Garda, Maggiore — the Grand Tour's original destination -
UNESCO Italy Sixty World Heritage sites — the largest tally of any country -
Borghi & villages The hill towns that carry I Borghi più belli d'Italia and the Orange Flag -
Nature & national parks 25 national parks, from alpine glaciers to volcanic islands -
Spirituality & pilgrimage Rome, Assisi, and the pilgrim roads that connect them -
Events & festivals The Palio, Carnevale, the Biennale and an opera season in a Roman arena
