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I Love Touring Italy – Northern Umbria

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:00:44 +0000

If you are looking for a European tourist destination, consider visiting the northern part of the landlocked region of Umbria in central Italy. Depending on your interests, this beautiful area might be an ideal vacation spot. You can get classic Italian food, and wash it down with fine local wine. This area is hardly undiscovered, but is not overrun by tourists. Be sure to read the companion articles in this series that present Perugia and Assisi, the major tourist centers of northern Umbria and sites in southern Umbria.

This virtual tour of northern Umbria circles the major cities of Assisi and Perugia, which are described elsewhere. We’ll start at Gubbio and circle clockwise, passing through Spello, Montefalco, Deruta, and Torgiano.

Gubbio is a walled, medieval city of some thirty thousand that is known as the City of Silence. It hasn’t always been silent. It sent one thousand knights to fight in the First Crusade. If you get there by car park in the central Piazza dei Quaranta Martiri (40 Martyrs Square) named for hostages murdered by the Nazis in 1944. Where else but in Italy do even the parking lots exude history? The Duomo (Cathedral) dates from the Twelfth Century. Other churches worth visiting include the Church of San Francesco and the Church of Santa Maria Nuova, both dating from the Thirteenth Century. Make sure to see the frescoes. The Basilica of Sant’Ubaldo is located outside of the city. Roman sights include a First Century BC theater used for lectures in the summertime and a mausoleum. There are several palaces and museums. For example the Vivian Gabriel Oriental Collection is devoted to Tibetan, Nepalese, Chinese and Indian art. The Fourteenth Century Palazzo dei Consoli houses a museum with tablets that help researchers understand the Etruscan language. On May 15 Gubbio holds its annual Corsa dei Ceri (Race of the Ceremonial Candles) in honor of its patron saint, St. Ubaldo. It has been doing so for more than 950 years.

Spello is another medieval town, enclosed in Roman walls. The walls have Roman and medieval gates and there are some two dozen medieval churches. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore was probably built over an ancient temple dedicated to the Roman gods Juno and Vesta. You will find some great frescoes. Then check out the Palaces, the Thirteenth Century Palazzo Comunale Vecchio (Old Town Hall), the Fourteenth Century Palazzo Baglioni, and that newcomer, the Seventeenth Century Palazzo Cruciali. During the Feast of Corpus Christi (the ninth Sunday following Easter) the streets are covered with flowers.

Montefalco’s most notable church is San Francesco, which is the town’s museum, one of the most important in Umbria. It has an excellent fresco cycle dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. Several other churches are found inside and outside the city walls. Visit around Easter and you’ll enjoy the Settimana Enologica (Wine Week) devoted to local wines including the dry, relatively simple red or white Montefalco DOC and the higher quality, sometimes sweet red Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG.

We are now going north and stop at Deruta. This medieval hilltop town is famous for ceramics. There’s the Museo Regionale della Ceramica (Regional Ceramics Museum) with a great ceramics collection and an atrium containing archeological finds. The town also hosts some seventy boutiques and ateliers devoted to ceramics. Of course there are several interesting churches, some of which feature, you guessed it, ceramics.

Our final stop is the partially walled town of Torgiano, best known for its wine and wine museum. Torgiano vineyards have been well known for centuries. The Museo del Vino (Wine Museum) has a great collection of ancient wine vessels and tools. Next door there’s a tavern devoted to a famous local winery. You can taste some mighty fine local wines, but you will have to pay for the privilege. Local wines include the red, white, or rose Torgiano DOC and the higher quality red Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG.
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I Love Italian Travel – Wine Touring in Marche

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:19:24 +0000

So you have decided to go to Marches, a small region of Italy on the Adriatic Sea. The Marches (it’s often spelled with The) is relatively unknown to tourists. This is a great place to see the real Italy. Sights to see include the college town of Urbino with a lovely Palazzo Ducale that houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche and the Casa Natale de Raffaello, the house where Raphael was born. Further south, While the National Gallery doesn’t contain much work by Raphael, you can view Titian’s Resurrection and Last Supper.

The coastal city of Pesaro has the usual (for Italy) components of Ducal Palace, Cathedral, castle, churches, and museums. One museum is devoted to a hometown boy, the opera composer Rossini. Head further down the coast to the port of Ancona and visit the Duomo di San Ciriaco (Cathedral) and stroll the streets of the old city. Loreto is home to the Santuario della Santa Casa (House of the Virgin Mary). Festival time is Easter week and December 10, the Feast of the Holy House. Finish your tour at Ascoli Piceno. Visit the Piazza del Populo (Square of the People) and the Thirteenth Century Palazzo dei Capitani del Populo (Palace of the People’s Captains). Festival time is the first Sunday in August, devoted to the city’s patron saint, Saint Emidio.

Marches, tucked between the Appennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, produces two top of the line wines, Rosso Conero Riserva DOCG made from mostly Montepulciano and up to 15% Sangiovese grapes in the hills surrounding Mount Conero near Ancona. The Vernaccia di Serrapetrona DOCG is a red sparkling wine made mostly from the Vernaccia Nera grape near Macerata towards the region’s center. The regions’ best-known wines are the white Verdicchios: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC and Verdicchio di Matelica DOC. They are usually dry but may be sweet. Be careful, their quality is quite variable. Try to find Bianchello del Metauro DOC wine from the rare Biancame white grape.

In addition to the grape varieties mentioned previously common white varieties include the Italian Trebbiano, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. The local red Lacrima is fairly rare. Common red varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah.

Companies selling wine tours of Marches include Prime Italy, Vineria la Birba, Hotel Universal Senigala, and Wine Tour Italia. Marches wineries that accept visits include Il Conte in Momteprandone and Casa Vinicola Gioacchino Garofoli in Loreto. Belisario in Matelica offers an extensive wine bar. A few words of warning are in order. Make sure that you check ahead of time for opening hours and whether English is spoken. Some places may charge admission; others may expect you to buy some of their products.
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I Love Italian Travel – December Attractions of Northern Italy, Part 2

admin — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:31:57 +0000

So you want to tour northern Italy in December, but just aren’t sure what to see and what to do. Don’t despair; there are lots and lots of special events that simply aren’t available in the good old summertime. Here are a few of them. Get rolling; December is almost upon us. We start our virtual tour in the northeastern region of Trentino-Alto Adige and work our way east to the border with Slovenia. There are so many things to see and do in northern Italy in December that this is the second of three articles.

Trentino-Alto Adige is our initial stop on this virtual tour. On the first Saturday in December Passo dello Stelvio, the highest paved mountain pass in the eastern Alps, holds its Festa dei Klosen dedicated to Santa Claus. Costumed locals wander the streets until the church bells are rung when everyone unites in prayer. With its geographical and cultural proximity to Germany, Trentino-Alto Adige is a great place for Christmas markets selling beautiful local handicrafts and plenty of kitsch. At night the markets are well lit and often provide other festivities. Some of the best Christmas markets are found in Trento and Bolzano. The Trento market hosts a large Nativity Scene in its lovely Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square). You’ll enjoy the Nativity Scene in Tesero. Cortina d’Ampezzo, “the Pearl of the Dolomites” celebrates Christmas Eve with a skiers’ torchlight parade; at midnight hundreds of people ski down the mountain carrying torches.

For approximately one month starting in early December Venice hosts the Natale di Vetro, Christmas in glass on Murano Island. The festival kicks off by honoring San Nicolo the patron saint of glass blowers. You’ll find a glassworks regatta and a glass blowing school including sessions for children, exhibitions, and even a wine tasting by invitation. The town of Bibione on the sea hosts a Living Nativity Scene at the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in December. Treviso’s annual Radicchio Festival is also held in December. You might find the answer to that age-old question: What wine with Radicchio? My offhand answer is an Italian Pinot Grigio. Among the Christmas markets are Campo Santo Stefano in Venice and Verona. Check the dates carefully; these markets may close earlier than you think.

Venice is a fine place to celebrate New Year’s Eve, even more so if you’re in love. The choices include expensive restaurants and a public celebration on St Mark’s Square that includes music, a giant fireworks display, bellini brindisi (toast), and a huge group kiss at midnight. An estimated 60 thousand people participate in this group kiss and the companion one at in Piazza Ferretto in Mestre, Venice.

Our tour ends in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Its regional capital Trieste hosts a Christmas market, Fiera di San Nicolo, during the first week of December. Many Alpine towns and hamlets celebrate the Krampus festivities during the first two weeks of December. Young men disguised in hideous masks roam the streets and frighten children. Unlike Saint Nicholas who gives gifts to good children, Krampus warns and even punishes the bad children. Traditional Nativity Scenes abound in Friuli. New Year’s Eve festivals include Alessio’s Twenty Year Festival, La Koleda in Resia, and Cicigolis (Pulfero). You may prefer celebrating this holiday in Trieste at the seaside Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia (Italian Unity Square), the largest seaside plaza in Europe. I can’t promise you good weather.
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