Anne's Guided Tours

PERUGIA - "City of the Infinite View"

Perugia (full-day)
Perugia/Deruta (full-day)
Perugia/Deruta/Torgiano (full-day)
Perugia/Gubbio (full-day)
Perugia/Lake Trasimeno (full-day+)
Mysterious Etruscans: Perugia and Orvieto (2 days)
Comments

Perugia (full-day)
Perugia, Palazzo dei Priori We'll start our day in elegantissima Perugia - called by Henry James, "city of the infinite view" - with a visit to the massive 16th c. Papal fortress, built over the medieval quarter of Perugia and incorporating one of the Etruscan city gates. We'll walk down the main Corso, lined with elegant shops, to see the bellissime medieval guild halls, including the one magnificently-frescoed by Perugino (teacher of Raphael) and his school.

After lunch, our walk will take us to Perugia's stunning medieval municipal palace in the main square, graced by the Fontana Maggiore (Pisano 13th c. masterpiece of Gothic sculpture and Perugia's pride and joy) and the cathedral. We'll follow the labyrinthine medieval backstreets near the medieval Palazzo della Giustizia to an Etruscan city gate and our tour will conclude... logicamente!... with a taste of Perugia's famed chocolates at the city's most famous chocolatier.

(NB: if desired, itinerary can be altered to incorporate a tour of the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the region's most important art museum.)

Perugia/Deruta (full-day)
After our tour of Perugia and lunch, on to Deruta, "città della ceramica" (about 15 min away by car), to observe all the phases of maiolica production in a family-run industry... and a walk through the delightful medieval "centro storico" of Deruta, up on the hill. Afterwards, a visit to an extraordinary shrine of maiolica folk art (the collection was started in the early 17th c.)... in the countryside outside of Deruta.

Perugia/Deruta/Torgiano (full-day)
We'll visit Perugia as described above and after lunch, we'll head to Deruta to observe all the phases of maiolica production in a family-run industry. Afterwards, a visit to nearby Torgiano and the wonderful Museo del Vino (Wine Museum) of the Lungarotti family (whose wines are famous). This museum - one of the finest privately-owned museums in Italy - houses objets du vin from 3000 BC to the present. Wine-tasting may be included afterwards if desired.

Perugia/Gubbio (full-day)
We'll visit Perugia as described above and after lunch, we'll head to Gubbio. Dramatically perched on a hill overlooking the ruins of its Roman theater, here in Gubbio time seems to have quite literally stopped in the Middle Ages. Gubbio's "detachment" from today's world is also a reality: the town is not on a railway line - here, one feels in a world apart. Our walk through the labyrinthine medieval backstreets will take us to the imposing 14th c. Palazzo dei Consoli, said to rival Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in its beauty (I think it surpasses it).

Perugia, Lake Trasimeno Perugia/Lake Trasimeno (full-day+)
Culture and then... relaxation. We'll enjoy a morning in Perugia and then drive to Lake Trasimeno (about 15 min from Perugia), where we'll take a ferry out to Isola Maggiore in the middle of the lake. After a leisurely stroll through the delightful tiny redbrick village on the island, we'll enjoy a lunch of lake fish specialties at a restaurant acclaimed by Gourmet magazine.

Mysterious Etruscans: Perugia and Orvieto (2 days)
This tour is centered on the Etruscans, whose culture influences the artistic/cultural development of Umbria as early as the 6th c. Our tour will take in important Etruscan sites in both Perugia and Orvieto, 2 of the most important of the dodecapoli, league of 12 Etruscan city-states.

Perugia (day 1)
Our visit starts with a visit to an important 2nd c. BC Etruscan chamber tomb (in the area of an ancient Etruscan necropolis) outside of Perugia. Afterwards, a visit to the Archaelogical Museum of Perugia to view a rich collection of artifacts from the Etruscan and Roman periods of ancient Perusia. We'll have lunch in a local trattoria, followed by a walk through the town - to view two of the Etruscan city gates of 2nd- 3rd c. BC, as well as the Etruscan well (same period), a marvel of engineering skill. We'll see sections of the Etruscan walls of the city in various spots, including in the chocolate shop where we'll end our tour!

Orvieto (day 2)
Orvieto's impregnable position on a tufo-rock plateau was cleverly selected by the Etruscans, probably its first inhabitants. We'll start our visit at the Etruscan tombs outside the city and then we will head up the tufo plateau on the funicular to visit Orvieto's fine Etruscan museum, the result of the donation of the personal collection of a wealthy Orvietano.

Comments

"I thoroughly enjoyed touring with Anne through Perugia and Assisi. A delightful surprise and highlight of my stay in Umbria was a trip to the library archives in Perugia where we not only saw but also were able to photograph and touch one of the earliest editions of Dante's Divina Commedia illustrated by Pietro Lorenzetti, the Atlantic Bible dating back to the year 1000, and the first biography of Saint Francis (1300). I still get goosebumps when I think of this experience! Anne is incredibly knowledgeable and versatile. She tailors her tours to her clients' interests, and her bubbly personality makes history come alive. I look forward to taking more tours with her when I return to Umbria."
Joanne Bradley, La Jolla, CA