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"Undiscovered" Umbria Narni/Nera River Valley (full-day) After lunch, on through the stupendous Nera River Valley to visit a recently-restored 8th c. Lombard abbey church - nestled in the mountains - whose extraordinary frescoes represent the most important pre-Giotto fresco cycle in Umbria. Here, too, the wonders of the abbey will be shared with us by a local who - as she says - "was practically born here" (her father farmed the surrounding lands). Our ride back to the Assisi area will take us through one of the most dramatic stretches of landscape in all of Umbria. Bevagna/Montefalco (full-day)
- revised! Bevagna/Spello (full-day) Here, too, we'll meet the locals and a friar artisan will surprise us with his crafts... and show us a 13th c. refectory and cloister not open to the public. We'll end our tour with tastings of fine wines, Umbria's best olive oils, wild boar salami, truffled cheeses and more in a medieval wine cellar. Our host: one of the area's top sommeliers. Montefalco (half-day)
"Bevagna
- an experience not to be missed! Seeing the Chiesa of San Silvestro
moved me to tears. A medieval meal with Cristina was like real
time traveling! Incredible!" "From
meeting the local entrepreneurs to the sit- down medieval dinner,
it was a historical experience, an experience not to be forgotten." "Bevagna
- the medieval experience was interesting. Thank you for the opportunity.
"The
medieval lunch in Bevagna? It surpassed my greatest expectation
of a medieval eating experience!" "In
Bevagna we had an "insider's look" into its life. We
stopped for a chat with the tailor and his cronies and then onto
the butcher shop and met the prettiest butcher you will ever meet
and tasted an array of cured meats, cheeses and fresh sheep's
milk ricotta. Next was the baker, another tasting of delicious
cookies and then, not the candle stick maker but the paper maker!
You step through the shop and you are transported back in time
- as far back as the Roman era. A local professor and old friend
of Annie's showed us curiosities and gave us a tour of the 19th
century "jewel box" theater and regaled us with stories
of his youth in Bevagna. If we had come on our own, without Annie,
we would have seen Bevagna, but not experienced it." "Dear
Annie, I loved the Bevagna day! It's such a little jewel of
a town. I read somewhere that when you stand in the piazza,
every building you see was built before the 14th century... and
it certainly seemed like it! Wonderful to see remains of Roman
culture. We also loved the perfectly preserved 19th century theater.
So many riches in one town and very few tourists to contend
with.
"Our Bevagna
tour lasted about about 3 hours of our time, every minute mesmerizing.
We had visited Italy many times in the past, but never had we
seen a town the way we saw this town. A beautiful hidden theatre,
a replicated merchant's home, local shopowners, people who clearly
love Anne and give her groups an added insight into life in Bevagna.
Then Spello. The wine-tasting was unbelievable! Today, we
still clang our wine glasses which we were able to buy after the
event. I don't know which was better, their own olive oil, or all
the special wines we were served. Then more unusual visits and
the end of the most in-depth, personal experience we have ever had
in our favorite country outside the U.S. And the beginning of
a new friendship with Anne Robichaud, a very special person." Montefalco and Nostalgia Cuisine "Thanks to Anne,
Bevagna and Spello became much more than two dimensional Italian
towns. Not only did we gain insight into the history, art and architecture
of these delightful hidden treasures but we had a virtual reality
experience through the welcome, comments and insight of the local
residents. Whether the tailor, pasta cook, local history professor,
chef or parish priest, all contributed to our discoveries. A
day filled with a most unusual smorgasbord of Umbrian treats." |
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(*NB:
I'm often asked about my favorite tour: not easy to say but... this
is certainly one of them!) 
After
our tour of Bevagna (see above) and lunch, on to Spello.
Built in the local pink limestone, bellissimo Spello (of
Roman origins) captivates- right from one's first glimpse. Our stroll
through cobbled backstreets will lead us to Roman city gates, Romanesque
churches, delightful hidden courtyards... and to one of the most
exquisite Renaissance fresco cycles in all of Umbria (and my personal
favorite). 
This tour is dedicated to Vince and Marie, tour-clients-now-friends,
who eagerly said "si!" when I proposed this to them
as a new tour during their recent stay in Umbria. They were enthusiastic
about our day together so I have turned it into a tour to offer
to others.
Luisa)
cooks traditional Umbrian cuisine - the way the rural people cooked
here 40 - 50 years ago (and the way our farm neighbors cooked
when we worked the land with them in the late 70's). Nearly a
"lost" cuisine: Nostalgia cuisine. Signora Mirella should
be declared a "national treasure".