In 1872, Henry James spent a week in Perugia, Umbria hilltown and one of the region’s two provincial capitals, lauding this medieval gem as “city of the infinite view.” I always wondered when guiding in Perugia with my tour guests if he had written those words after standing here: While in Perugia for a week, James…
Living on a hill overlooking Norcia…. …..the Benedictine monks – affectionately called by all “the Monks of Norcia” – are known today for their production of artisanal beers. But many centuries ago, Norcia-area Benedictine monks were linked to prosciutto, sausages…and pig butchering. I find the story fascinating. And it all starts in the 6th-century. After…
Best known as birthplace (in the late 5th-c A.D.) of San Benedetto, founder of western monasticism, and his twin sister Scolastica, Norcia’s history weaves back through the centuries. Most likely ancient Nursia was settled as early as the 4th-5th-c B.C. by an Italic tribal people, the Sabines. The Romans moved into the area in about 300…
January can be icy cold in Umbria but a month of warmth, too: the warmth of the locals celebrating January festivals. An Umbrian winter festival absolutely not to miss is the late-January rural music competition, the Rassegna delle Pasquarelle, in Cascia, in the mountainous southeastern corner of Umbria. Probably first inhabited by native Italic peoples, present-day Cascia, was part…