The day after the Festa, Oct 5th, the town becomes an open marketplace as the annual street fair, la Fiera di San Francesco, winds its way through the medieval alleyways of the…
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“You’ve brought the world to us,” Olga once told me with a hug after a banquet dinner at her home. Olga and Americo have warmly welcomed everyone into their home and both…
Montefalco, noted for its fine Sagrantino wines, loom-woven linen textiles and the stunning Museo of San Francesco, hides many a secret as well. Suor Giovanna is one. She remains – for me…
In the late 90’s, in a moment of pazzia (madness), I decided to try for the official authorization of Guida Regionale dell’Umbria. Here in Italy, only authorized guides may offer tours. Sanctions…
Ah, Perugia, “city of the infinite view”, as Henry James wrote. Pre-Roman Etruscan city gates, a stunning 13th-c. fountain, frescoed and wood-inlaid guild halls, a majestic medieval courthouse, a 15th-c Papal fortress,…
Finding the hidden backstreets in Bevagna[/caption]Bevagna offers something to every visitor. The 1st c A.D, mosaics of the Roman baths – hidden away in the backstreets – astound. If you can locate…
Built in local pink limestone like Assisi, medieval hilltown gem Spello wins over any visitor with its flowering backstreets, Roman remnants,medieval churches, stunning Renaissance frescoes and one of Italy’s top wine cellars…
ven the holiday decorations in the medieval hilltown of Assisi – citta’ della pace – bear witness to San Francesco: simplicity is the theme. Over twenty-five years ago, Pope John Paul II…
As Christmas approaches, many an elderly Assisi nonna is telling her grandchildren about Gesu Bambino’s arrival when she was a child: the children left out hay for the donkey of il Bambino…
The tiny northern Umbria village, Citerna (pop. 3500), – ever heard of it? – will now be highlighted on the Italy map of any art-lover (and not only): after years of painstaking…