Deruta Guided Tours

On a Perugia guided visit, I love sharing the treasures discovered as a student there while we take in the rich artistic/historical wonders. Perugia’s Etruscan glory lives on in the Etruscan city gate of the 3rd c. B.C. – hidden away in the massive Papal fortress of the 16th- c.

From the Etruscans, we’ll move on to the medieval: what stories on the 13th-c sculptural masterpiece, the Great Fountain. The Renaissance is next: Perugia’s history and glory are illustrated in a stunning frescoed Renaissance guildhall. And wait til you see the splendid 14th century courthouse (with medieval “yardsticks” set into the walls) – and a 19-th c frescoed pastry shop.

Wish to meet “the locals”, discover the local artisans, find the best chocolate, taste the best cappuccino and hot chocolate in Umbria? Just ask.

Eager to see another hill town after our Perugia half/day tour? What about nearby Deruta?

Amything missing? Please let me know. My aim in any tour: to enrich your Italy stay with countless treasured memories. A promise.Afterwards, you’ll want to meet famed elderly maiolica painter, Raffaello, as he paints masterpieces on the urns, vases, goblets formed by the talented “wizard-of-the-(potter’s)-wheel”, Massimo. Their passione can be matched only by that of Giuseppa, farm woman: for the land and the fruits of the land.

Click here to read more on Deruta passione – for maiolica, for country cooking
Read more on Giuseppa’s passione

Deruta showcases Italian art, culture and history in its winding backstreets, medieval churches and prized ceramics. This Umbria medieval hill town near the Tiber River has been a major production center of glazed ceramics, maiolica since the Middle Ages.

Deruta is a veritable hymn to maiolica. The 14th-century civic palace and the medieval churches in the town house fresco splendor and maiolica gems.
In an esteemed family-run workshop, we’ll view all the phases of the creation of maiolica wonders.

In Italy’s first ceramics museum, the late 19th-century Museo Regionale della Ceramica, we’ll view highlights of over 5000 artisan masterpieces of the past four centuries. In maiolica wonders, historical events and images inspired by Italy’s greatest Renaissance painters astound.

We’ll pause to head out to the Deruta countryside for lunch with rural friend, Giuseppa, who’ll cook up the best in Umbrian rural cuisine for us.

We’ll end our explorations in the Deruta countryside with a stop at a countryside shrine housing hundreds of whimsical maiolica folk-art treasures spanning four centuries.

Many Deruta notes on my blog will enhance your tour as well as my Virtual Experiences presentation on Deruta.

And do see Giuseppa cooking up Umbrian specialties here and here.

Since ancient times, the wine mystique has captured the imagination and creative thinking of philosophers, artists, and poets as well as those centering their knowledge on healing. The allure of wine threads the history and art of Italy from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the present day.

In Torgiano, we’ll take in the Lungarotti family’s extraordinary Museo del Vino (Wine Museum), dedicated to the culture of wine and show-casing artistic and artisanal treasures linked to grapes and wine from the Bronze age through the Etruscan, Roman, and medieval periods. Masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art enhance the collection.

Next door to the museum, we can stop in the tasting room to try some of the fine Lungarotti wines.

We’ll then head out to the nearby Deruta countryside for a rural banquet with farm friend, Giuseppa.

After lunch, we’ll head to Deruta, medieval hill town near the Tiber River and a major production center of glazed ceramics, maiolica, since the Middle Ages. Deruta is a veritable hymn to maiolica.

We’ll see all the phases of maiolica production in a famed family-run workshop. In the nearby countryside, we’ll stop at a shrine adorned with over 700 maiolica folk art tiles, many painted in the 17th-century by unknown local artists. Our walk through the medieval heart of Deruta will conclude our day.
(Do see Giuseppa cooking up rural goodness on my Youtube channel. My talks on Deruta and the Wine Museum in Torgiano will enhance your visit to these gems.)