Capital: Perugia
Major airports: Perugia (PEG). Southern Umbria is
as easily reached via Rome (Fiumicino FCO or
Ciampino CIA), and western Umbria via Tuscany
(Florence FLR or Pisa PSA).
Over half of Umbria’s surface area is covered in
fairly serious mountains, with peaks reaching above
2,000 metres/6,500 feet. The Tiber River and its
valley bisect the province in a diagonal line from
the north east, producing exceptionally fertile lands
which have been under cultivation for thousands of
years.
In the west, Lake Trasimeno is central Italy’s
largest lake and one of its shallowest. People have
inhabited its shores since Paleolithic times, although
its greatest moment in history came in 217BC when
Hannibal trounced the Roman legions nearby.
Castles and fortified villages sprang up around the
lake in the Middle Ages as a result of its strategic
position between Perugia and the major Tuscan
cities. This a wonderful area for walking, with trails
laid out to lead you to viewpoints, villages and
historic buildings.
North of the lake the countryside is dominated by
the rolling green hills which descend to the Tiber
Valley. Vast areas of natural woodland are dotted
with medieval villages, some of which were
independent republics in their own right up until the
late 1800s.
The Vale of Spoleto, the wide plain stretching
between Perugia and Spoleto, is Umbria’s historic
heartland with Assisi as its main focus. Wonderful
little towns dot the hills, which in the spring are
carpeted in wildflowers.
Southern Umbria is noted for two of the province’s
most illustrious hill towns, Orvieto and Todi, but
often it is the smaller attractions that please the
most - such as Narni, so crammed onto a hilltop
that it has hardly expanded since Roman times, and
Amelia, famed for its mighty walls (and delicious
white figs). All this set in a magical landscape of
olive groves, pines and vineyards.
