Umbria Untour, October of 2001
by Ann Cricchi, Fairfax,VA
Acclimated to the time and Italian environment after two and a half weeks in Venice, we arrived in Umbria in high spirits. Our mostly cloudy drive from Venice had been easy (good roads and not too much truck traffic) and as we passed Assisi, the sun broke out and the town was bathed in light – a good omen for the coming two weeks.
We stayed at the Casale Grande farm in the spacious L’Oleandro apartment with its three bedrooms, two bathrooms, large kitchen and super large living-dining room. We especially enjoyed the small balcony adjoining the steps where we sat most every evening to watch the sunset, drink our wine and listen to the countryside go to sleep. Casale Grande was very quiet after Venice and, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the rural surroundings provided a welcome peace and balm for the soul.
During our two weeks we explored many of the hill towns, as we had done in Tuscany several years before. We had leisurely delicious Italian lunches on the road and then usually fixed a small supper at home while reviewing the day and planning the next. Somehow, the countryside seemed to slow our pace and we found ourselves taking the time to savor small bits rather than dashing from place to place to see everything.
The orientation at Il Castello di Poreta was fun and a great introduction to the beauty of the small, almost hidden places tucked into the hills of Umbria. Over the two weeks we visited small and large towns enjoying the scenery along the way. Our first venture was to Todi and though we enjoyed its distinctness, we didn’t agree with the U. of Kentucky that it was “the most liveable town in the world.” We’d be more likely to award that title to Spoleto which in terms of beauty, ambiance and cosmopolitan air was more to our liking.. Assisi was our favorite city and we went there several times. On Sunday when we attended Mass at the Basilica of San Franceso (sitting in the 12th century parquetry choir stalls), Assisi was extremely crowded but the weekday visits were fine for easy sightseeing. Orvieto was another favorite city – an interesting drive with lots of hairpin turns (we wondered why one always meets a truck and even an oil tanker at the narrowest part of the bend). We parked in a large lot at the base of the town and then took a series of escalators up to find a charming smallish city, gorgeous views and a marvelous cathedral. Finally, Spello, practically next door to Assisi, is a tiny jewel not to be missed.
Special sights/experiences during our two weeks included walking about Spoleto, especially along the Via del Ponte overlooking the ravine and Tessino River, looking for ceramics in Deruta (very nice ceramic museum there), and finding the medieval walk in Perugia that truly evokes 13th century life. One of the personal highlights for us was our trip into the mountains of neighboring Abruzzi to Sella di Corno, a tiny village where my husband’s grandfather was born and from which he left to go to America in 1900. We found several elderly women in this small village who were delighted to talk with us despite our extremely limited Italian. One woman went to find the key to the little church so we could see where the grandfather had been baptised and, perhaps, married. They told us that all the Cricchis had moved to Androdoco and sure enough, as we passed through that town, we saw a sign advertising the “Cricchi Construction Co.”
The Italian churches always amaze us and we especially enjoyed the façade of Orvieto, the Fra Filippo Lippi frescoes in the Duomo at Spoleto, and, of course, the frescoes and woodwork in the magnificent Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi.
The Umbrian food pleased us. We had wonderful meals with food we don’t find at home much: rabbit, wild boar, spelt and truffles, strangozzi pasta, and panna cotta for dessert. Restaurants we particularly enjoyed for both the food and the friendly atmosphere were the Restaurant Cavour (Todi), Fontanina (Deruta), Tipica Trattoria Etrusca (Orvieto) and San Francesco (Assisi, right across from the Upper Church of the Basilica)
Driving about Umbria wasn’t difficult but parking seemed more of a problem than in Tuscany. For folks with no walking difficulties, parking a bit out-of-center was the best idea. The parking lot by the tennis courts in Spoleto (a hint from the Idyll rep), an early arrival at the public parking lots in Assisi, and parking by the Perugia train station and taking a bus up to town all made life easier for us.
As for housekeeping, we found the City Per supermarket up the highway past Trevi to be the most convenient, though we did use the smaller stores now and then. My husband picked up the Herald Tribune every morning as it arrived on the bus at 7:15 AM in La Bruno. (We wondered who bought the other 7 copies each day.) The tourist information place in Assisi can point out several internet places which were convenient as most of the smaller towns didn’t seems to have any.
There were many lovely “Italian-style” experiences that delighted us during the two weeks. This included Sunday mass at the small local church near the farm where everyone, but us, knew that mass was always 25 minutes later than posted because the priest came from another parish. The single man in the chapel told us this and we enjoyed our wait as everyone eventually arrived, followed at last by the elderly priest. On a Sunday afternoon, a woman in a small art museum in Trevi, answered my inquiry about the whereabouts of an internet cafe, by insisting that I use the museum computer to send our family an email. One morning, we came upon a group of small school children in a bookstore in Spoleto and when my husband asked them if they spoke any English, the teacher had them sing a song for us which consisted primarily of many musical variations of the word “Hello.” They were very proud of themselves and we were charmed, as was the bookstore staff. One afternoon, we had lunch at a local trattoria that had no menu (in any language). Somehow we managed to order a very tasty pasta dish and then had three desserts each. We first selected one each, then the owner suggested we try two more and when we told the baker how delicious they all were, she gave us each a third, followed by a small glass of grappa, gratis.
Everywhere we went, the Italians went out of their way to express their sympathy for the terrorist attacks of Sept 11. Our Italian is very limited but they loved the attempts we made and my husband’s Italian surname seemed to create a special warmth and friendliness. We had amusing conversations with the farm manager (whose English is less than our Italian), the plumber (our sink was leaking), multiple waiters and shop owners and we were never quite sure what we or they had said but it all seemed extremely agreeable.
Finally, our month in Italy was over and we drove to Rome (not the most pleasant drive in the world with lots of construction, fast cars and molto trucks), turned in our car at the airport and treated ourselves to an easy overnight at the airport Hilton before our early morning flight. A perfect vacation: Venice and Umbria