Umbria is wilder than Tuscany and with a very different character to both the land and the people. Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims have flocked to Assisi, and they still do. However, only a few miles away lie small villages where dialect is still spoken and local festivals are celebrated with gusto.
We introduce our clients to some of the most interesting and dynamic characters in the region. These include the owners of our favourite restaurants and aristocratic families whose art collections includes a little-known Perugino masterpiece and a fresco by Giotto. Our guides will take you back to the time of Piero della Francesca, surely one of the world’s greatest artists, whose frescoes are found throughout the Umbrian landscape.
Some of Italy’s greatest culinary delights come from Umbria: prosciutto from Norcia is famous all over Italy. The pigs are small and black, fed on acorns and chestnuts in woods where the prized black truffle can be found all year round. The olive oil produced by the groves of trees growing from the rocky hillsides of Umbria is green, light, fully flavoured and strongly scented. Umbria is also world-famous for its lentils.
There are some superb little wineries, known only to the cognoscenti. Just outside the magnificent art town of Orvieto, we can arrange a tasting by candlelight of Grechetto, the local and very ancient white grape.