Naturally beautiful

Naturally beautiful
Umbria
Magazine: February 2008

Umbria is brimming over with natural beauty. Visitors arrive to dialogue with the past; even nature conserves its traditions. Some specialities are rare, even unique, like the truffl es and lentils of Castelluccio di Norcia. Umbria, however, is not just about food. The region has a wealth of monasteries, cathedrals and tiny country churches signed by the ancient masters, Matteo da Gualdo, Pietro Vannucci and Bernardino di Betto, known as Pintoricchio. An exhibition dedicated to the latter is a fascinating itinerary of the Umbrian terrain. Starting from Perugia, the painter’s native town. Son of a wool dyer, Bernardino learnt his trade from Giapeco Caporali, Perugian miniaturist. It was here that he acquired the talents that led him to be summoned to paint the frescoes in the Vatican apartments. The popes kept him employed until 1495. On the 2nd January of the same year, Pintoricchio returned to Umbria taking the route that joins Todi, Perugia, Forgiano, Spello and Assisi.

Spello, village embellished with fl oral charm
Let’s pause in Spello; a town entrenched on the Monte Subasio. Step beyond the Porta Consolare and delight in the charm of this location where Roman and medieval styles mix harmoniously. A suggestion? Take via Torri di Properzio; carry on to the church of San Severino. Arriving in front of the Vallegloria Monastery go towards the centre, passing in front of the Subasio Civic Theatre. You will be a few metres from piazza della Repubblica, where the Palazzo Comunale Vecchio lies. Before going back through the Porta Consolare, don’t forget a visit to the Baglioni Chapel of the Santa Maria Maggiore Church, frescoed by Pintoricchio, and if you return for the feast of Corpus Domini, take time to admire the fl oral decorations, religious themed carpets made with fresh petals.

From Trevi to Spoleto
Moving south towards Spoleto, we “climb up” towards Trevi, one of the most beautiful hamlets in Italy: a handful of roof tiles and pink coloured stones carefully laid on a spur of Monte Serano, overlooking a sea of olives groves. Its heart is piazza Mazzini. From here, plunging into tiny alleys, we discover the elegant dwellings of the local gentry. The façade of the Palazzo Centamori is wonderful, as is Palazzo Petroni, a great piece of seventeenth century architecture that lies along the Via Placido Riccardo. In the nearby church of San Francesco, there is a beautiful wall organ from 1500. In the adjacent museum

complex of the ex convent there is a Madonna with Child, attributed to Pintoricchio. Following the Umbrian itinerary of Pintoricchio we arrive in Spoleto, medieval city dominated by the stately towered structure commissioned by Cardinal Albornoz. After admiring the Pintoricchio frescoes in the Eroli chapel inside the Duomo, take a stroll to discover the historical monuments and gourmet pleasures of Spoleto. To be recommended: Piazza della Libertà, the Teatro Romano, the Arco di Druso and via dei Duchi with its medieval botteghe.