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1. Poggio Aquilone
to Todi (about 25 kms)
Poggio Aquilone, inhabited since prehistoric times,
is in a protected natural park (Communita
Montana di Monte Puglia). The whole area
around is wooded, the woods consisting largely of oaks,
elms, hornbeams, and fruit trees. These woods are rich
in fauna, and guests may catch glimpses of wild cats,
wild boars, wolves, martens, and porcupines; there are
also owls, hawks, buzzards, woodpeckers, and various other
varieties of bird life. An ancient bronze age tomb was
once found in the area, giving further evidence of the
fact that the area was inhabited in ancient times. Leaving
Poggio Aquilone, passing through Marsciano, and heading
south towards Todi it
is worth turning off the road to visit Montecastello
di Vibio, a small late-medieval centre.
The jewel of the small town is the Teatro
della Concordia, said the be the smallest
theatre in the world. Built entirely out of wood, this
beautiful little structure has 99 seats and houses frescoes
by Luigi Agretti. And then one reaches Todi,
the ideal medieval town, with public spaces created specifically
to promote civic and community life. At the heart of the
town, and thus the civic and religious centre, is the
Piazza del Popolo
with its Romanesque cathedral. There is also the Palazzo
dei Priori, and the solid, rather austere, mass of the
Palazzo del Capitano
with its external stairway, and next to it the art gallery
(the Pinoteca Civica).
At the top of another huge flight of steps leading from
the Piazza della Repubblica,
the church of San Fortunato
dominates the town; here is buried the Franciscan poet
Jacapone di Todi.
Outside the medieval walls of the city is the church of
Santa Maria della Consolazione,
built in the form of a Greek cross, to the design of Bramante.
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2.
Poggio Aquilone to Perugia.
(about 28 kms)
Clinging to the top of its hill, Perugia
is one of the finest cities in Italy. This lofty city,
dating back to Etruscan times (and some Etruscan walls
and arches remain) is a happy marriage of hills and civic
design. The north – south spine of the city is the
Corso Vanucci,
crossed by the Via dei Priori,
both major thoroughfares in the civic design os perugia.
The artistic heart of the city is the Piazza
IV Novembre, a huge square fronted by
the Cathedral,
the 14th century Loggia
di Fortebraccio, and the Palazzo
dei Priori. At the centre of the square
is the magnificent Fontana Maggiore.
Inside the Palazzo dei Priori is the Galleria
Nazionale di Umbria, housing the most
important collections of works of art in Umbria, and also
the Sala del Collegio della
Mercanzia and the Collegio
del Cambio. Elsewhere in the city are
museums, churches, and public buildings, all worth a visit.
In fact any short walk through the threading medieval
streets is a lesson in itself in civic architecture.
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3.
Poggio Aquilone
to Orvieto. (about 38 kms)
The road joining Poggio Aquilone to Orvieto runs through
the only volcanic area in Umbria: two extinct volcanoes
have been identifies, one where the town of San
Venanzo now sits, and theother at Oian
di Celle. In the Museo Vulcanologico
at San Venanzo there are specimens of various minerals,
including the very rare ‘venanzite’, a very
hard volcanic rock.
At Montegabbione
is situated the Scarzuola,
a former Franciscan convent, where Saint Francis himself
is reported to have stayed in 1218, planting a laurel
and a rose tree. Today this beautiful setting has been
transformed by the architect Tommaso
Buzzi into a sort of ideal city, representing
the marriage of the original design with the mysticism
of the Franciscan ideal.
Orvieto
itself is of Etruscan origin, and important Etruscan evidence
remains. The Necropoli del
Crocifisso (6th century BC) has wonderfully
preserved chamber tombs, in which have been found rich
funeral decorations and relics. The heart of the city
of Orvieto is the Piazza
della Repubblica, containing the Palazzo
Comunale, of medieval design and rebuilt
in the 1500s, and the Church
of S. Andrea with its unusual twelve-sided
tower. The Piazza de Duomo
contains one of the masterpieces of Italian gothic art,
the Cathedral
of Orvieto, built according to a design by Arnolfo
di Cambio, and finished by Maitani. In
the same square are situated the Palazzo
Soliano containing the
Museo dell’Opera de Duomo, with
works by Simone Martini, Andrea Pisano, and the school
of Maitani. In the Piazza
de Popolo is the grandiose Palazzo
de Popolo, of Romanesque and Gothic design.
The Church of S. Domenico
also repays a visit, housing the famous Monumento
al Cardinale Braye, a work by Arnolfo
di Cambio. About 15 kilometers from Orvieto is the Lago
di Corbara, an artificial lake creating by the damming
of the River Tiber. This is a favourite with fishermen,
being known for its quantity and great variety of fish.
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