Italy's Assisi & Northwestern Umbria
By Emma Jones
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Beautifully situated in the medieval heart of Umbria, Assisi is one of the most popular sightseeing and pilgrimage destinations in Italy. Not only does it have an historical center of distinguished monuments, collections of art and breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside, but it sits on the doorstep of the Parco Regionale Monte Subasio (Mt Subasio Regional Park). It is also tied with the legacy of its best-known son, St Francis. While the ancient Umbrian city of Asisum left a priceless legacy of Etruscan and Roman structures, it was the town's most famous monk who transformed Assisi into a site of immense architectural and artistic importance. Many of the greats of the high Middle Ages and the Renaissance were drawn to Assisi from all over Italy, and outstanding works of Umbrian painting and sculpture adorn every church, cathedral and palace. Basilica di San Francesco e Sacro Convento is the city's undisputed jewel, located west of the historical center. Built just after the death of St Francis in 1228, it comprises two churches - one built above the other - and a crypt dug in 1818 to house the Saint's tomb. Entered via a courtyard built by Pope Sixtus IV with magnificent views over the surrounding countryside, the dark lower church has striking late Romanesque vaulting and frescoes by some of the greatest painters of the 13th and 14th centuries, including Cimabue, the Lorenzetti brothers and Simone Martini; the upper church is Italy's earliest Gothic church, and is decorated with Giotto's famous cycle of 28 frescoes telling the stories and legends of the life of St Francis. Just outside of Assisi, one of the most picturesque towns in Umbria, Gubbio conserves an almost intact medieval historical center and a fabulous natural location, perched on the higher reaches of a plateau at the foot of Mt Ingino. On its doorstep is the Parco Regionale Monte Cucco, a range of limestone massif popular with hikers, cavers and hang-gliders, and the lower-lying fertile river valley of the Alto Chiascio. Part of the Apennine mountain range, the 25,000-acre Mt Cucco Regional Park occupies the northeast part of the region. Crossed by the Via Flaminia and the Sentino and Chiascio rivers, the rocky slopes peak with Mt Cucco (1,556 m/5,104 feet) - one of the highest points in Umbria - and dip with the mountain pastures and deep gorges from where the rivers and mineral waters begin. The land is rich with wildlife, especially on the eastern slopes of the highest peaks. Badgers, beech-martens, foxes and grey squirrels live in the woods; chaffinches, tits, wrens, woodpeckers, larks and owls balance on the branches of the trees; and golden eagle, rock partridges and hawks fly overhead. Mt Cucco offers some of the loveliest mountain walking in the province, with medium-level trails taking you through woods and meadows, and up the rounded summits of the Apennine ridge. There are over 30 trails marked in the district, many of which depart from Costacciaro. Near the border between Umbria and Mare, the town of Gualdo Tadino sits at the foot of the Central Apennines just above the foundations of the original Umbrian, then Roman, town of Tadinum. This town of rich history was razed to the ground by Hannibal in 217 BC, sacked by the troops of Julius Casear in 49 BC, suffered various barbarian invasions and was the site where the Byzantine army defeated Goth King Totila, bringing the Gothic-Byzantine war to an end (552). What survived all of that was finally destroyed by fire, and the whole town was moved up the hill and rebuilt in 1273. A walk around town will take you past the Romanesque-Gothic façade of the Cattedrale di San Benedetto, with three arched portals and double rose window on the exterior, a 14th-century Crucifix, a fresco by Matteo da Gualdo, and the relics of patron saint, Beato Angelico, in the interior. This is just a tiny fraction of the sites and activities that are detailed in this guide. All the places to stay and eat are cover
Emma Jones
Emma Jones is founder and editor of Enterprise Nation, the home business website, and has started two businesses herself from home offices in London, Manchester and rural Shropshire. Following a career with an international accountancy firm, Emma started her first business at the age of 27 and successfully sold it just 15 months after launch. The home business website was launched in 2006, and has attracted a regular readership of more than 250,000 people and national press headlines. Emma has written for Enterprise Nation since its launch and also for the Financial Times, City AM and customer magazines, including for Orange, Microsoft, BT and Viking Direct. Emma is regularly called upon by the government to speak on the subject of home business and she advises Regional Development Agencies on how to encourage and support homeworking. She can be followed on @emmaljones.
Read more from Emma Jones
The StartUp Kit: Everything you need to start a small business Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Working 5 to 9: How to start a successful business in your spare time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Turn Your Talent into a Business: A guide to earning a living from your hobby Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUmbria - Perugia, Orvieto, Spoleto & Assisi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Fantastic Franchises!: The UK's Best Franchise and Direct Selling Opportunities for Small Businesses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMake Money from Makes: A guide to turning your hobby into a business Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSiena Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA HouseBeautiful Home Business: How to start a successful interiors, housewares or furniture business from home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSiena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano & Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoing for Growth: How to grow your business on a budget Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTuscany's San Gimignano, Montepulciano & Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlorence, Chianti, Siena & Surroundings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Italy's Assisi & Northwestern Umbria
Related ebooks
Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano & Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSiena Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTuscany's San Gimignano, Montepulciano & Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlorence, Chianti, Siena & Surroundings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVenice and Its Story: "In Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rough Guide to Tuscany & Umbria (Travel Guide eBook) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Puglia: A Cultural Companion to South-Eastern Italy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An Armchair Traveller's History of Apulia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History of Italy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVenice and Its Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking in Umbria: 40 walks in the 'Green Heart' of Italy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmart Guide Italy: Turin, Piedmont and Aosta Valley: Smart Guide Italy, #7 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMalta: A Traveller's Anthology Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Central Italy, Marches, and Abruzzo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFianona-Plomin: Story of a country and a family Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of Milan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Ancient Rome: Book I: The Period Anterior to the Abolition of the Monarchy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTuscany: A History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMalta Through The Ages in Paintings & Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArezzo. Art, History, Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20. December, 1877. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Vaudois of Piedmont: A Visit to Their Valleys Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaples: Life, Death & Miracles vol. 4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPietro's Book: The Story of a Tuscan Peasant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPech Souleila: Sidi Kafir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsETRURIA: The Forgotten People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThrough the Casentino with Hints for the Traveller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of Italy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cinque Terre, Florence, Umbria Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHidden Tuscany: Discovering Art, Culture, and Memories in a Well-Known Region's Unknown Places Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Europe Travel For You
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notes from a Small Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Family and Other Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unlocking Spanish with Paul Noble Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Hate Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Spanish : How To Learn Spanish Fast In Just 168 Hours (7 Days) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Huckleberry Finn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mastering Spanish Words: Increase Your Vocabulary with Over 3000 Spanish Words in Context Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5North: How to Live Scandinavian Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Corfu Trilogy: My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and The Garden of the Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Creeper: an atmospheric, chilling horror from the author of The Watchers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conversational French Quick and Easy: The Most Innovative Technique to Learn the French Language. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Learning Italian Conversation: Trusted support for learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Travel Guide to Ireland: From Dublin to Galway and Cork to Donegal - a complete guide to the Emerald Isle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScottish Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Scotland the Brave Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frommer's Athens and the Greek Islands Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrommer's Iceland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollins French Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Garden of the Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cottage Gardens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLysistrata Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Italy's Assisi & Northwestern Umbria
0 ratings0 reviews