Sights of Umbria

Umbria is an Italian Region that offers readily accessible sights, activities and events to suit the tastes of almost any visitor to Italy (except perhaps the coastal beach-lover!). This is especially the case for anyone making a tour of Tuscany since roads and railway links make it easy to make day trips from southern Tuscany to Umbria. Before departure, tourists should clarify to themselves what their main interests are and then select from the numerous and varied things to see and do in Umbria and create a suitable itinerary. Not doing this, visitors run the risk of missing important and interesting sights on the one hand, and trying to do too much on the other. Umbria is small enough that settling for a single vacation accommodation base still allows day trips to any part of the Region.

Roman Umbria

Porta Venere, Spello, Umbria

Many Roman ruin and Roman history enthusiasts visiting Italy might be unaware that, in addition to Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are many splendid Roman remains to be found outside of Rome and its environs. A great many of these are located in Umbria, in part because some important Roman roads, notably the Via Flaminia, ran through what is now Umbria. Some Roman buildings have been preserved essentially intact after conversion to other purposes, usually as churches, while huge constructions such as bridges, theatres and amphitheatres survive simply because of the quantity of stone used in their construction and the quality of the concrete used by the Romans. Assisi, Spello, Spoleto and Perugia all have interesting Roman buildings to view and the main structures of the Roman town of Carsulae are easily explored.

**More about Roman Umbria.**

Carsulae Roman ruins

Carsulae Roman ruins

Carsulae is a quite well-preserved Roman city located in the Umbria countryside. Although not as spectacular as Pompeii and Herculaneum, Carsulae does nevertheless provide a readily comprehensible example of Roman city planning, with some of the major features of a Roman provincial city clearly visible. The forum, basilica, theatre, amphitheatre, ceremonial city gate, and paved and guttered streets are all well-preserved. There are no later buildings in the area to obscure the ruins, other than the palaeo-Christian Chiesa di San Damiano which is in any case an adapted Roman building.

So if you’re visiting central Italy, meaning Tuscany and Umbria, and would like to see traces of the Romans in this area, then Carsulae Roman ruins are for you.

**Worth a visit. More about Carsulae.**

Festivals of Umbria

Corsa dei Ceri at Gubbio

The towns and villages of Umbria offer some of the most popular and exciting folkloric events in Italy. In Umbria, these annual events are often of Christian origin while others are tied to the annual cycles of agriculture. Check our list of festivals and events in Umbria for anything taking place near where you will be staying.

**More about Festivals of Umbria.**

Lake Trasimeno

Lake Trasimeno (Lake Trasimene, Lago Trasimeno) is the largest area of inland water in the Italian peninsula - 128 square km - and the fourth largest lake in Italy. It varies between 3 and 6 m deep and attracts a considerable variety of bird life in part because most of its shoreline is thick with reeds. There are three islands on the lake. The island of Polvese belongs to the local administration of Perugia. The Isola Maggiore covers an area of 23.2 hectares and is permanently inhabited, while the Isola Minore is uninhabited.

Lake Trasimeno and its surrounding lands were once part of the Etruscan domains. Remains of this civilisation are still visible today, particularly in the area around Castiglione del Lago. The area was later colonised by the Romans, who had a profound influence on the lake. With their extraordinary engineering skills, the Romans in fact built the first regulated outlet from the lake to control the water level and avoid flooding. But the clearest traces of past civilisations that remain to us today are from the Middle Ages, when a series of castles and fortified towns sprang up in the surrounding hills. Passignano, Monte del Lago and Castiglione del Lago have all remained virtually intact through the centuries. The remains of two castles survive on the Polvese and Maggiore islands. The manor of Castiglione del Lago is in better condition and is connected via a long covered walkway to the ducal palace of Ascanio della Cornia.

More about Lake Trasimeno.

Fioritura of Castelluccio di Norcia

Fioritura of Castelluccio di Norcia

The "Fioritura of Castelluccio di Norcia" refers to the annual flowering of vast areas of flowering plants cultivated for commercial purposes on the broad, flat areas of the glacial valleys in highland Umbria, specifically beneath the village of Castelluccio not far from Norcia. The plants flower in sequence so that the valleys change colour as the season advances. Visiting the area from June onwards to enjoy the fioritura is extremely popular both among locals and tourists.

Worth a visit. More about the Fioritura of Castelluccio di Norcia.

Marmore waterfalls (Cascate delle Marmore)

The cascate delle Marmore are in fact a man-made spectacle. The Romans created the falls by building a canal to control flooding of the towns above the falls, and the canals and various earthworks continued to be elaborated until well into the 19 C. Since then the bulk of the flow has been used for industrial purposes and the falls flow only twice per day. It's therefore important to time your visit appropriately.