Touring Umbria with a Baby

Our base for our excursions in Umbria was Perugia, which however I strongly advise against for anyone planning a holiday in this splendid region, because the traffic restrictions in the historic centre are very strict and so, on top of the already high cost of accommodation in the centre, we had to add those of an inconvenient car park (to get from the car park to the centre you have to go through very long escalators and the pushchair has to be folded every time; we had a pass only to unload the car on arrival and to load it on the day of departure, which wouldn't be a problem for a couple but for those travelling with children and a baby's gear in tow, it can be!!!). Umbria is a splendid, very green region rich in historical traces; we toured it without a precise itinerary and I must admit it was a lot of fun.

The first stop of our Umbrian holidays was Spagnolia, the Sunday town a few kilometres from Perugia. The Sunday town is a big amusement park for families; Matteo had a whale of a time and so did we. The next day, however, we finally visited Assisi, which is truly beautiful and by itself worth the trip here. I won't dwell on the beauties of this splendid little town because a simple tourist guide would do, but I would like to say that Assisi is much more than what gets advertised; to realise that you have to experience it.....I'd like to advise you not to limit your visit to the basilica alone but, if you have a little time, to also visit the Eremo delle Carceri and the Porziuncola at Santa Maria degli Angeli. On the third day, however, we devoted ourselves entirely to visiting Perugia, which is a very beautiful city full of things to see.

We start our tour with the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria at Palazzo dei Priori, with lots of precious works from our Renaissance and beyond! We come out for a stroll along Corso Vannucci, the main street of the historic centre, where some of the city's most beautiful palazzi look out (don't forget to pop into Perugia's oldest pastry shop, Pasticceria Sandri), until we reach the Fontana Maggiore, a marble masterpiece from the medieval period. Perugia is a very lively city, full of young people as it's home to a very prestigious university!!. Not far from the centre (by car) you can visit the Ipogeo dei Volumni, an ancient Etruscan underground tomb located in the necropolis of Palazzone.

The following day we set off for Gubbio, which has by now become famous not only for the traditional Festa dei Ceri but for being the location of the Don Matteo TV series!!! After parking the car, the road that will take us to the Palazzo dei Consoli and, in general, to visiting the centre is all uphill; we have a very good memory of Gubbio linked to its food and wine, in fact we believe that the restaurant where we ate the best meal of our lives is right there, which I gladly recommend: RISTORANTE ALLA BALESTRA right in the centre. My husband still remembers the suckling pig with woodland delicacies and I, a true Genoese, remember the bill, which was very, very and I repeat very reasonable considering all the local delicacies we tasted, many of them truffle-based. After lunch we take the road to Urbino.

We had in fact wanted to visit the Palazzo Ducale, seat of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, for a long time. We immediately liked Urbino a lot; the only downside is that the weather worsened and it started to rain, so we couldn't visit the centre as well as we would have liked! We manage to visit the Duomo but not Raphael's house, which we would so much have wanted to see!!! Never mind, we'll come back! We're already happy to have managed to visit the Palazzo Ducale and, in general, about this unplanned visit. On the fifth day our holidays are about to end and we still have a lot to see; today we'll visit Spoleto, but first we stop at Spello, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, where inside Santa Maria Maggiore some fine works by the painter Pinturicchio are preserved, works we'll see again in Spoleto's Duomo (Cappella Eroli) a few hours later.

Spoleto's Duomo is truly imposing, it's unthinkable not to include it in our tour. Naturally the historic centre too is rich in fine works, but surely what stuck with us most is Santa Maria Maggiore (the cathedral) and the Crypt of Isaac, as well as of course the excellent oil produced in the surrounding countryside. On the way back we stopped at Deruta, famous worldwide for its ceramics, considering that I have an exaggerated passion for this kind of object!!! In our wandering around Umbria we couldn't forget Orvieto, a city perched on a tuff spur, famous for its celebrated Duomo, the Pozzo di San Patrizio and the excellent wine!!! But the day of departure has come; as we often do on our trips, we'll make an approach stop before returning home, which will let us, as well as visiting something new, rest before getting back on the road home.

This time our approach stop will be Arezzo, a truly splendid city; absolutely not to be missed is the visit to the basilica of San Francesco with Piero della Francesca's fresco of the Legend of the True Cross, and the Duomo. We liked Arezzo very much; we would also have wanted to visit Cortona but time, as always the tyrant, didn't allow it, but as I always say we'll have an excuse to go back, perhaps when the little one is older!