Umbria Provinces

Travel To Umbria

Introduction to Umbria

Umbria is considered as the 'green heart' of Italy due to its central position and vast woodlands. Crossed by the Apennines, one-third of its territory is mountainous while the rest is covered with picturesque hills with olive groves and vineyards. The region is distinguished for many aspects ranging from literature to gastronomy, for its richness in history, culture and many medieval hill-towns and monasteries.

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Perugia is the capital of Umbria and contains some of the most beautiful art and architecture in the province with a score of beautiful churches and an important Etruscan museum. The National Gallery of Umbria located in the ancient and beautifully restored town hall along the Corso Vanucci has the best collection of Umbrian painting in Italy, including important works by Gentile da Fabiano, Perugino, and Piero della Francesca.

Among the other cities are Assisi, Gubbio, Orvieto, Spoleto. Among this Assisi is the most famous for Giotto fresco cycle about the life of Saint Francis and frescoes by Cimabue, Simone Martini and others in the church of Saint Francis.

The land is very fertile and the main produce are cereals, tobacco, sugar-beet, sunflowers, vineyards; Other flourishing sectors are food products, textiles, clothing and the graphics and publishing industry alongside the more traditional sectors of iron and steel, machinery, chemicals and wood. Industry is especially linked to the electrical power plants and steel mills in the province of Terni. Deruta, Gubbio and Orvieto are cities renown for the ceramic production

For food lovers, among many other specialties, there are Castelluccio lentils, a highly prized variety, the famous pork and salami products known as â€œnorcineriaâ€ and the black truffle, for which Umbria is one of the first producers in Europe.

Umbria has numerous curiosities among its vines and wines which rarely leave the region, such as the Vin Santo, pressed from semidried Grechetto or Malvasia grapes, which is usually sweet. Red wine from the area is now covered by the DOCs of Rosso Orvietano and Lago di Corbara. The most prestigious Umbrian wines are the red Torgiano Rosso riserva and Sagrantino, an ancient variety grown only around the hill town of Montefalco, which have special status as DOCG. Orvieto, instead, is one of Italyâ€™s best-selling DOC whites with a strong following abroad.