Rosetravels, you might enjoy my trip report. We were just in that area in September

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/umbria-from-perugia-to-ascoli-piceno-truffles-to-oliva-all-ascolana.cfm

We also overnighted in Sansepolcro. Nice little town.
You'll find the Sansepolcro review at the end of this report

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/the-veneto-from-verona-to-ravenna-bresaola-di-cavallo-to-nero-di-seppie.cfm

sundriedpachino - thanks for the links! Sansepolcro sounds really lovely, it's on the way, and it has art. I enjoyed your report of Ascoli Piceno - I can't wait to go there!

Ramuse in Force looks wonderful. We loved our drive through the Sibillini mountains, by way of Visso and Castelluccio, very beautiful. From what I've read, there could be snow in the mountains into the month of May.
You will definitely need an overnight somewhere between Ascoli and Pisa. Depending on your route you might want to stop in Ravenna to see the mosaics there, if you haven't already seen them.

Also, Rosetravels, you might enjoy the slow food references in this link to the Sibillini park, including Norcia

http://www.sibillini.net/en/IL_PARCO/prodotti_tipici/index.html

Notice the menu on the left side.

I visited Castelluccio once, in late May, and if the weather permits will definitely go there again. It was a strange and beautiful place, I thought. My husband and I stayed there overnight and we had dinner in the Taverna and talked with the owner. At that time (2001) he said there had not been a baby born in the town in 15 years. I thought that must be the definition of sadness. Adding to that feeling of melancholy, we were there in a howling storm.

We've been to Ravenna several times - IMHO it is one of the most beautiful places in Italy. I'm always astonished at how few visitors are there. I'll ask DD if she'd like to go again.

I haven't been to Visso so that's on the list now (weather permitting - it looks like it may be at a higher elevation.)

I don't have to be in Pisa until 2 in the afternoon on the 14th so we could leave the Marche that morning. But I keep looking at the map and I see so many wonderful places in between. I don't know how I'd manage to just blow past them!

I'm just wondering what route you are planning from Ascoli to Pisa. Through the mountains and with some stops, it took us the better part of a day from Spoleto to Ascoli.

I do plan to take the slow route going from Spoleto to Ascoli. I remember driving that gorgeous river valley years ago and want to take my time this year and explore a bit. But if we end up staying in Ascoli until the morning of the 14th, we'd follow the via Michelin suggestions and it's 5.25 hours. There's a quicker route to Umbria (tunnel?) and we'd go past Perugia then head towards Firenze and on to Pisa.

But I don't think that's what we want to do. I'd prefer to go a slower 'road trip' route to Pisa with an overnight or two along the way. DD has said she doesn't want to stay just one night anywhere. But we may end up doing that. For instance, I can see staying in Urbino one night and then a place like Sansepolcro on the 13th, with a 2 1/2 hour drive to Pisa on the 14th.

Once we reach Pisa - we're actually in Garfagnana - DD will be staying with me while I take this course and she'll have the car to explore during the day. Fun!

sundriedpachino - thank you for the link! Interesting cured meats to seek out. I hope we'll be able to visit Visso as it looks like there are delicious foods to try there.

Visso is lovely, and if you are interested in salami, it is worth a stop.

In March, you are likely to find that you are not able to go to many of the higher elevations, in particular in Abruzzo and I doubt you will want to go up into the Sibillini mountains. The weather is just too cold and foggy up there, or snowy and icy. I could be wrong, but definitely check it out.

Most of Le Marche will be accessible to you, especially the southern half. When in Ascoli Piceno, try the mind-blowing liqueur at Melitt -- but not before driving.

If you stay in Urbina, Hotel NeNe is a place with good food, if they are even open in March. It's just outside Urbino. But as cured meat specialists, you might prefer to stay in Carpegna, which is three hours from Ascoli Piceno on the coastal road.

http://www.insidelemarche.com/web/it/prosciutto-carpegna-ham.aspx

From Carpegna you have a 4 hour drive to the Pisa area, via Sansepolcro/Arezzo, but you might want to make a detour for lunch at La Petraia in Radda in Chianti and ask to look around

http://www.lapetraia.com/animals.php

http://hipparis.com/2009/09/26/la-petraia-an-unforgettable-tuscan-meal/

Or you could skip Carpegna and head straight to La Petraia from Ascoli Piceno and stay there for the night.

Sorry, I meant Urbino, not Urbina.

So here's what looks like a nice agriturismo near Carpegna

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhouse/marches/pesaro_e_urbino/LaSpigadOrodiGiampieriAntonella-0520916/reviews.html

Thanks goldenautumn! I do think Urbino is a good idea as I think DD would love it.

La Petraia website is down and it's not coming up on Booking.com for the night I'd need. That's too bad as it sounds delicious from the blog post.

I've driven through the area near Carpegna - years ago - and it took my breath away. It's been on my list to return for a longer stay to enjoy the scenery. It was mid-May when I saw it - how would it be in March? Some places remain stunning even in the winter and some just look drab.

I must say that I tried not to lose any sleep about it, but your plan looks to me to be a pretty aggressive driving itinerary for early March. Anywhere in Italy for the first two weeks of March it would be unusual not to get several days of real rain, not just passing showers, and Umbria in particular is known to be rainy. Force is up fairly high. I don't think you can completely rule out the possibility of snow up there.

If you've already been to Le Marche you know that the roads are very good but they are very twisty and they go through lots of damp forest, which means you need to slow down quite a bit when it is wet (and if it drops below freezing at night, you need watch out for patches of morning ice hanging in there because sun doesn't get through the tree cover). I bring this up because you say you are going to Force and Urbino to explore hilltowns in that area, but your essentially only spending 1 day in each place at a time of year when you may not want to be driving twisty roads at all.

If you go as far as Ascoli Piceno, and the weather turns very rainy, any way you return is no joy to drive in the rain. The mountain pass between Urbino and Arezzo is demanding even in dry weather. If you come back through Spoleto, the river bed road is flat but 2-lane and prone to "laking" (ponding, puddling), so that will slow you down.

Apart from it being a tough time of year to get around in the mountains and the rainiest part of Italy (Umbria is known as the "green heart" for that reason), your itinerary pretty much has you moving away from towns of artistic treasure, especially if you are interested in painting. I don't know if Perugia is too big a city for you to want to visit, but it has what I consider the single finest and most beautiful museum for understanding church frescoes of central Italy. If you have never been, it is very much worth and afternoon of your time. Moving further north, on the way to Pisa, you have Corciano

http://www.borghitalia.it/html/borgo_en.php?codice_borgo=512&codice=elenco&page=1

Citerna

http://www.borghitalia.it/html/borgo_en.php?codice_borgo=929&codice=elenco&page=1

and Sansepolcro. Again, Arezzo might be a bigger town that you are dreaming of, but it is a wonderful place. There are beautiful agriturismi serving dinner right in the hills around there -- like this one, that cures its own hams:

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhouse/tuscany/arezzo/IlPino-3640755/index.html

Just couldn't clear my conscience without telling you that to pack in so much driving in so few days during the first weeks of March could end up meaning tense hours behind the wheel, and not much time to actually explore any destinations. Going as far southeast as Ascoli Piceno for a day, when 2 days later you need to be in the Garfagnana of northwestern Tuscany means you will need to do that drive no matter what the weather is, and you've put a snowy mountain range between yourselves and Pisa.

Central Italy between Spoleto and Pisa is so rich with interesting small towns, good food and wine, agriturismi with restaurants -- the things you say you want -- "wine, ART, scenery, people, charming towns and cities" -- and it is so easy to get off the beaten path there, I feel fairly certain there is no need to fling yourselves over the mountains for the short amount of time you have, and put yourself in so many difficult driving locations during the spring rainy season.

Very good points. I should also clarify that while I'm keen on an agriturismo, my 30-year old daughter said 2 nights max is plenty and she wants to be in bigger towns like Spoleto. That's why I was thinking of Urbino. But you are right about the roads, I remember them being endlessly twisty in the Marche and it would be dreary in the rain.

I haven't been to Perugia and would be interested in seeing the museum. Arezzo sounds very good. If we don't go to the Marche, would you recommend we go to Tuscany instead?

I also am considering putting together a Plan B in case the weather predictions are for solid rain. All my reservations can be cancelled. (Feel free to suggest a great Plan B!)

Thanks goldenautumn!

Plan B's are always a great thing to have!

Urbino is actually not all that big a town, especially in its central core. It is a pretty sight, but particularly difficult if it rains because the streets are exceptionally vertical, and the road going out of there to Tuscany is difficult even in dry weather.

You can have a great agriturismo experience all through Umbria and Tuscany, so I don't think you need to go up so high as Force. Ascoli Piceno is a lovely town, and I can see why you'd be sorry to miss it, but I would avoid making it your last stop before you need to be in Pisa.

My plan would be:

3 nights Spoleto

2 nights in Ascoli Piceno (visit Norcia on the way)

2 nights in Perugia. (I adored the Hotel Rosalba but there are other good places. Make sure to visit the National Gallery of Umbrian art and eat chocolate (it is very good).

http://www.perugiacittamuseo.it/en/national-gallery-of-umbria.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187907-d236094-Reviews-Rosalba-Perugia_Province_of_Perugia_Umbria.html

2 nights agriturismo near Arezzo

For daytrips from Spoleto, there is Montefalco (don't miss the Gozzoli frescoes) and, if the weather is very nice, visit Visso for lunch. If the weather is not nice, you might be interested in Foligno, which is overlooked by tourists because it is not a picture perfect preserved town, but its churches and small civic museum are stuffed with frescoes. Another possibility for a rainy day is the underground tour of Narnia:

http://www.narnisotterranea.it/INGLESE/index2.htm

But I hope you have a great guidebook for the region because there are lots of lovely sights right inside Spoleto that people sometimes don't realize are there, plus if you are feeling energetic, you can squeeze in visits to places like Bevagna or other small towns you read about in the book.

As for an agriturismo near Arezzo, if you don't want to go into hock for the rest of your life to stay at La Petraia, here are more options

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g194673-d1158573-Reviews-Bio_Agriturismo_Il_Vigno-Arezzo_Province_of_Arezzo_Tuscany.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g194673-d1952680-Reviews-Agriturismo_La_Casella-Arezzo_Province_of_Arezzo_Tuscany.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g194673-d1557893-Reviews-Allegro_Agriturismo_Argiano-Arezzo_Province_of_Arezzo_Tuscany.html

and of course there are a zillion more in the Chianti, but if you stay near Arezzo then you can visit Arezzo, which is a beautiful art town with unusual antiques stores and shopping, and you have your pick of beautiful villages like Poppi, Loro Ciuffeno and Lucignano.

Then you have a fairly short drive to the Garfagnana from there.

If you opt to stay in Perugia, go to the Slow Travel website to get good instructions for driving into town if you don't have a GPS.

buon viaggio!

Rose, I'm with your DD when it comes to actually staying in a town or small city - there's just so much more to do in the evenings besides sit around and eat! [which I'm certainly in favour of], but personally I prefer the idea of having lunch at an agriturismo rather than staying in one especially if you can combine that with a tour of some kind.

the course in cured meats sounds intriguing - a 6 day course suggests a professional interest. is that right or is this "just" a hobby?

bookmarking all of these great suggestions

In March, you are not going to find much of anything to do in an Italian town or city at night other than eat. Bars, shops and museums close at 7.30pm. Unless you are going to a concert, only the restaurants are open after that time. It is generally too cold in central Italy in March to be enjoyably strolling around at night after finishing dinner. So you might as well be at an agriturismo with a warm kitchen and a warm staff and a warm bed waiting for you.

Staying at an agriturismo doesn't preclude enjoying towns and cities during the daylight hours. An agriturismo stay can be the best way to understand the dynamics of rural Italy and its food and farming traditions, especially in areas like Umbria and Tuscany, where farming is still such an important part of Italian life and the local economy.

In March, I wouldn't find much to do at night in a Tuscan town unless it was a very touristy one.

PS, annhg,

I'm curious about which agriturismo you stayed at, and what Tuscan or Umbrian towns you stayed in during winter and what you did at night there. What year was this?

(I got curious because I clicked on your screen name and the only trip reports I saw for Italy were for a beach location in May and Rome in winter. No agriturismi stays.)

I spoke with DD today just before she got on the plane to London - her starting point! We decided to spend a night in Perugia because of the museum, chocolate and people. We are also curious about the Maremma - how that would be in winter. Pitigliano looks interesting and I can't tell if Grosseto is great or just grim.

Annhig I was thinking about your visit to the Tuscan coast for your language course. Is that an area you think worth visiting in March? And yes, this is a professional interest that's been a big shift for me. It'll be a very busy course and we are staying at an Agriturismo in Garfagnana with the whole class. THAT will be fun! It costs very little more for DD to stay with me for 6 days and she can explore the coast, Barga, Lucca, Pisa, Parma, etc. Even CT.

Plan B includes Siena and may include Florence. I love the Uffizi but DD and I were there in February 5 years ago and didn't love the city even though we love most cities. Well, all other cities. There were just so many tourists even in February, and our apartment was such a long way from everywhere.

On agriturismos - DD is interested in wine bars in towns rather than large dinners. I have only stayed in one agriturismo (late September, the Cilento, yes TR is coming) and we loved it. However, we were the only people there so...it was a little quiet at dinner. I'd like to find a more lively place this time! We plan to do a mix of accommodation - farms and hotels in the center of town.

I'm really not worried about the weather although VERY glad to have the reminder of icy roads. We want to avoid those. But I live in the NW corner of the Pacific NW and it's pouring right now. While I don't like driving in the rain, I'm fairly content in a town or a warm, cosy place with the rain coming down. There's coffee, there's wine, churches to see and we have books for hanging out.

Thanks for your help - I've made progress. Thoughts on the Grosseto area in March?

goldenautumn - I think that sounds like a good itinerary. We were almost settled on that until we started wondering about SE Tuscany today. So - let me know what you think about that instead of Ascoli. I have the Cadogan guide to Tuscany, Umbria and the Marche and it seems fairly good. I was in Spoleto for a couple of nights once and I know I missed nearly everything there was to see. This time I plan to follow the guide. Also: yes to Montefalco!

The La Petraia website was down yesterday when I looked. That's probably for the best...

hi rosetravels,

Good to know you're from the Pacific Northwest and thus keen rainy-weather drivers.

I hope you do make it to Perugia! It is a fascinating place, and Sandri's pastries, right near the National Gallery, plus the chocolate shops nearby are a chocolate paradise.

As for the Maremma, generally speaking, the coast is always milder and with much less risk of snow or ice in winter, although you can get plenty of rain. The beach towns will be really, really quiet, especially at night. Grosetto is industrial. Pitigliano itself might be a fascinating alternative to Ascoli Piceno. You can also visit the hot springs in Saturnia from Pitigliano, which might be a fun March excursion.

Surely one of the liveliest and prettiest town for wine bars would be Tarquinia (actually in Lazio), which also has the marvelous Etruscan museum and all those Etruscan tombs. It's got a couple of really nice restaurants (Arcadia, Cavatappi). A nice wine bar named D.O.C. I stayed here:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/resort-duomo.en.html

An even livelier city is Viterbo, where I've never been but I understand it has a very impressive historic center. You could put up a post and ask about it. From Tarquinia or Viterbo, it's also possible to go have lunch in Rome by train.

http://www.italy-weekly-rentals.com/webpages/accessori/UPPERLATIUM/VITERBO.htm

From that area it's about a 3 hour drive up to the coast to Pisa, with a few pretty towns along the way for lunch, like Magliano in Toscana, and the very beautiful Massa Marittima (or beach towns if the day is sunny and warm enough to venture to the sea). But otherwise the coast, while prettier than then Adriatic coast, is rather empty.

Almost any agriturismo is qoing to be fairly quiet in March, include the one in Force in le Marche. Maybe one of the liveliest in that region is Locanda Rosati, but since it is so close to Orvieto, maybe you would only want one night there before moving on to a town for 3 nights:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g194843-d239318-Reviews-Locanda_Rosati-Orvieto_Province_of_Terni_Umbria.html

Some places your daughter might enjoy once you are up north is Pietrasanta and Montecatini Alto.

And a further thought -- there is someone who posts on the TripAdvisor message boards who lives in SE Tuscany. The screen name is "appia" (or close to that). If you end up gravitating toward that area, I feel certain that poster could tell you whether Tarquinia or Pitigliano or Viterbo in March is a pleasant stay.

Instead of Florence, consider Arezzo after Siena if you head that way.

Cadogan guides are great.

annhig,

Sorry if I sounded like I was pouncing on you. I just read your post and found myself wondering "Where the heck was she in March in Italy where she was out and about at night?" I actually just spent part of the morning reading your Rome report. I see that you found a show to go one night in February -- but that is Rome! It is very hard to find that in small towns dotting the farm lands. Even in Rome I noticed in your trip report you spent all the other nights eating dinner close to your apartment, or in the apartment.

To me, one of the joys of Italy is how much time people spend talking after dinner. I've stayed at agriturismi and learned so much from the people who own them about the history of Italy, their families, their parents and grandparents in the war, politics, their relatives overseas, today's euro, etc. I find it so much nicer than eating in restaurants -- although it's also true that in some restaurants in Italy, the owners sat down with me after dinner and talked just as much!

goldenautumn - thank you for all the great ideas! I'll spend time this weekend thinking this through, researching these and then making reservations. Viterbo looks so interesting! We spent a night (sadly, just one) at the Hotel Marulivo in Pisciotta in the Cilento in October and LOVED it. Part of what I loved was how medieval the town felt to wander through.

And thanks for the reminder of Arezzo rather than Florence for Plan B.

rose- my knowledge of the Maremma is limited to the week that i spent there in May, so i can't tell you what it would be like in March; i can tell you that in may it was blessedly free of tourist hordes; therefore in March it might be a little quiet, though i was told that in holidays and at weekends it is very popular with romans. Pitigliano is lovely - like a geological trifle - and IMO well worth a visit.

what your DD says about agriturismi in march would be my worry - and as you are staying at an agriturismo for the course, i would opt for a mix.

GA - no problems. I've not stayed at an agriturismo in spring precisely for the reason I have given - plus the problems of possibly having to drive back to it in the dark and fog. i quite see the attraction of sitting around after dinner and chatting to other guests, but prefer doing this when we can sit outside in the warm. I was not talking about walking around a town at night [which can be fun hunting for a bar for example] but rather in the early evening which can be a very dead time if you are staying out in the country in spring and autumn - I personally find towns much more attractive to stay in during those season.

as for eating in restaurants near our apartment in Rome, I'm not sure what that's got to do with anything - we were in Rome with our kids!