Franco’s favourite ... Umbrian delights
Jan 11th, 2008 | 05:13 PM
#84
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Regularly over the last weeks, people who wanted to contact me opened new threads and addressed me in the title, like "Franco (and others), ... question, please". I hope I've noticed all of them, but nevertheless, this is a little hazardous since I'm not such a diligent forum reader - rather the lazy type. Very often, I'm just checking the threads on which I've already posted before...
So if you want my opinion, please post your question on "my" appropriate thread (all the links are above, near the top); or, if you open a new thread for your question hoping that this way, more others might weigh in, then please post a short notice or a link to your question on "my" thread as well to prevent me from overlooking it. Thanks!
So if you want my opinion, please post your question on "my" appropriate thread (all the links are above, near the top); or, if you open a new thread for your question hoping that this way, more others might weigh in, then please post a short notice or a link to your question on "my" thread as well to prevent me from overlooking it. Thanks!
Aug 27th, 2008 | 02:53 PM
#85
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,146
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Franco, I've really enjoyed your posts on Umbria. We will be spending a few days in Orvieto in late September.We have visited Orvieto several times so we would like to see some of the near-by areas, too. We will have a car and would like to visit some villages that are within an hour's drive from Orvieto. Which ones would be especially interesting?
Thanks for your help.
Thanks for your help.
Sep 7th, 2008 | 08:53 AM
#86
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Saraho, sorry to reply only now, have been away for a short while. Well, from Orvieto - you'll perhaps already know Todi, and certainly know that it's near enough to Orvieto. Other destinations near Orvieto that have already been mentioned on this thread are Città della Pieve and Lugnano in Teverina; and neighbouring Lugnano is Amelia with its impressive and completely intact city walls from the 6th or 5th century BC (!!!). If the weather is beautiful you might want to see the petrified forest of Dunarobba (don't go after a rain, the soil that managed to preserve those prehistoric logs easily turns into the world's toughest mud and will petrify your shoes, as well).
And though I usually recommend to limit Italian journeys to one region each, I'm always making an exception for southern Umbria and northern Lazio since northern Lazio was always a part of Umbria until Mussolini's dictatorship (Lazio as a region is a Fascist invention): the Mannerist villas/parks of Bomarzo and Bagnaia are very well worth a visit, the highly unusual Romanesque two-level church of Montefiascone, the great 11th-century crypt of Acquapendente (under a dull baroque church), also the medieval core of Viterbo and of course pretty but somewhat overrated Civita di Bagnoregio.
And though I usually recommend to limit Italian journeys to one region each, I'm always making an exception for southern Umbria and northern Lazio since northern Lazio was always a part of Umbria until Mussolini's dictatorship (Lazio as a region is a Fascist invention): the Mannerist villas/parks of Bomarzo and Bagnaia are very well worth a visit, the highly unusual Romanesque two-level church of Montefiascone, the great 11th-century crypt of Acquapendente (under a dull baroque church), also the medieval core of Viterbo and of course pretty but somewhat overrated Civita di Bagnoregio.
Oct 11th, 2008 | 11:44 AM
#87
Joined: Dec 2005
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Renting a renovated tower between Spoleto and Montelucco for the last week of October...after reading this i am now somewhat tuned into Montefalco russo, truffles, and Villa Roncalli. My companions have designated Orvieto and its wine, Asissi, and pottery (Deruta?) as other things on the list.
Anybody else have any suggestions for not-to-be-missed food or activities? And while purportedly we can walk through the woods and accross the famous bridge to Spoleto's historic area in about 20 minutes, we do not really know much about this town. And of course, where to eat!
Anybody else have any suggestions for not-to-be-missed food or activities? And while purportedly we can walk through the woods and accross the famous bridge to Spoleto's historic area in about 20 minutes, we do not really know much about this town. And of course, where to eat!
Oct 13th, 2008 | 12:33 PM
#88
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I take the opportunity to add an overdue update after a visit to Umbria early this summer. I was somewhat disappointed this year. My favourite Umbrian area around Foligno - Bevagna - Montefalco is developping in a way that I don't like. Rampant building without any recognizable planning is spoiling the countryside; between Foligno and Bevagna, all will soon be furniture stores, gas stations, light industry, car dealerships... And the historic town and village centers are suffering gentrification; the locals seem to move out (into those new buildings that are spoiling the countryside), and non-residents (not necessarily foreigners - many of them are Roman) are making the beautiful old stone buildings their second homes. Yes of course... that's the way it seems to go everywhere in Europe. But the fact that it didn't use to be like that in central Umbria will easily explain why I love that region so much. Well, there's still much of it unspoiled: east of Spoleto, or immediately south of the Foligno-Bevagna stretch, the forgotten country towards Todi; and much else. But it's important to be vigilant in order to prevent the rest of the region from taking the same wrong turn; and to protest wherever it's already necessary to do so: above all, the municipality of Bevagna could obviously need some tutoring in urban development, and I invite everybody who has had the same impression recently to file a formal protest there.
As far as eating, of my three favourite Umbrian restaurants, two (Coccorone and Taverna Castelluccio) were as excellent as always, Coccorone maybe even more than usual; but Villa Roncalli (attention, Jano3!) was a severe disappointment this time. Only the dessert was as great as their kitchen used to be, the rest is silence! An unhappy evening, or an unhappy season? Please report, everybody who has or will have recent experiences! To add something positive, they were nice enough to reduce the price after I had politely complained about the food.
And also the wines of Montefalco are suffering gentrification, so to speak. Their growing popularity (in Italy as well as in the US) has led to a price explosion that's just astonishing! To give an example, Scacciadiavoli, a relatively large producer that has always provided good wines but never exciting ones, at very attractive prices (I loved to cook with Scacciadiavoli's Sagrantino, that's what it was always great for, but didn't usually drink it), has gone posh. The wines are more or less still what they used to be (ok, somewhat finer and more elegant than before, but basically still rustic wines) - but the price is now four times what it was nine years ago!! Inflation wasn't definitely that high in Italy...
Well, but there is good news, too. The Nunzi oil mill is still working, and more than that: they've bought a new oil press, infinitely more modern than the old one, and their oil is consequently even better than it used to be (and no, it's NOT more expensive than before - SAME price as back in 2003!!, with my best respects to Cantina Scacciadiavoli!).
As for your questions, Jano3, I haven't had many meals in Spoleto, and none was remarkable - maybe someone else can chime in? Don't miss the Piano Grande & Valnerina region, for which Spoleto is the obvious starting point. Spoleto itself is as beautiful as any medieval Umbrian town, slightly larger than most others - and with one disadvantage, the center not being pedestrianized (as almost everywhere else). Spoleto's main sight, for me, is its least-known: S. Salvatore, the cemetery church. It's maybe Umbria's oldest church, from late antiquity (4th or 5th century!), still boasting classical Roman architecture (which is extremely rare for Christian churches, Christianity usually aiming at destroying the spirit of Roman antiquity, which is usually mirrored in the early Christians' architecture). This building is the perfect combination of a nave and a central-plan presbytery - it always seemed to me that Palladio must have known S. Salvatore (there's no proof for this guess!) before planning SS. Redentore in Venice. See http://www.sacred-destinations.com/i...-salvatore.htm for directions. Other wonderful churches in Spoleto include the Duomo and Sant'Eufemia. Look here for some pretty Spoleto pictures (including the best ones I found on the web of S. Salvatore): http://flickr.com/photos/sacred_dest...7604670466900/
As far as eating, of my three favourite Umbrian restaurants, two (Coccorone and Taverna Castelluccio) were as excellent as always, Coccorone maybe even more than usual; but Villa Roncalli (attention, Jano3!) was a severe disappointment this time. Only the dessert was as great as their kitchen used to be, the rest is silence! An unhappy evening, or an unhappy season? Please report, everybody who has or will have recent experiences! To add something positive, they were nice enough to reduce the price after I had politely complained about the food.
And also the wines of Montefalco are suffering gentrification, so to speak. Their growing popularity (in Italy as well as in the US) has led to a price explosion that's just astonishing! To give an example, Scacciadiavoli, a relatively large producer that has always provided good wines but never exciting ones, at very attractive prices (I loved to cook with Scacciadiavoli's Sagrantino, that's what it was always great for, but didn't usually drink it), has gone posh. The wines are more or less still what they used to be (ok, somewhat finer and more elegant than before, but basically still rustic wines) - but the price is now four times what it was nine years ago!! Inflation wasn't definitely that high in Italy...
Well, but there is good news, too. The Nunzi oil mill is still working, and more than that: they've bought a new oil press, infinitely more modern than the old one, and their oil is consequently even better than it used to be (and no, it's NOT more expensive than before - SAME price as back in 2003!!, with my best respects to Cantina Scacciadiavoli!).
As for your questions, Jano3, I haven't had many meals in Spoleto, and none was remarkable - maybe someone else can chime in? Don't miss the Piano Grande & Valnerina region, for which Spoleto is the obvious starting point. Spoleto itself is as beautiful as any medieval Umbrian town, slightly larger than most others - and with one disadvantage, the center not being pedestrianized (as almost everywhere else). Spoleto's main sight, for me, is its least-known: S. Salvatore, the cemetery church. It's maybe Umbria's oldest church, from late antiquity (4th or 5th century!), still boasting classical Roman architecture (which is extremely rare for Christian churches, Christianity usually aiming at destroying the spirit of Roman antiquity, which is usually mirrored in the early Christians' architecture). This building is the perfect combination of a nave and a central-plan presbytery - it always seemed to me that Palladio must have known S. Salvatore (there's no proof for this guess!) before planning SS. Redentore in Venice. See http://www.sacred-destinations.com/i...-salvatore.htm for directions. Other wonderful churches in Spoleto include the Duomo and Sant'Eufemia. Look here for some pretty Spoleto pictures (including the best ones I found on the web of S. Salvatore): http://flickr.com/photos/sacred_dest...7604670466900/
Nov 21st, 2008 | 07:38 PM
#91
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
Don't miss the wonderful (and affordable) Cantina de' Corvi restaurant in Spoleto.http://www.cantinadecorvi.it/index.p...e&lang=eng
See my post at:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
-- Paul
See my post at:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
-- Paul
Nov 21st, 2008 | 07:46 PM
#92
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
The correct link to the thread with my restaurant comments is:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34779621
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34779621
Jan 15th, 2009 | 02:56 PM
#95
Original Poster
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,355
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Well, perception of temperature is of course among the most highly individual things. I'm a summer person, and for me, it would quite certainly be too chilly. Not that spring couldn't be nice in central Italy; but especially if you consider going into the (beautiful) mountains of Eastern Umbria, Piano Grande/Castelluccio/Norcia, then March-April is definitely too early. I wouldn't even take for granted that there is no snow in Castelluccio in that season.
Feb 5th, 2009 | 01:18 PM
#98
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 390
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Franco-OK, we have decided to keep Umbria in our itinerary even if it is only for a brief two nights. Thank you for this post and all your others. If nothing else, I can't wait to try the truffles! So where would you recommend we base ourselves? We had not planned on renting a car until we got to Sicily but will we need one in Umbria? What are your must see/do recs please. I have Coccorone on my list already...mmmm.
