Message: I want to spend one night in either Spoleto or Assisi, probably between nights in Orvieto and Perugia. I love the small quaint towns with history and old architecture, and good food. Which town is would you recommend?

Please respond to [email protected]. Thanx.

debi

I'm sorry, but I do not wish to divulge either of my e-mail addresses, nor do I care to get a new one at yahoo.com for a single message.

My suggestion: neither Spoleto nor Assisi. Try Spello, a tiny, steep, rose-coloured hilltown that looks almost untouched by time. It has one excellent, beautifully appointed hotel, the Palazzo Bocci (four stars, but cheaper than most because Spello is so small; my room also had a gorgeous view of the Umbrian countryside).

I enjoyed eating at two restaurants more or less across the street: Il Mulino (which belongs to the hotel) and La Cantina. Both serve traditional Umbrian cuisine, with a few more frills at Il Mulino.
Foodies swear by the restaurant at La Bastiglia, a hotel at the very top of Spello, but my personal choice is to eat Italian rather than "nouvelle" or "fusion" in Italy.

Spello has a Roman arch, a great many medieval churches (mostly Romanesque), and its church of Santa Maria Maggiore has a chapel frescoed entirely by Pinturrichio (also more or less across the street from the Palazzo Bocci).

And if you do want to go to Assisi to visit the Basilica of Saint Frances (frescoes by most of the great names of the early Renaissance: Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, etc.), it's about 10 minutes by train from Spello (but you do have to take a bus from the Assisi station up to the centre).

ditto on recommendation for hotel in spello. we travelled exact same route with italian friends post-/ during famous earthquake. ate at same restaurants.
great place.

had the best apple strudel in perugia.. at a bar on central plaza.

Debi - We stayed a night in Assisi and just loved it. Once the tourist crowds head down off the hillside, walking around Assisi at night, and dining out, was most enjoyable.

No contest. Assisi is one of those special places.

Why are you wasting any time in Pwrugia, anyway.

Thanks for the responses. I'm looking into Spello and appreciate the recommendation (it isn't in my guidebook, so I didn't know about it). Why Perugia? I don't know. My guide book says its a "charming medieval city" and "is a stunning place to visit." Any other opinions?
debi

Your Debiness - All of the places mentioned on this thread are wonderful and unique in their own way. So you can't go wrong, but based on your preference for "small quaint towns" I would choose Spello over Assisi or Spoleto. And Perguia is by far the largest city in the area so you might want to reconsider an overnight there. Another thought - hopefully the construction in Orvieto is done, as last year the scaffolding put a damper on a cathedral visit.

We stayed in Spoleto and took a day trip to Assisi. We liked Spoleto because there were no tourists....it was quiet and full of locals in the evenings. The food was THE BEST we had in Italy. Very quaint, unspoiled city.