Trip of the week: the delights of southern Umbria
Italy’s ‘unspoilt green heart’ is home to vineyards and some of the country’s best-preserved medieval towns

Less visited than neighbouring Tuscany, Umbria is “Italy’s unspoilt green heart”. Much of the region “consists of little but vineyards, olive groves and farms”, making for a “bucolic” landscape that is “freckled” with some of the country’s best-preserved medieval towns. And nowhere is more peaceful and idyllic than Umbria’s south, says Annabelle Thorpe in The Times. You can easily drive across it from Tuscany to Le Marche in a few hours, but you could spend much longer, stopping off in some of the excellent restaurants and hotels you’ll pass along the way. And there’s a real treat at the end – the Valnerina, perhaps the most beautiful of all Umbria’s mountain valleys.
Perched on a huge outcrop of volcanic rock, Orvieto is one of Italy’s most extraordinary towns. It has an “almost mythical” quality: on misty mornings, “it seems to float above the valley floor, the jagged outline of the cathedral and the angular Torre del Moro rising above the rooftops”. It’s worth touring the network of ancient tunnels beneath it, where many locals took shelter during the fierce battles of 1944. But be sure to be out in the evening, when Orvieto “really comes alive”, as local families emerge for the passeggiata and flock to Di Pasqualetti, “the best gelateria in town”.
Heading on, you should stop again at Todi, a hilltop town centred on Umbria’s finest medieval square, and at Spoleto, which is “the epitome of faded grandeur” and now famed for its summer arts festival. East of Spoleto, the road passes through a long tunnel and emerges in the Valnerina, where the landscape feels positively Alpine, with its towering, “densely forested” peaks. Here, you might stay at the Torre del Nera – an albergo diffuso spread across 60 houses in the “picture-perfect” village of Scheggino – and, in the town of Norcia (which was tragically devastated by the earthquake of 2016), at the “luxurious” Palazzo Seneca, where the restaurant has a well-deserved Michelin star.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter for destination inspiration and the latest news and trends
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Trump uses tariffs to upend Brazil's domestic politics
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By slapping a 50% tariff on Brazil for its criminal investigation into Bolsonaro, the Trump administration is brazenly putting its fingers on the scales of a key foreign election
-
3 questions to ask when deciding whether to repair or replace your broken appliance
the explainer There may be merit to fixing what you already have, but sometimes buying new is even more cost-effective
-
'Trump's authoritarian manipulation of language'
Instant Opinion Vienna has become a 'convenient target for populists' | Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Kiefer / Van Gogh: a 'remarkable double act'
The Week Recommends Visit this 'heroic' and 'absurd' exhibition at the Royal Academy until 26 October
-
Mark Billingham shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The novelist and actor shares works by Mark Lewisohn, John Connolly and Gillian Flynn
-
Properties of the week: grand rural residences
The Week Recommends Featuring homes in Wiltshire, Devon, and East Sussex
-
Heads of State: 'a perfect summer movie'
The Week Recommends John Cena and Idris Elba have odd-couple chemistry as the US president and British prime minister
-
The Red Brigades: a 'fascinating insight' into the 'most feared' extremist group of 1970s Italy
The Week Recommends A 'grimly absorbing' history of the group and their attempts to overthrow the Italian state
-
Jurassic World Rebirth: enjoyable sequel hampered by plot holes
Talking Point The latest dinosaur reboot captures the essence of the original – but leans too heavily on 'CGI-heavy set pieces'
-
Summer in Seattle: Outdoor dining like nowhere else
Feature Featuring a patio with a waterfront view, a beer garden, and more
-
Film reviews: F1: The Movie, 28 Years Later, and Familiar Touch
Feature An aging race car driver gets one last chance, a kid struggles to survive in this '28 Days Later' update, and a woman with dementia adjusts to her new life