Why Umbria

Umbria is bordered by Tuscany, the Marches and Lazio. It’s a little larger than Delaware and home to a population of about 850,000. But don’t let its diminutive size fool you - we still marvel at the depth and diversity of riches within its borders.

With both its central geographical position and abundance of fields, hills, and valleys, it’s easy to understand why Umbria is often referred to as the “green heart of Italy”. Driving through the Umbrian countryside in springtime reveals the intensity and variety of this spectacular “green”. The silvery green of the abundant olive groves, the verdant pastures, the legendary pine and cypress trees, the leafy vineyards, and the rolling green hills contribute to the ever changing hues and subtleties of this palette. In May, flowers begin to dot the countryside in a riot of red, yellow, blue, followed by the endless seas of sunflowers. And the sky here is most particular. You will recognize it from Renaissance paintings of artists like Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, Umbria is beautiful and geographically distinctive from any other place you’ve been – that’s certainly a reason to visit.

Umbria is also a land of picturesque hill towns and villages that retain much of their ancient and medieval character while now serving their modern inhabitants and visitors. It’s mind-boggling to consider the history of some of these ancient towns and realize that you are walking under an arch so old that it was restored by Caesar Augustus in the 1st century A.D. Living among such monuments and history, even for a short time, is a life-enriching experience and not to be missed.

Another of its monikers presents a contrasting image of Umbria: the “land of saints and warriors”. As the birthplace and home of scores of saints, including the renowned St. Francis of Assisi, Umbria enjoys a certain mystical cachet. This is of course offset by it’s notoriety as a land of self-sufficient and self-interested warring hill towns that employed mercenaries to help them wage war upon each other for hundreds of years during the Middle Ages.

Today, modern Umbria reflects the long and contrasting history that helped form it. The ancient and the modern exist side by side. Historic feasts are observed with the same fervor with which they began hundreds of years ago. While the region has responded to social and economic change, it is in many ways old fashioned and simple. And while the Umbrian people love to share their culture, food and art with foreign visitors, you will not find the legions of tourist traps and inflated prices that have marked the development of other regions. The pace of life is slow and the Umbrians don’t seem inclined to change it.

Umbria is stunning, stimulating, spectacular and authentic.

Understanding Umbria

The name “Umbria” is derived from one group of prehistoric inhabitants, the Umbrians, a distinct Italic people that settled on the east bank of the Tiber River. Not much is know about the Umbrian people, but it is known that the Umbrians occupied territory which included Gubbio and Amelia and that they were nomadic farmers who settled mostly in the valleys and plains. Across the river lived the Etruscans, another ancient race who probably occupied much of Italy at one point or another and claimed Perugia and Orvieto as significant centers. (Tuscany derives its name from the Roman name for the Etruscans: Etrusci or Tusci.) Every few years or so, when city planners begin an excavation to add new infrastructure, or a farmer digs deeper than usual on some remote acre, an Etruscan tomb or entire burial ground is unearthed. Much has been deduced about the lives of the Etruscans by studying their treatment of death and the objects unearthed from these tombs. The jewelry, pottery and other contents of these tombs suggest that the Etruscans immigrated to Italy from a region in Asia Minor and were not indigenous Italian peoples. This is not certain or even unanimous among archeologists, but we’ll go with it. The first settlements in the region we now call Umbria date from the 5th or 6th centuries B.C. By the 4th century, another ancient people began to assert its footprint in the region – the Romans. The former enemy settlements of the ancient Umbrians and Etruscans united to rebuff the Roman advance, but the union came a little late, and by the 3rd century B.C., the Roman conquest was definite. Spello, Assisi, Bevagna, Foligno and Spoleto all became Roman centers along the important Roman road, Via Flaminia.

During the next several hundred years, the Roman network of communication enabled the spread of Christianity throughout Umbria – particularly in the remote rural areas where the monastic tradition of the eastern Mediterranean took firm root. (Umbria eventually became the home of an inordinate number of saints, including St. Benedict (b. 480 A.D.) who founded the eponymous brotherly order, his sister St. Scholastica, St. Rita, St. Valentine and many others, culminating in St. Francis of Assisi (b. 1182). Every town in Umbria has a shrine, or six or seven, paying homage to the hometown saint or saints.) After the fall of Rome, Umbria fell to the Goths, Huns and finally the Lombards who established Spoleto as an important capital. The power of the Catholic Church continued to grow and in the 6th century, Charlemagne was able to rout the area of the Lombards. The era of the Holy Roman Empire that followed nurtured a huge schism between church and state. After Charlemagne’s death, anarchy and chaos prevailed. People literally took to the hills, and there followed the proliferation of the isolated and fortified hill towns. Over the next several hundred years, Umbria was home to constant sieges and battles between neighbors, church and state. Today, when looking across the valley from Perugia to Assisi, you can easily imagine the scores of warriors rampaging across the countryside to invade their next door neighbor. It was a period of confusion and catastrophe that lasted well into the 17th century as rulers, allegiances, plagues and pestilence wreaked havoc in Umbria, as in much of Europe. In spite of all this, artistic life in Umbria flourished. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, many of the great artists and architects of Italian history left their mark in Umbria. Some were home grown masters, such as Gattapone, Fra Bevignate, Pinturicchio, Cimabue and Pietro Vanucci (aka Il Perugino). Others were visiting luminaries such as Fra Angelico, Sangallo, Luca Signorelli, Benozzo Gozzoli, Giotto and Raffaello, all of whom left important works within Umbria’s modern borders.

Why go into all this? Because if you are a little familiar with this history, you’ll understand the puzzling array of structures before you when you visit an Umbrian hill town: intact Umbrian stone walls and gates, Etruscan town walls and fortifications, medieval additions and papal fortresses, renaissance and baroque “improvements” – all coexist in a medley that is eclectic but not dissonant. In Perugia, for example, there stands a massive Etruscan arch, topped with another archway from the Middle Ages, topped again by a loggia added a full 100 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. In virtually every pocket of Umbria, you’re likely to find some juxtaposition of eras and purposes: a Roman pagan temple now hosting a Catholic church or restaurant; a Roman amphitheatre where you can sit on centuries old steps to listen to an open air concert in the summer, or an Etruscan well providing natural air conditioning for whomever the present day building inhabitants may be. There is very little of the kind of historic preservation with which we are familiar where a revered landmark becomes a museum. Italian families, businesses and shops occupy the ancient and medieval structures, continuing and adding to the usefulness and living history of these monuments.

The Umbrian people are extremely proud of their heritage and the fervor and energy with which they preserve this history is unparalleled. Many of the feasts and festivals that Umbrians celebrate are hundreds of years old, such as the Race of the Candles in Gubbio (900 years +) and the Jousting Tournament in Foligno (400 years +) and have been observed virtually uninterrupted since their inception. In addition to preserving centuries old festivals, new events and activities have been organized that recognize the traditions of the past. During one week in June, for example, the town of Bevagna holds the Mercato delle Gaite during which the entire town dresses in medieval costume and competes to recreate authentic banquets, games and demonstrations of artiginal crafts and daily life.

More about Umbrian Wine and Cuisine

Relative to other wine producing regions in Italy, the wine region in Umbria is remarkably small in terms of both geography and the quantities produced. This makes the quality of the area’s wine even more incredible. Bear with us for a brief enological diversion to help you understand Umbria’s unique position. In the 1960’s, Italy introduced two wine categories to establish standards and elevate the quality of wine production. DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) wines meet specific standards of their region and are produced under controlled methods which guarantee adherence to an individual region’s traditional practices. DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) wines have similar, but much more stringent controls, including a pre-bottling tasting evaluation. Ok, now back to Umbria. Umbria is the home of several DOC and two DOCG wines (Sagratino di Montefalco and Torgiano Rosso Riserva). For such a small wine producing region, this number of superior wines is truly extraordinary. The 2004 Gambero Rosso (the premier Italian wine rating book) awarded 6 Umbrian wines it’s highest commendation – thus putting Umbria ahead of Lazio, Sardinia, Puglia, Abruzzo and Emilia Romagna – all historically better known producing regions than Umbria. So look out – while the quantity of wine produced won’t change much, the quality of the Umbrian output has been improving every year. Many of the area’s small, but prestigious producers do not export, so you must come and taste for yourself!

To many Italians, Umbria is the home of the second best cuisine in the world – “dove si mangia bene” (where one eats well). This is extraordinarily high praise given that the best cuisine on earth to most Italians is what comes out of their mother’s kitchen. Historically, superb cheese makers, produce developers and Italy’s best butchers hail from Umbria. In fact, another word for “butcher shop” in Italy is Norceria – after the expert butchers of Norcia. (The butchers of Norcia were considered so skillful that they were called into service during the 18th and 19th centuries to perform surgeries on talented young male singers – thereafter castrati.)

Umbrian cuisine is a miracle of simplicity. The Umbrian kitchen relies on the purity and integrity of available ingredients and time honored recipes, with little if any acknowledgement to French or southern Italian influences. Produce is eaten only in season, with the exception of the truffles which are preserved so that the flavor is available all year. The foundation of Umbrian cooking is olive oil. Olive trees grow in abundance throughout Umbria and some of Italy’s best oils come from the region around Trevi and Spoleto. The Umbrians dress their salads, cooked vegetables, meats, and toasted breads with this wonderful olive oil. Other homegrown specialties not to be missed are the black truffles of Norcia and the lentils of Casteluccio.

Antipasti (appetizers) are typically of three varieties –cured meats and cheeses, mixed hot appetizers and bruschetta. The hot items are usually stuffed fried olives, fried fresh mozzarella cheese, and zucchini flowers – all lightly breaded and flavorful. Bruschetta is grilled bread covered with fresh tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, black truffles, chicken liver pate or olive oil and garlic.

The pastas are made by hand and are of an excellent quality. The Umbrians use mushrooms (porcini and tartufo), tomatoes, or meat as a basis for their pasta sauces. Tagliatelle with meat sauce (often made with wild game) is one of the most traditional preparations and is a regular on the Umbrian table. Umbrian cooks also have some simple eggless preparations of their own invention, such as strangozzi or umbricelli. The soups are generally hearty affairs made with lentils or farro, a grain typical of the region.

The main courses are usually simply prepared roasted meat – pork, lamb, veal, beef or chicken. Wild game is also generally available – wild boar, squab, rabbit, and venison. Fish does not usually portray a starring role with the notable exception of the area around Lago di Trasimeno and the mountains around Norcia, where lake fish and trout from the local streams is a specialty.

With the general standard of cuisine being quite high, it‘s very difficult to eat badly in Umbria. Even so, you can eat well or enjoy a repast so incredible that it’s, well, incredible. Let Concierge in Umbria lead you to the latter. We are continually tasting and re-tasting food in restaurants large and small, recognized and unsung – hey it’s tough work, but somebody has to do it.
 

Concierge in Umbria, LLC

Authors:  Maria Gabriella Landers and Brian Dore