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Walking Tour in Umbria - Assisi to Spoleto
(7 days / 6 nights - $2,190 AUD per person or $1,740 AUD per person with 'No Dinner' Option)
Bevagna, Umbria
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This walking tour in Umbria can be personalised to meet your interests and travel dates.
Following paths that have linked the towns for centuries, this walking tour in Umbria takes you through the 'Vale of Umbria', the green heart of Italy, visiting each day some of the greatest works of the Italian Renaissance: including the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi ‘one of the greatest monuments of Italian art'; Pinturrichio's masterpiece, Gozzoli and Perugino's sumptuous frescoes in Montefalco and Filippo Lippi's superlative frescoes in the Spoleto cathedral.
Leaving the treasures of Assisi through forest along a stone path that dates from the time of St Francis, you arrive five days later in aristocratic Spoleto, entering the town over the 13th century bridge the Ponte delle Torre, one of the marvels of medieval engineering (200 metres long and 100 metres high). At the end of the tour, you will be transfer to Spoleto railway station (with direct connections to Rome and Florence).
Resisting the Etruscan expansion (they are still proud of it today), the people of southern Umbria finally succumbed to Roman domination in the 3rd century BC, enjoying eight centuries of peace and prosperity, before falling victim to the barbarian invasions. Southern Umbria's greatest moment, however, was in the medieval period when the cities and towns thrived as independent states, giving birth to St Francis, one of Italy's most beloved sons.
On the way you will visit an enchanting hill town, perched above the Vale of Umbria, a tranquil farming town with extraordinary Roman remains; another hill town famous for its red wine and rich artistic heritage, and Spoleto, one of the most interesting towns of central Italy which, for three weeks at the end of June and beginning of July, is the seat of Italy's most celebrated arts festivals.
"We both greatly enjoyed the Umbria trip. There were too many highlights to list, we enjoyed all the places we visited on the walk, the accommodation was excellent and it was great to escape the crowds of Florence!"
SM, 2009
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What's included in this walk? |
- six nights accommodation
- all breakfasts and dinners
- recommendations for lunch
- reading lists and historical and cultural notes
- maps and detailed walking instructions
- daily transfers of baggage between hotels
- transfer to Spoleto railway station (with direct connections to Rome and Florence)
- 24 hour backup from local manager
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How hard are the walks? |
Grade 4 Walk - Good paths, orientation requires more experience, several walks longer than 15 kms, some long and steep climbs.
Although the walks follow good paths, there are a couple of sections where you will need to have a good sense of orientation. Several of the walks are quite long, and there is a long, steep climb on the first walk (from Assisi up to the top of Monte Subasio (600 metres).
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What's the accommodation like? |
Accommodation is in comfortable, family-run three and four star hotels. Costings are calculated on two people sharing a double room. All rooms have en suite bathrooms.
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Tour Cost: |
AUD $2,190 per person (single supplement for a double room for single use $350)
(approx US $1,970, SS $230 - subject to daily exchange rates)
AUD $1,640 per person (with 'No Dinners' Option)
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Tour Snapshots: (click the image for a larger version)
Finish of the walk into Spoleto
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Walking in Umbria
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Assisi Fresco, Umbria
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Small goods, Umbria
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Hilltown, Umbria
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Archangel, Bevagna
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Morning in the Piazza, Umbria
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The Appenines, Umbria
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Even without St Francis Assisi would be irresistible, a charming medieval town nestled under the forested peak of Monte Subasio. However, the monuments that have been dedicated to the saint make Assisi a highlight of any visit to Umbria. The Basilica dedicated to Saint Francis contains some of the masterpieces of Western art, including seminal works by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers. |
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The first walk takes you up to the peak of Monte Subasio via a Franciscan hermitage, with astonishing views across Umbria to the hills of Tuscany, to a spectacular hilltop village perched on a ridge on the other side of Monte Subasio. You'll have time to visit the 13th century church of Santa Maria Maggiore with Pinturicchio's dazzling fresco cycle, fresh and glowing after recent restoration.
(17 kms, 7 hrs). |
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A gentle walk following country roads across the valley floor, leaving Spello via a magnificent Roman gate and passing through wheat fields to a small town on the plain, one of the hidden treasures of the region. This sleepy town has two of Umbria's finest Romanesque churches as well as impressive Roman mosaics and a delightful little 19th century theatre.
(10 kms, 3 hrs). |
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Today you walk up rolling hills to one of the viticulture centres of the region, passing through the vineyards that have made the town famous. Montefalco spreads across a ridge 500 mts above the valley. As the seat of the papal governors in the 14th century, it has a rich artistic heritage out of all proportion to its size, including a beautiful fresco cycle of St Francis' life by the influential Florentine artist Gozzoli.
(8 kms, 2.5 hrs) |
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Descending from the hills, you cross the valley floor again, following a medieval path through wheat fields, past quiet farming villages and springs from a river source sacred to the Romans which inspired poets from Virgil to Byron (a charming nearby 8th century temple contains some of Umbria's oldest frescos), before climbing up to your accommodation, in a country tavern surrounded by lawns and forest that boasts one of the district's best known restaurants.
(21 kms, 6 hrs) |
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The last walk, one of the most beautiful in Umbria, winds through olive groves, around the side of the hills past a string of villages before climbing up to enter Spoleto through forests via a medieval bridge - Shelley declared Spoleto 'the most Romantic city I ever saw'. Your accommodation is in a restored patrician palazzo 100 metres from the town's cathedral, whose façade of restrained elegance is one of the most memorable in the region. The Duomo also contains superlative frescos by the Florentine master Fra' Filippo Lippi, including his final masterpiece, the Coronation of the Virgin, a fitting finale to your tour!
(14 kms, 4.5 hrs). |
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After breakfast you'll be transferred to Spoleto station, which has direct connections to Rome and Florence. |
Contact Us
For more information on this tour or to make a booking, please get in touch with us.
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