Holiday homes in Umbria, Spoleto and Perugia

In the very centre of Italy, Umbria has for centuries been a crossroads for various peoples and cultures. With a surface area of 8 456 km2, it is divided into two provinces, Perugia and Terni. Landlocked, the region encompasses Lake Trasimeno (128 km2), the fourth largest natural lake in Italy, and Lake Piediluco (1.53 km2). The river Tiber crosses the region from north to south, and into it flow a number of Umbrian rivers. One of these, the Velino, forms the 165 m-high Marmore waterfall. Uplands and mountains cover almost the entire region's territory. The main lowlands are in the valley of the Tiber, in the triangle between Perugia, Foligno and Spoleto, and are largely planted with tobacco. Umbria has a large number of caves rich in cave deposits, stalagtites and stalagmites (Monte Cucco 1566 m). Known as the 'green-hearted region', Umbria, with its many rivers, is rich in woodlands and meadows, and has many areas of great interest to naturalists.
Tourism is a driving force in the region's services sector, with a good outlook for further growth thanks not least to Umbria's thriving cultural scene. The region plays host to a number of international festivals (Spoleto; Umbria-jazz/fiction).

Umbria's history is on the one side  renowned for its peaceful green hills and countryside, and for its numerous Saints, and on the other side it has been the location of terrible battles. Perhaps it is that very beauty of the landscape and its critical access in the north/south crossroads that has brought a stream of invasions.
Evidence of the the Etruscans, original inhabitants of Umbria, is found in Perugia and Orvieto from the 8th to the 5th centuries BC. Rome than became dominant over the Etruscan areas by the 3rd century BC. Lake Trasimeno saw the curshing of Roman legions by Hannibal in 217 BC.
Saint Benedict, the founder of Western Monasticism was born in Norcia in 480 AD. In 546 AD Totila invaded the area and caused a breakdown of urban organization.
The 11th and 12th centuries saw the Romanesque period with great buildings constructed such as the Assisi Duomo, San Pietro and Sant'Eufemia in Spoleto. St Francis of Assisi lived from 1181 to 1226 and the Basilica of San Francesco was build from 1228 to 1230. The Franciscan order was founded in 1223. During the same century great town halls were built in Perugia, Todi, Gubbio and Fontana Maggiore.
In the 14th century Umbria became very prosperous and there was the Rise of the Guilds.Later, in 1535, Paul III conquered Perugia during the religious revival.Finally in 1860 Umbria joined a united Italy with many other regions.

Spoleto was situated on the eastern branch of the Via Flaminia which forked into two roads at Narni and rejoined at Forum Flaminii near Foligno.The Ponte Sanguinario of the first century BC still exists. The Forum lies under today's marketplace.

Located at the head of a large, broad valley, surrounded by mountains, Spoleto has long occupied a strategic geographical position. It appears to have been an important town to the original Umbrian tribes, who built walls around their settlement in the 5th century BC, some of which are visible today.
The first historical mention of Spoletium is the notice of the foundation of a colony there in 241 BC. After the Battle of Lake Trasimeno(217 BC) Spoletium was attacked by Hannibal who was repulsed by the inhabitants. Spoleto suffered during the civil wars of Gaius Mariua and Sulla. The latter, after his victory over Crassus confiscated the territory of Spoleto(82 BC). From this moment it became a municipium
The foundation of the episcopal see dates from the 4th century: early martyrs of Spoleto are legends, but a letter to the bishop from Pope Liberius in 354 constitutes its first historical mention. Owing to its elevated position Spoleto was an important stronghold during the Vandal and Gothic wars; its walls were dismantled by Totila
Under the Lombards Spoleto became the capital of an independent duchy (from 570), and its dukes ruled a considerable part of central Italy. In 774 it became part of Holy Roman Empire.
 In 1155 it was destroyed by Frederik Barbarossa. In 1213 it was definitively occupied by Pope Gregory IX. After Napoleon´s conquest of Italy, in 1809 Spoleto became capital of the short-lived French department returning to the Papal states after Napoleon's defeat, within five years. In 1860, after a gallant defence, Spoleto was taken by the troops fighting for the unification of Italy.
The Festival die due mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) was founded in 1958. Because Spoleto was a small town, where real estate and other goods and services were at the time relatively inexpensive, and also because there are two indoor theatres, a Roman theatre and many other spaces.It is also fairly close to Rome, with good rail connections. It is an important cultural event, held annually in late June-early July.
The festival has developed into one of the most important cultural manifestations in Italy, with a three-week schedule of music, theater and dance performances. For some time it became a reference point for modern sculpture exhibits, and works of art left to the city by Alexander Calder and others are a testimony to this.
In the United States, a parallel festival —Spoleto Festival USA— held in Charston South Carolina was founded in 1977. The twinning only lasted some 15 years. In February 2007, the city administrations of Spoleto and Charleston started talks to re-unite the two festivals, that would climax in Spoleto. The opening ceremony of the festival in Italy, had taken place 27 June 2008.
In 1992, the Spoleto arts Symposium was initiated with the purpose of bringing talented people from all around the world to study in Spoleto. Now in its 15th season, programs exist for studying opera, cooking, jazz, writing, and a kids camp.
In 18.June until 04.July you can visit the Jazz festival of the two worlds in Spoleto