Italy - Umbria

Umbria has a three thousand-year history originating in pre-Etruscan times when it was inhabited by the Umbrii, the oldest of the Italian tribes: the Etruscan civilization, established in the fifth century BC on the west bank of the Tiber, heralded the founding of Orvieto and Perugia, the region's capital, and finally the twelve big city states; the Roman conquest in 309 BC brought the Etruscan era to an end; Saracen invasions of the 5th and 6th centuries brought Roman rule to a close and forced the Umbrians to retreat up into hill towns, spurring the growth of all the fortified medieval cities such as Todi and Gubbio.

Domination by the Goths, the Lombards, and the various ruling families as well as several centuries of Ghibelline- Guelph rivalry marked Umbria. It was the middle ages that saw the expansion of towns and villages like Assisi, Montefalco, Corciano and Trevi into their present form with stately churches, civic and private buildings. However, the continued internal strife made it ripe for papal rule: from the early 16th-century to the latter part of 18th-century, it was the "Popes'Granary" producing great quantities of wheat wine, and olive oil.

Traces of the Vatican's spiritual influence are all over in Umbria but mostly it is the harmonious relationship between man and the land that has given this splendid province – once a poor cousin to affluent Siena and Florence areas – inestimable wealth: a pristine mosaic of unblemished rural and urban micro environments that delight all the senses and refresh the spirit.