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Authentic Umbria: Visit out of season and get the heart of Italy all to yourself

By Helen Atkinson Wood
Updated: 11:42 EST, 15 May 2011


If I could choose my nationality it would be Italian. I have an unconditional love of art, religion, gastronomy, flashing eyes, plunging necklines and dramatic hair tossing. I've baked on its packed Riviera beaches, shuffled round the Vatican in roasting August and idled on the grid with Grand Prix drivers outside Modena.

But out of season - between October and May - Italy is handed back to its indigenous population and that's the time for the most authentic experience of all, when it offers an atmospheric selection of microclimates - dense haunting fog, hot cloudless skies and warm rolling thunder storms - in a country you can have all to yourself. And just as Waitrose is the new Tesco and austerity is the new rock and roll, so Umbria is the new Tuscany. High art: Helen Atkinson-Wood is pictured in the hillside town of Gubbio

But first there's the journey. On the 7.30am Ryanair flight from Stansted to Perugia - after the scrum for priority boarding - Brits are entertained at top volume with offers of scratch cards, smokeless cigarettes and inedible microwave meals, most of which cost more than they paid for the flight. But the moment you touch down everything changes.

Within 20 minutes of picking up the hire car you can be standing in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi gazing at some of the greatest works of art from the 13th Century: frescoes painted by Simone Martini, Cimabue and Giotto. Suddenly the purgatory of Ryanair is forgotten.

But enough of art. Pranzo is Italian for lunch, and therefore one of the most important words in the language.

After an early start and a lesson in art history, the Ristorante San Francesco across the square from the basilica offers the creamiest cappuccino and banks of traditional breads and pastries which can be served at cosy outdoor tables with views over the terraced terracotta slopes of Assisi.




Some 40-odd miles north towards Pietralunga, on a hillside nearly 2,000ft above sea level, rises the Abbazia San Faustino. Built as a Benedictine abbey in 1289 and with a chapel embellished by 16th century frescoes, the Abbazia became a hidden refuge for Italian partisans during the Second World War before then falling into disrepair and being deconsecrated. But luckily for all of us it was rescued and converted into a stunning and unique country house hotel.

After ascending from the bustle of the Tiber Valley you arrive to a deep silence, punctuated only by the rustle of wind through trees, a distant bell and the sound of your own heartbeat. Out of season you can have all this virtually to yourselves.

For the duration of our visit, guests were outnumbered by the cheery team of talented and attentive young staff.

As an actress I know it's sometimes harder playing to a half-empty house (a Wednesday afternoon matinee of Present Laughter alongside Peter Bowles in Belfast comes to mind) but here their performance was faultless.

Mirela practically gave us a one-woman show as she took us up to see the bell tower, Francesco gave us a guided tour of the extensive Umbrian wine list, introducing us to Montefalco which became our firm favourite, while chef Lorenzo dazzled us with his repertoire of regional dishes before finally seducing us with a peach and passion fruit pannacotta.

In the restaurant, meanwhile, the voice of Italy's favourite son, Frank Sinatra, was always there in the background to entertain us with a seasonally appropriate medley, including Summer Wind. Saintly serenity: The town of Assisi, home of remarkable frescoes from the 13th Century

Tear yourself away from all this and close by you will find Montone, billed as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. It is indeed picture perfect. And empty. The terrace of the Ristorante Del Verziere offers another masterpiece of a view.

At this time of year you might need to wrap up warm for Gubbio, another short drive away, where its exposed castle holds yet another spectacular collection of art treasures. It made for a gusty and memorable post-lunch visit.

Northern Umbria, and more specifically the Upper Tiber Valley, is aptly described as Museum Valley. An astonishing concentration of monuments and works of art are to be found in its unassuming towns and villages such as Umbertide, Citta di Castello and Citerna.

For panoramic position alone my favourite is the medieval hilltop hamlet of Monte Santa Maria Tiberina where the landscape spread out below has all the elements of the Farrow and Ball colour card.

Sated with art, we went south in search of nature, gastronomy and truffles. All three are to be found in abundance in the little town of Norcia.

On the way there we swung through Spoleto - another hilltop marvel - to take in the towering Roman aqueduct that is Il Ponte delle Torri with its backdrop of the Sibillini Mountains. Hill walkers flock here, and I tagged along with a group of them on a truffle hunt.

But much more importantly, I tagged along with a cocker spaniel called Dick, and during our hour with him and his owner Salvatore, he found eight sizeable black truffles.

The largest of these can be worth up to £600, but Dick was apparently happy enough with his reward of a few lumps of hard cheese.In Norcia itself, the Bianconi family invite you to make yourself at home in their irresistible Palazzo Seneca. Slice of heaven: A deli shop in the town of Norcia, which is famous for its salami and pork products

In the heart of this heart-shaped city, this 16th Century palace is everything you could wish for from a Relais and Chateau hotel.

Understated elegance is illuminated by soft light and rich Umbrian colours and each bedroom is an individually designed combination of the contemporary and the antique.

Norcia is a gastronomic paradise - I have never seen so much meat in so few shops. Pork is to Norcia what mint cake is to Kendal and it is the profusion and variety of pork products, or 'Norcineria', which has made the town famous.

Chef Flavio Faedi is the star of the show at Palazzo Seneca. During the day he confines himself to the occasional master-class, demonstrating in this case to the party of truffle hunters (yes, them again) how to draw simple strands of fresh pasta, blend a basic béchamel sauce and create a rustic lunch.

But it's in the evening when cooking for Vespasia, the Palazzo Seneca's restaurant, that he really slips his culinary leash.

A slippery jar of river fish in aromatic oil fusion gave me a bit of a fright, but luxurious handmade tagliolini with truffles was exquisitely comforting, especially as I could imagine Dick retrieving my truffle in his soft muzzle.

He would doubtless have ordered the selection of local cheeses but I finished up choosing featherlight chocolate froth cioccocappuccino with Anisetta Meletti liqueur.

To say Norcia and the Palazzo Seneca is somewhere between heaven and earth is no exaggeration.

Low cloud, glowering mountains and persistent rain give it an ethereal quality, and witnessing the Benedictine monks singing evensong

by candlelight in the crypt of the San Benedetto Basilica was an experience that stayed with me long after my return home.


CV Travel (020 7401 1045, www.cvtravel.co.uk) offers two nights' bed and breakfast at Abbazia San Faustino from £375 per person including return flights from London Gatwick to Florence.

Room rates at the Palazzo Seneca Relais & Châteaux (00 800 2000 00 02) www.relaischateaux.com/seneca) start from about £110 a night including breakfast.

Ryanair return flights from Stansted to Perugia start from £42.



Holidays in Umbria: Visit between October and May and get the heart of Italy all to yourself

