Spello presents a unique charm as you approach it, a town that feels like it’s gracefully rising up Monte Subasio. Its stone houses cling to the hillside, creating a stunning visual. The historic center is beautifully encircled by ancient town walls, giving it a regal feel.
Exploring Historic Spello
Roman Foundations
Spello’s history stretches back to Roman times when it was known as “Hispellum.” It was strategically located on the Via Flaminia, a significant consular road, and was close to a vital route towards Perugia. You can still see impressive reminders of this era, most notably the Porta Venere. This Augustan-era gate, with its distinctive twelve-sided towers, stands majestically on the western side of the town.
Art and Architecture
Much of Spello’s charm unfolds along Via Cavour, the main street. Your walk will likely lead you first to Santa Maria Maggiore. While its medieval portal is finely carved, the true marvel lies within. The Cappella Baglioni houses one of Pinturicchio’s most vibrant fresco cycles, completed in 1501 for the influential Baglioni family. These joyful paintings depict the birth and childhood of Jesus. As you observe the “Disputation in the Temple,” you might notice figures that seem to have stepped out of time, with one depicted looking rather pleased with his moment of artistic immortality. Even the church treasurer, shown with a full money bag, adds to the lively scene.
Near Santa Maria Maggiore, you’ll find a reputable civic art gallery and a few other churches worth your attention. However, beyond these key sights, Spello’s true appeal comes from its gentle pace of life and the lovely Subasio marble. This stone glows with a warm, peach-pink hue, particularly striking at sunrise and sunset. It creates a beautiful atmosphere as you wander through the town’s lanes.
Where to Stay in Spello
For a comfortable stay, Palazzo Bocci is a four-star option located on Via Cavour. This charming hotel is housed in an 18th-century residence, offering a pleasant base for exploring the town. Double rooms here begin around €130.
If you’re seeking something more exclusive, the centro storico offers delightful apartments like Buonanotte Barbanera and La Casetta. These accommodations boast decor that could inspire a design magazine. For La Casetta, which sleeps up to four, prices start at about €1,600 per week, placing them at the higher end of luxury stays.
Dining Experiences in Spello
For refined Umbrian cuisine, La Cantina on Via Cavour offers delicious versions of local peasant dishes, such as lamb meatballs with artichokes. Expect to pay around €30 per person before wine.
A more budget-friendly option is the tiny trattoria De Dadà, also on Via Cavour. This spot provides excellent value, with meals averaging €20 per person. It’s a great place to experience authentic local flavors without a hefty price tag.
Find more information at prospello.it.
Discovering Montefalco
A Town Shaped by Art
Montefalco, like some other medieval towns in central Italy, has an almost artistic layout. It seems as though its streets were planned by artists inspired by the abundant marine fossils found in the region. Unlike the spiral of Montepulciano or the conch shell of Siena’s main square, Montefalco’s design is reminiscent of a starfish. Its 12th-century structure was built around five gates, each linked to a parish church. These lanes converge towards a central, roughly five-sided piazza at the town’s highest point.
The Balcony of Umbria
While smaller than Spello, Montefalco feels equally lived-in and offers a sense of community. Its elevated position earns it the nickname “the balcony of Umbria,” providing sweeping views over the fertile agricultural plains below. The town is a significant center for the production of sagrantino wine, a local specialty you’ll want to explore.
Montefalco also has a strong tradition of woven linen and linen-cotton textiles. This craft is kept alive today by the Pardi family, with shops located at Corso Mameli 10 and Via Ringhiera Umbra 25 within the town. You can also find a Pardi outlet in Spello.
Artistic Heritage
Stepping into the church of San Francesco at Montefalco is like discovering a hidden treasure. Even years later, the impact of Benozzo Gozzoli’s Saint Francis fresco cycle from 1452 remains as powerful as ever. The vibrant scenes, especially the “Sermon to the Birds,” are incredibly detailed and engaging. The birds, rendered with remarkable attention, appear to be listening intently, almost like schoolchildren.
Upstairs, the pinacoteca features an austere 12th-century crucifix attributed to a painter from the Spoleto school. This work stands out for its profound simplicity and artistic merit.
Accommodation Options
For a unique stay, consider Villa Zuccari, located a few miles outside of town. This striking 16th-century villa, painted a soft peach-pink, offers a stylish and welcoming atmosphere. It’s filled with antiques and boasts a large outdoor pool, perfect for relaxation after days of exploring.
If you prefer to be right in the heart of Montefalco, Palazzo Bontadosi is a boutique hotel situated in the central square. This chic hotel, which opened in 2009, offers a warm and inviting experience for its guests.
Culinary Delights
Palazzo Bontadosi’s restaurant, Aurum, is worth a visit even if you are not staying there. It focuses on creative dishes made with locally sourced ingredients, such as spelt-flour tagliatelle with olives, spinach, and thyme. The average cost is around €40 per person without wine.
Alternatively, L’Alchimista, located across the square, is both a restaurant and a wine bar. Here, you can enjoy anything from a glass of sagrantino with prosciutto to a full meal. The atmosphere is more casual, and prices are more approachable, with meals averaging €25 without wine.
Additional information is available at promontefalco.com.
Exploring the Charm of Bevagna
A Riverside Town
Bevagna offers a different feel compared to Spello and Montefalco, as it is primarily a valley town. It sits close to the Teverone river, whose waters have been ingeniously channeled into picturesque mill races and ponds just outside the eastern walls. Bevagna was an important Roman settlement, with Agrippina, Nero’s mother, known to have had a villa here. The fertile lands surrounding the town were once famous for cattle farming, though today wine and olives are the main agricultural products. Nearby Cannara is noted for its onions.
A Town of Layers
Bevagna’s sleepy atmosphere adds to its authentic charm. The town’s gradual development since Roman times has resulted in an organic urban fabric where history is preserved rather than erased. You can see layers of the past coexisting beautifully. The most surprising Roman-era find is hidden beneath a modern building on Via di Porta Guelfa. Here, intricate mosaics depicting sea monsters, including a detailed lobster and a whimsical octopus, adorn the floor of a second-century Roman bath complex. You can access this site with a combined ticket for the Museo Civico, which also includes entrance to Bevagna’s charming 19th-century theatre.
Romanesque Churches
Bevagna’s essential sights also include San Michele Arcangelo and San Silvestro, two Romanesque churches that face each other across the intact medieval main square, Piazza Silvestri. Both are historically significant, but San Silvestro holds a special appeal with its stark lack of adornment and steeply raised presbytery, which exudes a sense of pure, unembellished devotion.
Wine and Relaxation
A few miles northwest of town, the Tenuta Castelbuono winery is open for tastings from Tuesday to Sunday. It’s advisable to call ahead to confirm availability.
Accommodation in Bevagna
Orto degli Angeli hotel, located on Via Dante Alighieri, is a 14-room refuge spread across two wings of an 18th-century nobleman’s house. This delightful property incorporates a 17th-century palazzo, and its Redibis restaurant even features parts of Bevagna’s Roman amphitheater. The hotel boasts a fragrant hanging garden, established by 1934, filled with lavender, roses, and wisteria, making it one of Umbria’s most lovely green spaces.
Just outside the Porta Guelfa gate, Residenza Porta Guelfa offers a more old-fashioned option. Priced from around €80 for a double room, it provides excellent value, featuring both an outdoor pool and spa, along with a large hydromassage tub.
Bevagna’s Culinary Scene
The refined restaurant at Orto degli Angeli, Redibis, is considered the district’s top culinary destination. Be aware that a meal here can easily reach €100 per person without wine, reflecting the high quality of the dining experience.
For a more affordable gourmet meal, Ristorante Enoteca Onofri, housed in a former olive press just off the main street, offers a memorable experience. Their menu is strictly seasonal, highlighting local ingredients like truffles, fresh vegetables, herbs, chianina beef, and Cannara onions. You’ll also find some delightful desserts, including a must-try pistachio crème brûlée. Average prices are around €35 per person without wine.
More information about Bevagna can be found at prolocobevagna.it.
Getting to the Umbrian Valley
The simplest way to reach this region from Britain is by flying with Ryanair from London Stansted to Perugia Airport. This airport is located just seven miles north of Assisi.
It is possible to explore the area without a car, though it requires some planning. Buses operate from the airport to Perugia, and from there, you can connect to Assisi (with a change for Spello) and Foligno (which serves as a hub for Bevagna and Montefalco). Spello also has its own train station on the Perugia-Foligno line, making it accessible by rail for those who prefer not to drive.