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Assisi, the ancient Umbrian village in the province of Perugia, is one of Italy's most important artistic, cultural and religious destinations. The town is famous for being the birthplace of St. Francis, patron saint of Italy, and St. Clare, whose religious deeds have contributed to Assisi's fame as an open-air sanctuary, a pilgrimage destination f...

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One of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy, the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi is also a Unesco World Heritage site, welcoming visitors as a distinctive landmark as they approach the Umbrian town, birthplace of Francis. The basilica of Saint Francis was built starting from 1228, just two years after Francis’ death, as a...

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The Basilica of Saint Benedict, in the central Italian town of Norcia, was almost destroyed during a powerful earthquake in 2016. The coronavirus pandemic brought locals more hardship, but eorts are now underway to bring the basilica – and the symbol of unity it stands for – back to its former glory. Christian devotees believe Saint Benedict, who l...

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Città della Pieve is an enchanting little medieval town with a rich historical, cultural and artistic heritage and centuries old craftsmanship tradition. This suggestive town is situated in the province of Perugia in the region Umbria. This region is also known to be the “green heart of Italy”. The natural environment in Città della Pieve is in har...

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Eremito, the Hotelito del Alma, meaning “little hotel of the soul,” graces the woods in the heart of a 37,400-acre natural reserve in Umbria, the land where St. Francis of Assisi communed with Brother Wolf and Sister Water. The Chiani River flows below, and deer and wild boar inhabit the forest. Parrano, the closest village, is six miles away. With...

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Perugia is the country seat of the Green Heart of Italy, Umbria, a unique and fascinating city. Perugia is strongly influenced by the passage of the Etruscan and the Romans and it offers to the visitors the opportunity to spend not only a cultural but also a gastronomic (it is recognized as the chocolate town because of the presence of the Perugina...

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As a prelude to visiting the Sistine Chapel, one could take the train to Orvieto, an hour north of Rome, and view the frescoes which inspired Michelangelo’s Last Judgement. On arrival at Orvieto station, the train prompts the reaction, ‘But where is it?’ Until a look upward reveals the town’s older part perched on a beetling crag. A small funicular...

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In the early 1990s, a group of residents began lobbying Seattle city government to add another sister city to its roster – this time, one from Italy. It would be a first, since at the time Washington State did not have a sister city from the Bel Paese.   After some discussion, the group settled on the city of Perugia, the capital of Umbria. Perugia...

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Along the busy Autostrada A1, about halfway between Rome and Florence, Orvieto rises like a dreamy apparition — one of those places in Italy you've read about or seen in photos, but whose splendor can only be confirmed in person. Located in west-central Umbria, Orvieto sits — looms, really — on a plateau of volcanic tufa that overlooks the valle...

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Erin Lewis likes to describe herself as “American by blood, Italian by heart.” She felt called to Italy for many years before finally deciding to make the move six years ago. She settled in Florence, where she had already lived before. There, she rented an apartment; as time went by, she gravitated more and more towards the countryside, until she d...

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