Page 368 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

366  CENTR AL IT AL Y

9 Spello 2,476 m (8,123 ft), a great whale-
backed peak close to the cave
Perugia. * 8,000. V @ n Piazza
Matteotti 3 (0742 30 10 09). ( Wed. of the mythical sybil that gave
the region its name.
Spello is one of the better-known Good maps and trails make
villages in the Vale of Spoleto. this a superb walking area, while
It is renowned for a fresco cycle drivers can follow hairpin roads
by Pinturicchio in the Cappella to some of Italy’s most magical
Baglioni of the church of Santa landscapes. Chief of these is the
Maria Maggiore (12th– Piano Grande, a huge upland
13th century) on Via Consolare. plain surrounded by a vast
Executed around 1500, the amphitheatre of mountains.
frescoes depict scenes from Bare but for flocks of sheep and
the New Testament. Towards The lofty peaks of the Monti Sibillini bedraggled haystacks, the plain
the centre of the village is the in eastern Umbria blazes with wild flowers in
Gothic church of Sant’Andrea spring and with lentils later
(13th century) on Via Cavour. San Silvestro (1195) is the more in the year. The only habitation
This road becomes Via Garibaldi, atmospheric of the pair, thanks to was Castelluccio, a beautiful,
which leads to San Lorenzo, a its shadowy interior and ancient neglected mountain village
Baroque gem of a church dating crypt, but San Michele (late 12th that has sadly now been
from the 12th century. century) has an elegant portal, nearly destroyed by the 2016
Spello also boasts Roman famed for the little gargoyles on November earthquake.
ruins from the age of Augustus: either side. Both churches are
the Porta Consolare at the end the work of Maestro Binello.
of Via Consolare, and the twin-
towered Porta Venere by
Via Torri di Properzio. 0 Monti Sibillini
The road to Assisi over Monte Macerata. V Spoleto. @ Visso.
Subasio offers stunning views n Piazza del Forno 1, Visso (0737 97
from the top of the mountain 27 11). ∑ sibillini.net
above Spello.
The national park of the Monti
Environs Sibillini in eastern Umbria
The least-known village in the provides the region’s wildest
Vale of Spoleto is Bevagna. and most spectacular scenery. Shop front in Norcia displaying the town’s
Like Spello, it sprang to life as a A range 40 km (25 miles) long, varied meats
way station on the Via Flaminia the mountains form part of the
(the Roman road that ran Apennines, a chain that runs the q Norcia
through this part of Umbria). length of the Italian peninsula. Perugia. * 4,700. @ n Piazza San
The medieval Piazza Silvestri is Monte Vettore is the loftiest Benedetto (0743 82 49 11). ( Thu.
the setting for two Roman- point, and the peninsula’s third
esque churches. highest; it stands at The birthplace of St Benedict,
Norcia is a robust mountain
town and an excellent base for
exploring Valnerina and Monti
Sibillini. One of Italy’s culinary
capitals, it is renowned for
truffles and for some of Italy’s
best hams, sausages and
salamis. Indeed, the local
word for a pork butcher’s
(norcineria) derives from the
name of the town.
Norcia’s main sights are in
Piazza San Benedetto. On the
eastern flank, the church of San
Benedetto has a 14th-century
portal adorned with statues of
Benedict and his sister (Santa
Scolastica). Legend claims that
the church marks the site of
Benedict’s birth, and there are
the remains of a 5th-century
Pinturicchio’s Annunciation (c.1500) in Spello’s Santa Maria Maggiore building in the crypt. However,
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96

366-367_EW_Italy.indd 366 4/4/17 5:36 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2)
Date 14th November 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm