Territory
ASSISI
Assisi stretches out on the slopes of Mount Subasio, above the plain where the Topino and Chiascio rivers flow. It is renown as the town that gave birth to Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Assisi was inhabited since the Villanovian period (IX - VIII centuries b.C.) by the Umbri people. It was an Etruscan town, and then passed under Roman rule. Its present-day appearance, because of the buildings and also the urban structure, is surely due to the city's development during the Middle Ages. Assisi's oldest core, which is protected by a defensive apparatus made up of eight fortified entrance portals and a long belt of town walls, which are still perfectly preserved, is topped by two castles on peak of the mountain: the Major Castle, reconstructed by the Cardinal Albornoz in 1367 and the Minor Castle. Apart from religious buildings too important to not be considered solely the heritage of Assisi such as the basilica of St. Francis, the tourist can also visit the churches of St. Clare and St.Peter. The first was constructed in the Gothic style between 1257 and 1265, the second is a little older and decorated with an elegant middle portal with three rose-windows. The Cathedral, is dedicated to the Saint Patron of Assisi who is not, as might be believed, St. Francis, but St. Rufino. On the Town Square situated on the ancient Forum, you will find the Priors' Palace (1337), the Palace of the People's Captain (12th century) and the temple of Minerva, built during the Augustan period with pronaos, columns and Corinthian capitals which are still intact. Nearby, places which are connected with the life of St. Francis can be visited, such as the Hermitage of the Prisons, immersed in a thick wood of oaks and ilex on the slopes of Mount Subasio, and the convent of St. Damian, which was built up around the oratory were, according to tradition, the Cross spoke to the Saint. Finally, in the plain, the impressive basilica of Saint Mary of the Angeli was built according to the plans of Alessi between 1569 and 1679 to protect the Porziuncola Chapel, which was the first simple meeting-place of the Francescan brotherhood. All those who have the good luck of visiting this gorgeous town have to agree with who says that the beauty of the town goes beyond a short, and necessarily incomplete list of works of art more or less extraordinary, but is however to be found in the atmosphere of places which the story and the faith of the Saint have made unique all over the world.
Festivals and tradition:
Calendimaggio, every year, on the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday in May, Assisi celebrates the re-birth of spring with a medieval festival, in which the whole town participates in a magnificent re-evocation of medieval life. Culimination of the festivities takes place on the last day of the festival.
Palio di San Rufino, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the last week of August the re-evocation of the historical period in which Assisi was divided in three quarters San Francesco, San Rufino e Dive Mariae; historical parade with flag wavers and drummers of the Assisi Crossbow Company who defy eachother
on the last day.
SPOLETO
Even if it shows evident traces of the Roman era in its urban structure, Spoleto substantially maintains a medieval appearance, due to the period in which it was first a flourishing Longobard earldom, and then an important city within the Papal State.
The Arch of Drusus (23 A.C.) to be found near the Romanic church of St. Ansano, the Roman theatre, whose construction goes back to the first years of the Empire, and the paleo-Christian basilica St. Salvatore of the 4th century (at about 1.2 km's distance to the north), are testimonials of Spoleto's earliest origins. Close by, the church St.Gregorio Maggiore (12th century), characterized by its evocative apses zone and by the elevated presbytery, a Roman bridge (also called "the Bloody") consisting of three arches in travertine stone blocks and the amphitheatre of the 2nd century A.C. can be found. More modern monuments which are as fascinating are the churches of St. Dominic and St. Ponziano, both of which were built during the 12th century. The church of St. Peter is surely of great interest because of its extraordinary bas-reliefs which decorate the façade, dating back to the 12th century. From the area found in front of the church of St. Peter one enjoys a wide panorama which encompasses all of Spoleto until the mighty Bridge of the Towers (ten arches with a total height of 80 meters and 230 meters long), which connects the Castle, which was constructed from 1352 onwards on the orders of the Cardinal Egidio Albornoz according to plans by Matteo Gattaponi, to the runners of the mountain which dominates the city. Monteluco was, in fact, the sacred mountain of the anchorites, who having settled in this zone from the 7th century on, founded the convent of St. Francesco, to be found at about 8 km's distance from the inhabited area, and the church of St. Julian. Without doubt, on the person who has the good luck of visiting these sights, the entire Cathedral complex constructed during the 12th century and characterized apart from the richness of furnishings of the interior also by the mosaics in the Byzantine style on its facade, and the Romanic church of St.Eufemia will make an unforgettable impression.
FESTIVALS AND TRADITIONS
Among the most important events taking place in the city we should absolutely mention the Festival of the two Worlds, http://www.spoletofestival.it
NOCERA UMBRA
Famous for its mineral waters, Nocera Umbra is a town with a very old appearance which has sprung up along the valley of the Topino river.
Its buildings of major artistic value are without doubt the Cathedral and the church of St. Francis. The latter was built between the 14th and 15th centuries and is now the seat of the city's Pinacoteque, and contains, other than the splendid frescoes by Matteo of Gualdo, paintings by the Umbrian and Tuscan schools. In the Cathedral, which dates back to the 11th centuryand was reconstructed in the 15th century, the Romanic portal at the left-hand side and the maiolica pavement of the sacristy are noteworthy.
SELLANO
Situated in the valley of the Vigi stream, a right-hand tributary of the Nera river, Sellano was founded in around 84 B.C. by the Romans. Never having been strong enough to win its independence, but being of great stategic importance because of its geographic situation, its fate through the centuries was always linked to that of the neighbouring cities. In the following epocas, it therefore fell under the rule of the Duchy of Spoleto, then under that of the Papal State and finally, under the lordship of the Collicola family.
COLFIORITO
Colfiorito is a small town fraction in the Foligno territory, though it is the largest in the vast plateau located at 760 metres above sea level, along the SS77 highway joining Foligno and Macerata. A huge plateau with outstanding elements of value: the homonymous wetland collects rare species of animal and plant life housing water birds, gastropods and amphibians; Mount Orve and its prehistoric castle; archaeological testimonies of the Roman village of Plaestia. The intact landscape of the carsic plains is the one typical to the Appennine environment.
