Umbria is a mountainous region of central Italy, in the valley of the river Tiber. It is bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. The region covers 8,456 km² and has a population of 834,000 (2003 census). The region is named for the Umbri tribe, who settled in the region in the 6th century BC. Their language was Umbrian, a relative of Latin.

The modern region of Umbria, however, is essentially a different region of Italy than that bearing the same name in Roman times (see Roman Umbria), which extended through most of what is now the northern Marche, to Ravenna, but excluded the west bank of the Tiber — and thus for example Perugia — which was in Etruria, and the area around Norcia, which was in the Sabine territory. The regional capital is Perugia. The region is divided into two provinces: Perugia, with 59 comuni, and Terni, with 33 comuni

Main Cities :

Perugia

• Assisi
• Spoleto
• Gubbio

Terni

• Orvieto

Perugia:

Perugia (150,000 inhabitants) is the capital of the Umbria Region. Perugia gave its nickname to the famous painter Perugino (Pietro Vannucci), who lived and worked there. Another famous painter, Pinturicchio, lived in Perugia.

Perugia has become famous for chocolate, mostly because of a single firm, Perugina, whose Baci (kisses) are exported widely. Besides having hazelnuts inside, a major difference is that the Bacio comes wrapped in a piece of paper with a romantic saying printed on it. Perugia chocolate is very popular in Italy, and the city hosts a chocolate festival in October of every year. Perugia todays hosts many universities, and hence is a melting pot for students from all over Italy and all over the world. The city mascot is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city.

Assisi:

Assisi (Latin: Asisium) was the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order here in 1208, and St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Clares.

The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St Francis) is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery and the lower and upper church (Basilica inferiore e superiore) of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed 1253. The lower church has frescos by renowed late-medieval artists Cimabue and Giotto; in the Upper church are frescos of scenes in the life of St Francis by Giotto and his circle.

Spoleto:

Spoleto (Latin: Spoletium) is an ancient town in the Italian province of Perugia, at 385 meters above sea-level on a foothill of the Apennines.

Spoleto is today one of Umbria's principal tourist centres, thanks to its late medieval and Renaissance archaeological monuments and the cultural festivals that take place there. Its position makes it easy to reach other cities such as Assisi, Perugia, Todi, Gubbio and Orvieto.

Between the end of June and halfway through July, the Festival dei Due Mondi (Two Worlds Festival) takes place, an international attraction offering the highest standard of dance, prose and opera. The Festival has always produced great theatrical artists, orchestra directors, dancers and musicians.

Gubbio:

The city's origins are very ancient: as Ikuvium, it was an important town of the ancient Umbrian people in pre-Roman times, and is famous for the discovery there of the Eugubine (or Iguvine) Tables, a set of bronze tablets that together constitute the largest surviving text in ancient Umbrian. Originally settled by the Romans, Gubbio gained prominence in the 11th Century and remains one of Italy's best preserved medieval towns.

Gubbio is known throughout Italy for its palio, the Corsa dei Ceri, a spectacular race held every year on May 15, in which three teams, devoted to S. Ubaldo (the patron saint of Gubbio), S. Giorgio, and S. Antonio, run through throngs of cheering supporters (clad in the distinctive colours of yellow, blue and black, with white trousers and red belts and neckbands), up much of the mountain from the main square in front of the Palazzo dei Consoli to the basilica of S. Ubaldo, each team carrying a statue of their saint mounted on a wooden octagonal prism, similar to a hour-glass shape 5 meters (16 feet) tall and weighing over 400 kilograms (about 900 pounds). The race has strong devotional, civic, and historical overtones and is one of the best-known folklore manifestations in Italy; the Ceri were chosen as the heraldic emblem on the coat of arms of Umbria as a modern administrative region.

Terni:

Terni, (Latin: Interamna Nahars) an ancient town of Italy, capital of Terni province.

The city was probably founded in the 7th century BC by the Umbri. Today it lies on the rail line from Rome to Ancona, and is the point of departure for the branch line to Rieti and L'Aquila, is the seat of a university, and is one of the most important industrial towns of Umbria.

The territory of Terni is so much rich in attractions and tourist emergencies to represent a wide offer able to satisfy every kind of interest. You can visit the ancient suburbs of the district or dive into the waters of the river Nera with the rafting or stay enchanted to admire the great jump of Marmore's falls.
A renowned gastronomic tradition completes the tourist offer of the Valnerina that lives a positive tourist moment thanks to the numerous sports that it is possible to practise here: from the climbimg to the rafting, from the jumping to the routes by mountain bike. Now it's a point of reference for the modern sportsmen.

Orvieto:

Orvieto is a city in southwestern Umbria, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tufa. The site of the city is among the most dramatic in Europe, rising above the almost-vertical faces of tufa cliffs that are completed by defensive walls built of the same stone.

Orvieto is noted for its Gothic cathedral, striped in white travertine and greenish-black basalt in narrow bands; its design has often been attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, but the prevailing modern opinion is that its master mason was an obscure monk named Fra' Bevignate from Perugia; construction began in 1290. The façade is particularly striking and includes some remarkable sculpture by Lorenzo Maitani (14th century). Inside the cathedral, the Chapel of San Brizio is frescoed by Fra Angelico and with Luca Signorelli's masterpiece, his Last Judgment (1449-51).