The provincial capital, PERUGIA is the most obvious, if not the most picturesque, base to kick off a tour of Umbria. As usual the centre of town is still medieval, but it's surrounded by miles of fairly ugly suburbs and not a little industry. Buitoni, the pasta people, have a big works, and Italy's best chocolate, Perugino, is made here. Come summer the streets become claustrophobic and exhausting, so if your idea of Umbria is rural peace and quiet and lolling around old hill-towns - and really that's what the region is about - you probably won't want to spend a lot of time here. On the other hand, there's a day's worth of good sightseeing plus some big-city attractions.
The main draw in the summer is Umbria Jazz , Italy's foremost jazz event, whose line-ups may well tempt you into staying - past stars have included Sting, Stan Getz, Gil Evans and Wynton Marsalis. Information and tickets are best sussed out well in advance from the tourist office .
The presence of the Università Italiana per Stranieri (the Italian University for Foreigners) is another plus. Set up by Mussolini to improve the image of Italy abroad, it's now run as a private concern and gives the town a welcome dash of style and an unexpectedly cosmopolitan flavour. The big state university also means there's an above-average number of films, concerts and miscellaneous cultural events, which can be somewhat lacking in the rest of the region.
The Town
Once you're safely in Piazza Italia orientation is straightforward. The town hinges around a single street, the Corso Vannucci, one of the country's greatest people-watching streets, packed from dawn through to the early hours with a parade of tourists and Umbria's trendsetters and wannabes. Named after the city's most celebrated artist, Pietro Vannucci, better known simply as Perugino, the Corso contains several of the key sights and a couple of Perugia's most atmospheric little cafés. |
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