Umbria is composed of a variety of environmental settings and characterised by a gentle and harmonious succession of natural landscapes and scenarios.
Umbria because...
Traditional set-ups lie alongside the most innovative cultural organisations, fields enclosed by hedges and low walls alternate with specialised plantations, extensive woodland cover gives way to cheering stretches of olive trees and splashes of sunflowers.
The region is small and variegated: 8456 square kilometres in which everything appears to have been fashioned by man, moulded by millenary works to till and adapt the land; the tree density index here is among the highest in Italy. Everywhere you look there are slow rivers and rushing streams, clear pools of water, thundering waterfalls and silent springs. Greenery, in its infinite hues, accompanies the visitor on the Apennine high ground and in the intensively humanised valleys; it creeps into residential areas from panoramic balconies; it peeps out from the veil of water of Lake Trasimeno.
Land of a thousand colours
The polychromy of the many vegetable species creates spectacular effects in Umbria's landscapes. All it takes is a single glance at the massif of Monte Subasio to grasp the chief characteristics of the region's plant surface, which the "mount of Assisi" typifies in several stretches.
Lower down is the strip of olive trees that for several centuries has replaced the woods frequented by Saint Francis; higher up, coppices of Turkey oaks, downy oaks, hop hornbeams, manna ashes and maples are the dominant vegetation; on the summit, vast meadows stretch as far as the eye can see. There are also plenty of extensive beechwoods, such as the one in the Val di Ranco in the north-east massif of Monte Cucco, and age-old ilex groves, like the ones at the Eremo delle Carceri on Subasio and at Monteluco di Spoleto. The kingdom of the great beech forests lies on the mountains in the Valnerina and on the Monti Sibillini, a district of outstanding naturalistic importance where the Apennine wolf and the golden eagle find shelter; there is a superb variety of flora: among the orchids, bright campanulas, vividly coloured asters, violets and gentians, it is still possible to spot the extremely rare yellow poppy and the Apennine edelweiss. In spring, the display of flowers in bloom on the plains of Castelluccio is a unique sight.
Sister water
The great Tiberino lake, which in prehistoric times occupied the centre of the region, has left its distant echo in the abundance of water which man has had to struggle to drain and stem over the centuries, so as to transform that legacy into a great economic and environmental resource. Umbria is the region of the Tiber, the great river, which for many centuries was navigable, a medium of civilisation and history that crosses it end to end, receiving the waters of the Paglia, Chiascio and Topino tributaries, and in particular those of the Nera, which in its turn is swelled by the Velino.
This close-knit network of waters has attracted people to its banks, along which strongholds and fortified villages, built to garrison ancient communication routes, stand guard. Everything looks as though it has been constructed for defence purposes in the spacious and woody upper Tiber amphitheatre, where large abbeys and castles encircle fertile sunny countryside, which since the 16th century has had the intense colour of the tobacco plantations.
The spectacle of nature
The overhanging walls carved out by the Tiber and by the streams, which hollow out gorges in the limestone rock, are fascinating natural monuments: these include the evocative valley of the Rio Fonno in the Gualdo Apennines, the spectacular Rio Freddo in Monte Cucco, the Fosso Grande in Amelia and the narrow Forello gulley between Todi and Orvieto. The Valnerina is almost an emblem of fluvial Umbria. Here, wild mountain scenery accompanies the flow of the clear waters of the Nera: which can be enjoyed, for example, by drifting down the river in a canoe.
It is thrilling to witness the confluence of the Velino and the Nera at the waterfall known as the Cascate delle Marmore, when the foaming waters plunge downwards in great leaps with a deafening roar and in an explosion of iridescent spray: this apparently natural phenomenon was in actual fact created, according to various historians, by Roman hydraulic science. The water-meadows of Norcia are another unique feature of central Italy. These perennial meadows, irrigated by resurgences at constant temperature, are wholly similar to those found in Lombardy: they were probably established by the Benedictines in the 13th century, but according to some they actually date back to the 6th century. This kingdom of waters would of course not be complete without mineral and curative springs. All the various types are available (mineral, oligomineral, mediomineral) and they are used both for bottling and for therapeutic purposes. The most important spas are at San Gemini, Acquasparta, Nocera Umbra, San Faustino di Massa Martana, Assisi and Fontecchio, near Città di Castello.
Secret waters
Swallowed up by the bowels of the earth, over millions of years underground watercourses have eroded passages and caves of majestic beauty, like the Monte Cucco cave, which is the largest karst complex in Italy and is the fifth deepest in the world at 922 metres. There are numerous karst phenomena in Umbria: swallow-holes, wells and dolines create highly-prized and rare environments for flower and plant species. At Castelluccio, the Mergani ditch is engulfed and disappears into the subsoil at a depth that it has not yet been possible to establish.
In the karst basins of Colfiorito, aquatic and migratory birds inhabit the marshes and the thick reed beds.
Lakes
Lake Trasimeno has poetically been referred to as a veil of water on a meadow. Of Tectonic origin, it is the largest lake in peninsular Italy but also one of the shallowest. It has been celebrated by painters and writers on account of the changing beauty of its shores, which create landscape views of evocative power and light. It is a fragile and highly-prized habitat, consisting of vast cane thickets furrowed through by channels of various sizes, ancient olive groves and rows of trees, woods and heath and motionless sheets of water covered with water lilies. It is home to coots, grebes, wild ducks and hawks, whilst in the water numerous species of fish make it a true paradise for fishermen.
Ilex-covered hills are reflected in the lake at Piediluco, the tranquil blue expanse in the Reatine valley much loved by sailing enthusiasts. A truly special feature lies in the echo that can be heard from its shores opposite Monte Caperno: it will send your voice back to you perfectly after just four seconds.
The indented lake at Corbara, on the other hand, whose task is to regulate the flow of the Tiber, and the lake at Alviano, which was created for hydroelectric purposes, are both of artificial origin. The latter has been colonised by abundant birdlife, which can be admired thanks to specially equipped communications trenches and observatories. Beautiful walks invite visitors to discover numerous little mountain lakes set amidst woods and meadows.
An example of the beautiful Umbrian landscape
The wonder that gripped Saint Francis when faced with the beauty of his "Spoletan valley", as the Umbrian Valley was then known, is the same that will grip the present-day traveller who, from Perugia to Spoleto, journeys through this extraordinary natural and urban system. The horizon is closed by the steep limestone slopes of Monte Subasio and by the undulating hills which are occupied by an exceptional series of art towns. If you leave the valley floor and climb up onto the terraced summits, which are all surrounded by vines and olives, from the small silent piazzas you will be able to enjoy breathtaking views. The Umbrian Valley is a masterpiece of human ingenuity, a huge workshop of millenary agricultural and hydraulic knowledge that drained the marshes on the valley floor, planted vines and sowed crops and also enhanced the less favourable hill terrain by growing olive trees that now give one of the best oils in the world. It was the Etruscans who began to model this valley, while the Romans laid the foundations for the widespread polycentrism that is one of the typical features of the settlement pattern in Umbria.
Villas, castles and farmhouses, turreted to make the typical dove-cotes, the close-knit network of roads and ditches and the rows of trees, on the other hand, tell the story of the great mediaeval and Renaissance periods, which the major innovations of the modern age have not wanted to erase. Nature and art trails combine here with tantalising itineraries incorporating the wines and oils that have made Umbrian gastronomy famous.
Source: http://www.umbria2000.it |
