Umbria

Umbria

Geography and Climate

Umbria is centrally located in Italy. The region is bordered to the west by Tuscany (Lake Trasimeno), to the east by the Marches and the Apennines, an impressive mountain range with deep valleys and large plains and to the south by Lazio. Umbria is surrounded by land on all sides, making it one of the few Italian regions with no borders on the sea. The area of the region is 8,456 km² and there are approximately 900,000 inhabitants. This makes Umbria the least populated region of central Italy. The capital of the region is Perugia and there are only 2 provinces: Perugia (PG) and Terni (TR). Umbria's only airport is "San Francesco di Assisi" in Perugia (PEG). The airport is outside the city, and for those traveling by public transport there is a shuttle bus that takes you to the train station in 25 minutes.
Umbria is called the green heart of Italy and is often compared to Tuscany. You will find beautiful cities such as Assisi, Perugia and Orvieto. One third of the region consists of mountains and the rest of hills with landscapes that are among the most beautiful in Italy. The gently rolling hills are covered with extensive vineyards and olive groves with medieval towns in between. Lake Trasimeno, on the border with Tuscany, is the fourth largest lake in Italy with its 129 km². Lake Trasimeno is a real tourist attraction, you can practice all kinds of sports, windsurfing, kite surfing, cycling, walking, ...

the Marmore Waterfall

The Marmore Waterfall near Terni is the highest artificial waterfall in the world.

In summer there is a hot, dry and sunny climate in Umbria, but winters can be quite cold and wet, especially at higher altitudes such as in the Apennines. The average temperatures are 32°/15°C (max/min) in summer and 11°/1°C in winter.

In the east of Umbria there is a risk of medium to strong earthquakes.

Food and drinks

a Bacio Perugina text message

The region is known for its Perugina chocolate. You may know “Baci Perugina”, delicious hazelnut-filled chocolate kisses. In every Bacio you will find a note with a nice multilingual love message. 

In Umbria meat has an important role in the local kitchen, especially grilled or roasted meat. Everywhere you will find Porchetta, boneless pork, seasoned with garlic, rosemary, sage, wild fennel, pepper and salt and then roasted. The deliciously tender and spicy meat really makes your mouth water. The town of Norcia is known throughout Italy for its pork and meats products. Anyone who has traveled to Umbria will undoubtedly know typical products such as Prosciutto di Norcia, Palle del Nonno, Coglioni di Mulo, and many types of Salame or salted sausage of wild boar, deer or with truffle, to name but a few.

Coglioni di Mulo - Palle del Nonno

Furthermore, most of the (dry) pasta is produced in Umbria and the fragrant, dark green olive oil is among the best in Italy. Umbria is known for its delicious black truffle dishes. Important white wines with Trebbiano, Grechetto and Malvasia grapes mainly come from the Orvieto region and the most famous local red wine is Rosso di Montefalco.

Economy and Health care

the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

In Umbria the prevailing activity is agriculture, with production of mainly grain, tobacco, sugar beets, sunflowers and vineyards. In addition, Umbria is one of the largest producers of black truffle in Europe. In the province of Terni there is an important hydroelectric power station. The power of the falling water from the artificial waterfall of the Marmore is converted into energy for no less than 8 different energy stations. The entire area can be supplied with electricity from this. There are many iron and steel factories and also chemical plants. Tourism is of course also very important. In that respect, the city of Assisi is the absolute top tourist attraction. Other well-known craft products are pottery and leather goods from Umbria.

The region of Umbria is halfway up the crime index list, with 3,457 reports of crime per 100,000 inhabitants, just below the national average of 3,816. In Italy, the average figure for the number of reported thefts and thefts in homes is 2,051 per 100,000 inhabitants (2020). In Umbria, it is 1,910, just below the Italian average, placing the region in 8th place nationally.

For the health care system the region was divided into two areas. In practice the territory was divided into north and south and therefore the division does not coincide with the two provinces of the region.

In the north there are 7 hospitals and in the south 9, for a total of 900,000 inhabitants. These are the links to the pages of the Servizio Sanitario Regionale USL Umbria 1 and USL Umbria 2.

Second homes

Both the province of Perugia (17) and Terni (9) are in the top 20 regions in Italy with relatively the highest number of foreigners who have settled permanently in Italy, when they have reached retirement age. Relatively speaking, you will find many Dutch and even more Belgians in both provinces, but there is also a remarkable presence of English citizens, especially in the province of Perugia. The most popular towns with more than 1.8% inhabitants of Western European origin are Monte Santa Tiberina (PG), Montegabbione (TR), Monteleone di Orvieto (TR), Monte Castello di Vibio (PG), Montone (PG), Piegaro (PG), Ficulle (TR) and San Venanzo (TR). 

The most beautiful towns

Deruta

There are many beautiful towns in Italy. The guide I borghi più belli d’Italia is a collection of the "most beautiful villages in Italy". In Umbria there are 31 borghi più belli, which is quite a lot for a small region like Umbria.

These are the villages of the province of Perugia that are mentioned in the guide: Bettona, Bevagna, Castiglione del Lago, Citerna, Corciano, Deruta, Massa Martana, Monte Castello di Vibio, Giano dell'Umbria, Montefalco, Monteleone di Spoleto, Montone, Nocera Umbra, Norcia, Paciano, Panicale, Passignano sul Trasimeno, Preci, Sellano, Spello, Torgiano, Trevi and Vallo di Nera. 

And these are the villages of the province of Terni: Acquasparta, Allerona, Arrone, Lugnano in Teverina, Montecchio, Monteleone D'Orvieto, Stroncone and San Gemini.

Città della Pieve (PG)

The guide “Bandiere Arancioni” is the counterpart of Borghi più Belli, which is published by the Italian Touring Club. The same villages are often mentioned in both guides. In the case of Umbria, this last guide also mentions Città della Pieve (PG).