Umbria ist the green heart of Italy. It's a rural region and the only provicne that borders neither the ocean nor another country. Umbria looks as it did hundresds of years aog. The most popular attraction is the city of Assisi where St. Francis lived and died. Beside Assisi it is worth exploring all the rolling hills with the lovely small towns on top, the Etruscan ruins - everywhere you can find art, culture, excellent wine and lovely people. Some highlights from our point of view: relaxing at the lake Lago di Trasimeno, Orvieto (placed on a cliff made of tufaceous stone, visit the natural cellars and the Gothic cathedral) or the Etruscan city of Spoleto (Classical Music Festival beginning of July).

For us friends of Jazz the center of Umbria is Perugia. This is most probably Italy’s best medieval hill town. A town with countless churches, several museums and many cultural events, like the Umbria Jazz Festival. The main attractions of the old town are around the main strip, Corso Vannucci from Piazza Italia to the heart of the city, Piazza IV Novembre, where the beautiful Fontana Maggiore (great fountain)and the cathedral of San Lorenzo are located. Visit the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria (National Gallery) with artwork dating back to Byzantine artist works from local artists like Perugino which is located in the Palazzo del Priori. Beside all these cultural highlights the main attraction for us is the atmosphere of this old town. Getting up the hill with a below ground escalator you reach Corso Vannucci and it seems you made a journey through time: you can feel the medieval time - almost no car is allowed there and you can imagine like these towns were looking at the middle ages. Strolling through the narrow alleys, finding hidden places of interest and enjoy beside the tourist paths food and wine in small restaurants are the best you can get!

Umbria Jazz Festival is the probably most charismatic festival you can find. The whole old town is stage for two weeks at the beginning of July every year. Brass bands are strolling through the Corso Vannucci, the small renaissance theaters are hosting international stars and local newcomers (shows in the afternoon, evening and sometimes around midnight), distributed around the town you can find stages where in the afternoon and evening you can enjoy concerts for free and where especially the youth is exploring music! In the restaurants you can find some musicians enjoying in relaxed atmosphere their time in Italy - it’s simply great.

Interested in Umbria, Perugia and more? Read our 2011 blog: http://seda-gue-in-italy.blogspot.de/