Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy and is a land that time forgot. Tranquil, timeless and untouched, Umbria’s landscape remains virtually unchanged since the great masters such as Perugino, Luca Signorelli and Piero della Francesca lived there. Birthplace of Francis of Assisi and St. Benedict, there is a spiritual element to Umbria and also a rich artistic and cultural inheritance. It’s major towns such as Perugia, Todi, Assisi, Gubbio and Orvieto abound with magnificent works of art and the countryside abounds with rolling hills, olive groves, golden corn and fields of sunflowers.
 

The region lies on the eastern side of central Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the high Apennine mountains and much of it remains unspoilt by the ravages of mass tourism.

True, the Adriatic coast has been a mecca for "sun n' sand" holiday makers for decades; but few venture far from the beaches. Inland, perhaps more so than anywhere else in central Italy, you will find places where time really has stood still. Compared to its central Italian sisters, here culture comes in more easily digestible proportions but quality, as at Urbino, is often of the very best.

While it can be hot between mid-July to mid-August, it is rarely overcrowded and up in the mountains the breezes are cooling. May, June and September are the ideal months to tour Le Marche if you can't take the heat; the landscape is clothed in spring green or the first tints of autumn, any rain tends towards brief showers rather than endless drizzle, and it's usually possible to find a bed without booking.

The wettest seasons are mid-February to mid-April and mid-October to mid-December when days of grey mist and rain can set in up in the mountains. It can also be cold in mid-winter, particularly when the bitter northerly tramontana winds blow.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Medieval May day.
An extravagant Easter festival
Traditional Italian music festival held during July and August in Assisi
Summer jazz festival in Perugia
Sacred music festival in the churches in September
Colourful jousting tournament in Foligno in September

BEST AIRPORTS FOR THIS AREA:

Rome

Ancona

Pescara

Bologna