Delightful day in Deruta by Alan & Kathy

Known for great wine, luscious landscapes, charming towns, and great cuisine, the Umbria region of Italy is a wonderful place to travel to. For ideas on which towns to explore, check out Alan & Kathy’s travels in this region - they took a roadtrip to Bevagna, Assisi, Spello and Deruta.

Here are a few excerpts from their trip:

On visiting the pretty town of Bevagna:

“Bevagna is a lovely town pretty close to Montefalco. It is where St Francis is said to have preached to the birds!! We have spent a bit of time there lately, and really enjoyed it and the environs. The town has a lovely feel with lots of very old buildings and medieval streets.” (more…)

… their day trip to Assisi:

“Assisi is built on a hill, looking back west across the Umbrian valley to where we are living and it is a stunning view, which is not captured well on camera. The view back up to the fort is also interesting. You could imagine in medieval days, when the alarm was sounded, the mad panic to get up the hill before the marauding army’s horses clattered through the square.

From the church of St Clare, we wandered through the streets again. Assisi is a very touristy town, with many overseas tourists, but also many Italian pilgrims. It is the third most visited pilgrimage site in Italy. The shops on this street are very picturesque as well, with some having their own hidden stories, such as original Roman walls within, printing presses used to forge documents for Jews during the war etc.” (more…)

… their impressions on the Ancient town of Spello:

“The second thing to strike us about Spello, was the beautiful gardens everywhere. We discovered as we explored the town that they specialize in gardens and flowers. It was beautiful as you look down narrow lanes there are beautiful gardens everywhere. In addition, we had just missed a flower festival in the village, where there are pictures done in lovely floral displays. Kathy has been capturing views (vicolai) of these narrow lanes that reveal interesting views and this town was full of them. There were too many to capture. It was a very picturesque town with lovely views internally and also of the valley below.” (more…)

and the town of Deruta:

“Deruta is famous for its ceramics and we were keen to visit. We took the back roads from Montefalco and really enjoyed the trip at a leisurely pace. Umbria is just full of medieval villages and I thought this one on the way was remarkable. Peaceful, unknown and just lovely.” (more…)

Visit Alan & Kathy’s Europe blog for their complete itinerary, great photos and more.

For more on Umbria, visit:

Umbria Travel Guide
Bevagna Travel Guide
Assisi Travel Guide
Spello Travel Guide
Deruta Travel Guide