1st edition Published: 07 Sep 2021 392 PAGES Bradt's Umbria & the Marche is
the most detailed guide to combine these two small central Italian regions,
which offer all the beauty, history and culture of neighbouring Tuscany only
without the crowds, the traffic or eye-popping prices. Dana Facaros and Michael
Pauls (authors of the original Cadogan guide to the area) lived in Umbria in the
1980s and have been returning regularly and writing about it ever since. They
are the perfect guides to the region's landscapes, hill towns, food and wine,
and art and architecture. The superb art cities of Umbria and the Marche steal
the limelight - Perugia, Orvieto, Urbino, Assisi, Spoleto, Loreto, Todi, where
art fills every church and palazzo. But never far from these centres wait
unspoiled countryside of rolling olive groves, forests and meadows, long walks
and towns and tiny villages, nearly all with a masterpiece or two to show off
and a great little family-run restaurant. The Bradt guide covers them all, along
with the republic of San Marino. The Apennines rule here. The Marche's geography
is dominated by a series of east-west river valleys - the Metauro, Esino,
Tronto, etc - twisting down to the Adriatic and often ending in long sandy
beaches, from the historic towns of Senigallia and Fano through Ancona's Cornero
Riviera to the Riviera delle Palme at San Benedetto del Tronto. Landlocked
Umbria, where rivers flow into the mighty Tiber, has exceptional water features
as well: Italy's fourth largest lake, Trasimeno; the Tiber Valley; Clitunno
springs (once sacred to the Romans); and Italy's most beautiful waterfall, the
Cascata delle Marmore. Featuring superb photography and expert recommendations
to suit all budgets, Umbria & the Marche - the fifth in Bradt's increasingly
highly regarded series of Italian regional titles - is a timely guide to a more
authentic corner of Italy.