along the apennines:
abruzzo, umbria & lazio

SATURDAY 18 APRIL – ARRIVAL (D)

Our tour commences at 2.30pm, at the meeting point in Terminal 1 of Rome Fiumicino airport. We travel up into the foothills of the Apennines to Sulmona, the birthplace of Roman poet Ovid. After an orientation tour of Sulmona, famous for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and for confetti, coloured sugar almonds, we enjoy a light dinner in a restaurant near our hotel. Overnight Sulmona.

SUNDAY 19 APRIL – PESCOCOSTANZO & ROCCACALEGNA (B, L)

The mountains and valleys surrounding Sulmona, despite their remote appearance, have been well-connected for centuries thanks to the sheep industry and movement along the tratturo magno, or great transhumance path that led all the way from Tuscany to Puglia. Today, a passionate Abruzzo local introduces us to the mountain towns and hermitages of heritage, from the pretty village of Pescocostanzo, one of Italy’s borghi più belli or most beautiful villages, to views onto the dramatic medieval fortress of Roccascalegna. After we enjoy a country lunch together, we continue our explorations by visiting one of the many small medieval abbeys that dot the Majella massif. Returning to Sulmona, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Sulmona.

MONDAY 20 APRIL – THE MIDDLE AGES & THE MAJELLA (B,L)

We begin this morning with a visit to panoramic Pacentro, a small town with an excellent defensive position at the end of the valley in which Sulmona is also located. The local lords of the Caldora family built a fortress here to defend the nearby mountain pass. After visiting it together, we take the Passo di San Leonardo, a winding road, up into the region known as the Majella. Abruzzo’s “mother mountain”, it is a collection of peaks in a large national park, and its rugged nature is thought to express the essential Abruzzese character. With deep valleys, caves and gorges, it is a wild landscape, favoured in the past by shepherds and religious hermits, and still dotted with huts, small chapels and monasteries. We plan to visit the Hermitage of Santo Spirito di Majella, founded before the eleventh century and restored in the middle of the thirteenth century by Pope Celestine V. In case of inclement weather, we will visit one of the many other hermitages and abbeys in the Majella, many of which boast excellent and relatively undiscovered works of Romanesque architecture and sculpture. Returning to Sulmona, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Sulmona.

TUESDAY 16 APRIL – PILGRIMS & FRESCOES (B, L)

After checking out, we continue our exploration of the remarkable legacy of art and architecture that the sheep industry and trade brought to Abruzzo in the Middle Ages. We begin with a visit to the Oratorio di San Pellegrino, a heritage-listed chapel in Bominaco that is entirely covered in thirteenth-century frescoes. Of an astounding quality, the stories draw on artistic influences from near and far, an indication of how connected such remote places could be. Our visit here is a highlight of our tour. Afterwards, we continue to Santo Stefano di Sessanio. This tiny village – also named one of Italy’s borghi più belli – was suffering from depopulation until its revival thanks to a forward-thinking hospitality project. The abandoned houses of the village have been restored as an albergo diffuso, or “dispersed hotel”, with some converted into restaurants. We lunch in one of these, after which there is the opportunity to continue to the Rocca di Calascio. Badly damaged by a fifteenth-century earthquake, this prominent fortress boasts superlative views over the mountains of the Abruzzo. NB: good fitness and sturdy shoes are needed for the 800m walk to this fortress, which is steep in parts. It will not be possible in case of inclement weather, when a substitute activity will be undertaken. Afterwards, we continue to nearby L’Aquila and check in to our hotel. Your tour leader is at hand to assist with recommendations for dinner tonight. Overnight L’Aquila.

WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL – GRAN SASSO (B)

Today we ascend Gran Sasso, the Apennines’ highest peak at over 2,900m. Embarking by cable car at Fonte Cerreto, we arrive at Campo Imperatore, an alpine meadow that is 27km in length and sits at an altitude of ca 1,700m. There is time to enjoy the panorama, featured in films such as Ladyhawke, before we take the scenic road back by coach to Fonte Cerreto, where there is time for lunch at leisure. We also call in at the Sanctuary of the Madonna d’Appari, a small oratory built into Gran Sasso’s rockface that commemorates the site of a miraculous appearance by the Virgin. NB: today’s activities are weather dependent, as the summit of Gran Sasso and the cable car are closed in case of inclement weather. In that instance, we will visit the Grotte di Stiffe, a local cave system with a series of awe-inspiring underground waterfalls. Returning to L’Aquila, the evening is at leisure. Overnight L’Aquila.

THURSDAY 18 APRIL – L’AQUILA (B, D)

Today we check out and explore L’Aquila, the capital of the Abruzzo region. It came to prominence in the thirteenth century under Frederick II, who gave the city the name of his imperial ensign, the eagle. It was an increasingly important base for the kingdoms of southern Italy, and for shepherds, traders and armed forces moving back and forth across the Apennines. As we learn on our guided walking tour, L’Àquila is a symbol of fortitude, devastated by successive earthquakes but successively transformed by rebuilding, most recently after the 2009 earthquake. After surveying the Basilica of Collemaggio, the cathedral and basilica of San Bernardino, we continue to Umbria via the Cascata delle Marmore. At 165m, this is the highest man-made waterfall in the world, and is the result of generations of ancient Roman, and then papal, hydraulic engineering. Since 1896, it has also powered mills in nearby Terni to generate electricity. After admiring this awe-inspiring scene, we continue to the hill town of Spoleto. After checking into our hotel, we enjoy dinner together. Overnight Spoleto.

FRIDAY 24 APRIL – ASSISI (B)

Umbria is enduringly associated with its most famous son, Francis of Assisi, the founder of one of the most important Christian brotherhoods and the patron saint of all Italy, together with his follower and friend, Clare of Assisi. We spend a full day in Assisi, exploring the sites associated with Francis’s life and times, and his significant yet complex legacy. At the basilica of St Francis, we admire masterpieces by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini and other great medieval artists, called to decorate the saint’s final resting place. In the centre of town, we admire the so-called Temple of Minerva that attests to Assisi’s Roman roots, and at the basilica of Santa Chiara we appreciate how medieval female monasticism followed in Francis’s footsteps. Returning to Spoleto, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Spoleto.

SATURDAY 25 APRIL – ROME TO RENAISSANCE (B, L) – PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Long neglected in favour of its better-known neighbour, Tuscany, the region of Umbria rewards visitors with a dense concentration of historic sites, artistic treasures, superlative gastronomy and great natural beauty. We begin our day with a guided tour of Carsulae, one of Italy’s less well-known Roman archaeological sites. Built on a branch of the Via Flaminia, it was enriched during the Augustan era with an amphitheatre, forum, Arch of Trajan and thermal baths. It was nevertheless abandoned in Late Antiquity, for reasons that remain unclear, and its ruins were pillaged until papal excavations commenced in the seventeenth century. We enjoy a simple country lunch nearby, before returning to Spoleto with our guide. Also originally a Roman colony, the town where we are staying now preserves a spectacular thirteenth-century aqueduct, imposing sixteenth-century fortress, and outstanding late frescoes by Filippo Lippi – all in the picturesque surrounds of one of Umbria’s loveliest hill towns. The evening is at leisure. Overnight Spoleto.

SUNDAY 26 APRIL – PERUGIA (B)

Perugia is the capital of Umbria and marks the borderlands of nearby Tuscany, Lazio and the mountainous Marche. A significant Etruscan town, it is now sustained by tourism as well as its university and manufacturing, such as Perugina chocolate. We take a walking tour of Perugia with Kathleen, admiring its imposing basilica of San Domenico and the Fontana Maggiore, which incorporates sculptures by the Pisano family. Inside the imposing Palazzo dei Priori, an excellent example of early Gothic architecture in Italy, we visit the Collegio del Cambio and the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria. The Collegio del Cambio was an administrative hall, decorated in the late fifteenth century by local artist Perugino, together with Raphael. Edith Wharton was so struck by the frescoes that she described them as one of “three perfect ceilings of the world.” In the Galleria Nazionale, we admire fine works by Duccio, Fra Angelico and Perugino, as well as one of the best-preserved altarpieces of Piero della Francesca. Returning to Spoleto, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Spoleto. 

MONDAY 27 APRIL – ORVIETO (B, D)

We check out of our hotel today and travel to northern Lazio. Arriving in Orvieto, we freshen up and meet a specialist archaeological guide to explore a selection of Orvieto’s many underground sites, carved out of the soft rock by Etruscan hands millennia ago. After lunch at leisure, we continue into the centre of town to survey the main sites of the historic centre, including the extraordinary cathedral. Construction commenced in 1290 to commemorate a eucharistic miracle in nearby Bolsena – and in an effort (successful!) to attract pilgrimage traffic from the Via Francigena. Its distinctive striped Gothic façade foreshadows the artistic treasure inside, including the San Brizio Chapel. Worked on by masters Fra Angelico and Signorelli, it includes the latter’s extraordinary scenes of the Last Judgement. After check in, there is a light dinner near our hotel. Overnight Orvieto.

TUESDAY 28 APRIL – THE ETRUSCANS (B)

Today we travel by coach to Tarquinia, for a full day exploring the outstanding legacy of Etruscan art and architecture that can still be admired in this town of Lazio. Meeting our local guide, we commence with a visit of Tarquinia necropolis, descending a few steps underground to view the extraordinary range of painted tombs that have been uncovered over decades of archaeological work. From hunting and fishing scenes to bright geometric decorations, these tomb decorations shed an important light on the values of Etruscan life. Continuing with our guide to the centre of Tarquinia, which has an imposing Renaissance aspect, we enjoy lunch at leisure before visiting the superlative National Museum of Archaeology. The collections here are staggering, from scores of Etruscan tomb sculptures, showing reclining magistrates and married couples, to Giacometti-like sculptures, Grecian-style urns and an elegant pair of winged horses that once decorated the top of a temple. Returning to Orvieto, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Orvieto.

WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL – PAPAL GARDENS (B, L, D)

From the sixteenth century, popes, cardinals and other prelates of note fled from Rome’s heat and malarial ‘airs’ every summer, constructing a series of pleasure villas around the volcanic lakes to the north and south of the metropolis. Vying for status and attention, they ensured that the gardens of these estates would impress their allies and rivals alike, and as a result the region of Lazio preserves today some of the most influential of all Italian villas and gardens. We begin our exploration of these treasures by travelling to the Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo. This “sacred wood” is one of the most mystifying and evocative of the mid-sixteenth century constructions. Isolated below the castle of medieval Bomarzo, its dramatic sculptures were carved in situ from the soft tufa and, from their gaping Orca mouth to their Leaning House, they appear to reveal the strange and metaphorical life journey of their patron, Pier Francesco Orsini. Their design is attributed, with much debate, to Pirro Ligorio, who devised the wonderful garden at Tivoli’s Villa d’Este. After a simple country lunch, we continue to Villa Lante at Bagnaia. In the same symbolic Mannerist style as Bomarzo, but diametrically opposed in its geometric design, the terraced garden here presents a creation myth, its many rills, fountains and parterres becoming more ‘civilised’ as they step down a panoramic hillside. Their design is attributed to the great Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, and the axes, sightlines and hedges are best appreciated when raked by afternoon light. Tonight, we enjoy a farewell dinner together in one of Orvieto’s fine restaurants. Overnight Orvieto.

THURSDAY 30 APRIL – DEPARTURE (B)

After breakfast this morning, we check out and travel by coach to Rome Fiumicino airport, where we arrive in time for early afternoon flights. Our coach then continues into central Rome, making a final stop at Roma Termini railway station, for those who wish to extend their time, either in Rome or with onward travel in Italy. Our travel partner, Mary Rossi Travel, would be pleased to assist with arrangements, including flights, additional accommodation and insurance.