Eastern Umbria – The Land of Saints and Salamis

Wild nature, the best cured meats, and St Benedict all combine in Eastern Umbria.

Perugia is Umbria's political capital, but it is the walled town of Norcia, which lays claim to being its culinary capital. In the region’s wild and mountainous east, below the famed Appennines, the forests are home to game birds, trout are plentiful in the rivers, and the pork and truffles are world class.

The Norcinerie

Norcia is renowned for its food shops, especially the pork butcher shops (norcinerie), which follow centuries of traditional practices, dating from the Middle Ages, in killing and butchering the pigs. Pork products on sale include ham (prosciutto), bacon (pancetta) and any number of salamis and sausages.

The shop interiors are amazing – look out for a stuffed boar's head, hunks of hanging prosciutti, shelves of salami, and piles of fragrant cheeses. On the floors are bags of local legumes, including black-eyed peas and white cannelloni beans. If you want the best lentils, ask for le lenticchia de Castelluccio di Norcia.

Any number of these tasty treats can be combined as a snack, when made up on the spot with the panini breads on offer. And since Norcia is a centre for truffles, you can try them in many restaurant dishes, or buy a small bottle of this treat preserved in brine. The delicious truffle sauces can be used as part of a pasta sauce, when combined with anchovy, garlic and olive oil.

Churches and More

Norcia is the birthplace of St. Benedict, who founded the Benedictine order of monks, and the city’s great architectural pride is the impressive Gothic church that bears his name. It fronts the town’s central piazza of the same name. Due to the region’s many earthquakes, the church has only a part of its original exterior façade remaining, but loving restoration has ensured that the cross-shaped building, with its polygonal apsis and stunning ogival portal, retains its beautiful frescoes and paintings that date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Beneath the church are the reputed ruins of the house where the saint was born. At the 14th century church of St. Augustine, you’ll find a fresco of the Madonna and Child. Another building dating from the Renaissance is the Castellina, once a fort, which is now home to the Municipal Diocesan Museum.

Natural and Rural Beauty

Norcia is surrounded by excellent walking tracks through the green Umbrian hills. Start with a walk from the nearby small town of Serravalle, after getting the feel of Italian rural life by wandering the narrow streets of this picturesque village. In spring, the meadows of the Plain of Castelluccio present a mass of colourful flowers in bloom.

At the Parco Nazionale Monti Sibillini, near the village of Visso, the walking track winds through the woods of the Apennine mountains as you ascend through the Valle di Visso, then down into the valley of Preci. Another popular walk leads to one of Europe’s highest plateaus, the Piano Grande, with its surrounding mountains, such as the 2400m Monte Vettore. For centuries the fields here have been used by the Castelluccio farmers to grow the special lentils sold in Norcia’s speciality food shops.

A visit to eastern Umbria is an experience that won’t quickly be forgotten. Whether you come in search of Saints, Salamis or wild unspoilt nature you will not be disappointed.

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Rod Ritchie, a travel writer and editor, writes for many publishers including AA Publishing and Fodors. Cottages to Castles offer a range of high quality self-catering holiday villas in Umbria. Visit Cottages to Castles for a selection of quality Umbria villa rentals.

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