The hook
Tuscany's quieter neighbour: stone towns standing on volcanic outcrops above oak woods, a cathedral façade in Orvieto that is essentially a wall of gold mosaic and carved marble, and Giotto's frescoes in Assisi that mark the moment Western painting changed.
01Why it's worth it
Umbria is the only Italian region touching neither sea nor foreign border, and its towns grew up on defensible rock, which is why they still look the way they do. Orvieto sits on a plug of tufa above the plain, with a striped cathedral whose front is one of the great pieces of Gothic decoration in Italy, plus a Signorelli fresco cycle inside and a labyrinth of Etruscan caves beneath. Assisi is a genuine pilgrimage city, the basilica of St Francis holding Giotto's revolutionary fresco cycle, and it's worth staying overnight to have the town after the coaches go. Around them: Gubbio's severe grey stone and hillside funicular, Spoleto's Roman theatre and its startling medieval aqueduct-bridge, Perugia's Etruscan gates and student energy, and Todi and Bevagna for pure quiet. The food leans earthy, black truffles, lentils from Castelluccio, wild boar, and prices sit below Tuscany's.
02How to experience it
Take a car and base in one town rather than moving daily. Orvieto's cathedral and underground, Assisi at either end of the day, and then pick two or three smaller towns to wander without an agenda. Late spring brings the Castelluccio wildflower bloom on the plain above Norcia; autumn brings truffles.
From the locals
Asked where to go for a fortnight in Italy, Italians steer people off the Tuscan track: "Umbria is a nice place for nature, food and drink experiences, and history," one wrote, naming the circuit precisely — "look at some towns like Orvieto, Spoleto, Gubbio, Assisi and Perugia."