In this article you will find out 5 alternative places to visit in Umbria in one day or for the classic trip out of town.
5 less famous villages and particular places, but still interesting that undoubtedly deserve a short tour. Find out with us what they are!
Advice on what to do, where to eat, how to get there.
Unusual Umbria: 5 alternative places to visit in one day
1 – The village of Rasiglia (PG)
In first place there is undoubtedly Rasiglia, a small and charming village located nearby municipality of Foligno (PG). Rasiglia it is a village rich in spring water that flows through the streets of the small town and has become famous for its waterfalls.
Also known as "Village of the brooks" or "Venice of Umbria"Due to the waterways that cross the small hamlet, Rasiglia retains the typical appearance of the medieval Umbrian village.
Her history it begins and proliferates with the waterways which over the centuries have contributed to the birth of numerous factories, fulling mills, grain mills, woolen mills and dyeing plants that worked on fine fabrics.
Thanks to a wise promotion of the territory on various social networks, Rasiglia it has become a destination for many tourists from all over Italy.
In all honesty the tour of the village takes less than an hour: the country is very collected. But here there is pure air and an ancient atmosphere that you will not find elsewhere.
On the other hand, it is a very cool place in summer and on the other hand very cold in winter.
For refresh yourself is to eat something typical you can enjoy the pleasant stops in the bars of the country that offer rustic platters of local products.
The walk to see the remains of the old Rasiglia castle is very nice, from where you can admire the village from above.
There visit to Rasiglia can be combined with Menotre waterfalls, which are about 20 minutes from the town. The falls are located in a beautiful and fresh natural area with various routes of varying difficulty.
Along the walk between the waterfalls of the Menotre river, you can also reach the Hermitage of Santa Maria Giacobbe.
Or you can take advantage of the nearby town of Foligno. This develops in the plains on the banks of the Topino river and can be easily visited on foot.
In the headquarters of CIAC museum center (Italian Center of Contemporary Art) the famous is kept Cosmic magnet of Gino de Dominicis.
2 – The flowering of the Plain of Castelluccio di Norcia (PG)
Another must, if you are in Umbria between June and July, is the spectacular flowering of the plain of Castelluccio di Norcia. A natural event not to be missed!
The Pian Grande area is located a few kilometers from the historic center of Norcia, located right on the slopes of Mount Carrier. The event of the flowering of the Pian Grande, is connected to the flowering of the lentil, even if in reality the species that bloom are also others.
Here you can admire, all year round, even a forest in the shape of Italy: unique in the world!
When does the flowering of the plain begin?
Indicatively from May to mid-July. But not there is a precise date and a period of maximum flowering, it all depends on the climatic situation.
May is the month of the beginning of preparation for true flowering, which sees its peak in the months of June and early July, when the cornflower also arrives that gives the plain the last touch of color, with its particular violet.
For more info on flowering and what to do in Castelluccio visit the site: castellucciodinorcia.it
The our Advice however, if you want to visit this natural spectacle in peace, it is avoid public holidays if possible because there are many people and you risk endless queues along the only road that crosses the plain.
For to eat something there are typical kiosks and trattorias everywhere. To stay updated and have info you can consult the website of the municipality of Castelluccio.
3 – The Well of St. Patrick – Orvieto (PG)
The St. Patrick's well it is set in the marvelous cliff of Orvieto (TR), to the right of the funicular that climbs towards the historic center.
Here there is a low circular building that houses the access to a small engineering masterpiece from the mid-16th century.
And the St. Patrick's Well, built by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger at the behest of Pope Clement VII who, having retired to Orvieto after the Sack of Rome, wanted to protect himself in the event of a siege of the city.
The well is 53.15 m deep and was built by digging into the tuff of the squat plateau of the Val Tiberina. It has a cylindrical shape with a circular base with a diameter of 13 meters.
The steps are 248, the windows that give light are 70. The well took the name of Saint Patrickprobably because it was used as a place of atonement for sins in the same way as a cave.
A curiosity: its structure is identical, geometrically speaking, to the double helix of DNA, however discovered 400 years later (in 1951).
4 – The Scarzuola ideal city – Montegabbione (TR)
What is the Scarzuola? It is a small town in the Montegiove hamlet of the municipality of Montegabbione, in the province of Terni. One of the most unusual places in Umbria.
In the beginning it was a convent built by San Francesco. In 1957 it was bought by the Milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi who chose it as perfect place to host his ideal city.
An architectural jewel entirely in tuff that is the perfect metaphor for a mystical-esoteric journey through human history, in the incessant search for truth.
Alla Buzzi's death, in 1981, the city was only partially built but, thanks to the sketches left, theheir Marco Solari finished the work. Let yourself be "transported" into this surreal world, between daring works, ancient stories and irreverent anecdotes.
To visit the Scarzuola it is mandatory to book the day and time of visit on the site (ticket cost € 10 per person).
5- Gubbio (PG) – the oldest city in Umbria
TO Gubbio in addition, the largest Christmas tree in the world is lit every year.
It consists of over 800 luminous bodies scattered along the slopes of Mount Ingino, all powered by renewable sources.
It is famous for being thebiggest Christmas tree in the world.
6 – The Fossil Forest of Dunarobba (TR)
It is a paleontological site where it is possible to admire about thirty tree trunks, perfectly preserved by the mud, dating back to about three million years ago. They are not fossils, but real trees: approx fifty trunks of gigantic conifers they take us back to prehistoric times!
The trunks were unearthed in Casaccia, not far from Avigliano Umbro between 1979 and 1987, in a clay quarry, used by a nearby brick factory.
There Fossil Forest of Dunarobba it is a unique paleontological site in the world that came to light in the late 1970s, inside a clay quarry intended for the manufacture of building bricks.
The remains of the approx fifty trunks of gigantic conifers currently visible, they constitute an exceptional and rare testimony of some plant essences that characterized this sector of the Italian peninsula over a period of time between 3 and 2 million years ago, that is, in the geological period known as the Pliocene.
The site is outdoors, therefore we recommend sneakers and k-way in the winter season / closed shoes and a hat with a visor in the summer.
For all information relating to visits to the Fossil Forest, you can visit the official website.
Other unusual and fascinating places that you don't expect
The Mole of Narni
What are they?
The Mole di Narni are a small paradise in the heart of the vegetation of the Umbrian hills, close to the Gorges of the Nera. The gorges of the Nera are a new pedestrian cycle path which, starting from Narni Scalo, leads up to underneath the town of Narni, in the area known as the Mole precisely, along the old railway track.
A short distance from the small village of Stifone there is a hidden jewel: in this stretch where the Nera river flows, a natural swimming pool is created with water that dissolves in beautiful turquoise and emerald shades. It is so clear that the rocks can be glimpsed, creating suggestive contrasts.
It is no coincidence that the "lake of silver waters" of which C. S. Lewis writes in the novels "Chronicles of Narnia"Would have been inspired by that of the" Mole ", which the author was able to visit during his trip to Umbria.
The municipality has recently re-evaluated the area and built a wooden solarium. The place is in fact also known as "black river solarium".
Be careful though, because in the beautiful pond bathing is not safe due to the danger of flooding caused by the opening of the bulkheads of the dam of the nearby hydroelectric plant. The discharge of excess water received by the Nera, albeit signaled by an acoustic signal, in fact causes a potentially dangerous wave in the lagoon for bathers.
Also find out classic Umbria in 3 travel itineraries:
What to see in Umbria: 3 itineraries for all tastes and travel tips.
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