Americans In Umbria: Umbertide

I thought I would post some general pictures of our town. Most American, as well as most Italians, have never heard of Umbertide. This is hard for Umbertidese to imagine, but alas it is true.

The town is hardly mentioned in the tour guides. Most people in Umbria think it is ugly because there is a lot of modern architecture which is indeed horrible. Photos of this later.

We do have some guide worthy things. We have one museum in town and this is it.

Courtyard to museum Santa Croce

Mary, this picture is for you.

Inside the museum, if you turn right, you end up in the church where there is a painting by Luca Signorelli a Renaissance artist. I must say this is a little odd, because you can go directly into the church from the street without paying the 5E. If you go left, there is a little exhibit. Anyway, going right, which leads you back into the church, is the most famous painting in Umbertide. It is titled The Deposition and painted by Signorelli. Signorelli is from Cortona, the town that Frances Mayes made famous in Under the Tuscan Sun. She is also a big fan of his paintings and if you read her books you will come across his name. One of the reasons that this painting is so important is that it hasn't been moved from its location since it was put there in 1516, about the time our apartment was started. You have to say one thing a about these Umbertidese, they stick with the plan.

Our next famous site is La Rocca. It is a fortress that was finished in 1385. The town started restoring it in the 80's and it now houses contemporary art works. It is very interesting inside and has fabulous views of the countryside. This is the outside of the Rocca.