We're going to be in Umbria for a bit more than week in mid-May and we're looking for scenic drives to take on a few of our days there. We're staying at a B&B just outside of Spello and are already planning on seeing Assisi, Perugia, Gubbio and Orvieto. I'm looking for some super scenic drives to take in the countryside - we already have a Michellin map and will plan on following the "green" routes, but are there any specific routes or drives that you can recommend? We're looking for "getting there is half the fun" sort of experiences. TIA!
Posted by
Virginia, USA
792 posts
mosey over into Tuscany and drive SR222 ..spectacular scenery
Posted by
Green Bay
20360 posts
Take the Via Fossa northeast from the center of Gubbio About a half mile up the valley, you'll see a yellow sign on the right saying "Gola della Iridio" (Iridium gorge). A further quarter mile or so, there is a little turn-out on the right and a small informational sign, and a small yellow sign marking a 4 inch wide layer of rock. That is the KT Boundary, marking the extinction of the dinosaurs. This layer is all over the world, but here it is quite distinct. If you cross under an old aqueduct over the road, you just went past it. Continue up the road a few more miles to the top through a lovely pine forest. After that you're on your own.
Posted by
278 posts
Edited for correction, you already have the map I was mentioning so can't offer much help beyond that.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
The drive between Todi and Orvieto is beautiful.
I prefer Umbria to Tuscany, for scenic beauty and for the variety of hill towns.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
Thanks for everyone's input -- we just picked up our Michelin map of Central Italy for the May trip which will include driving in Tuscany and Umbria.
Posted by
seattle
2062 posts
Check out the DK Eyewitness Guide Backroads Northern Italy (I got from my library). They discuss wonderful roads and sites.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
906 posts
Take the Sagrantino Wine Trail. USA article here:
http://experience.usatoday.com/food-and-wine/story/tours-and-trails/wine-tours-and-trails/2014/10/07/montefalco-umbria-italy-wine/16871695/
Montefalco is a great little town in its own right.
Posted by
Bromley, Kent,, UK
1829 posts
Our favourite drive in the area is the SS209 road which follows the Nera river valley known as the Valnerina.
https://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/italy/umbria/valnerina/
Posted by
Chicago
1952 posts
We were in Orvieto last month on a day trip by train from Rome, and on one of the overlooks to the valley below, there was right in the middle of the valley a grey estate with a tower, the only structure in our field of vision.
I have been told that the estate was a monastery that has been turned into a hotel. That's a drive I think would be super, from Orvieto hilltown down to the valley to the hotel.