spoleto restaurants

We visited Spoleto for a day last September by train when we stayed in Perugia. Easy bus ride from the train station into the historic center. It's a nice town and we felt satisfied with our day trip walkabout. The Lippi frescoes in the cathedral are extraordinary, and the walk across the bridge was neat. We're history/art buffs and we did the castle at the head of the bridge, but honestly you could give that a skip IMO. Had a coffee in a little cafe overlooking the valley and countryside afterwards. Can't help out on restuarants as we are confirmed cheapos and always head for the bargain basement cuisine-wise, but I do remember a nice lambchop on a piazza somewhere in Spoleto. We also visited Assisi and Gubbio. Assisi was very nice and so was Gubbio..smaller and "medievaler" to my recollection. Have fun.

Hi Lynn,

I spent 6 weeks in Spoleto a few years back, singing in the Festival. If you are going during this time, the town will be packed, but very lively. It is a typical town for the Umbrian region, with beautiful medieval buildings, a gorgeous church with a recently restored fresco by Filippo Lippi, and fantastic views of the countryside from the aqueduct. Outside of the festival, things are pretty quiet and it's a nice place to go for a break from the fast-paced sight seeing of the big cities. I stopped by for a day last May...seems there's a lot of construction and scaffolding all over the town, which was a bit disappointing from a "viewing" standpoint. But, it is still beautiful nonetheless.
Ristorante Apolinare is a main-stay in the town, and the food is fantastic. It's a good place for the "nice dinner." La Barcaccia serves up tasty strangozzi, and seems to be one of the few places open during riposo. I also remember pretty good pizza at Paolo's on the corso. Just down the street from Paolo's, also on the corso, was a bar/caffe that served a drink called the Trittico...a mixture of 3 liquors of which the only one I remember specifically is limoncello. But, it was pretty tasty, and a drink unique to Spoleto.

If you haven't already, I would post your question on chowhound. It's a foodie website with an Italy forum; very helpful people.

Enjoy!