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American Airlines provides year-round service to Rome with daily flights from New York/JFK and Chicago O'Hare. From Rome, Narni is roughly 50 miles north, and Perugia, the largest city in the Umbrian region, is about 85 miles north.

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under the umbrian sun
umbria, which lies just east of tuscany, in the dead center of the italian peninsula, looks just as italy is supposed to look: rolling green hills covered with vineyards and olive groves, and hilltop walled cities with cobblestoned streets so narrow that pedestrians compete with puttering tiny cars and buzzing motor scooters - an eternal paradox of ancient and modern times, side by side. one street i stroll along is so narrow that two people cannot walk abreast. it has jokingly been named vicolo baciadonne, "kiss-the-women alley," and indeed is so tight that if a woman were heading toward you, your lips might touch when you passed one another.

as much as the landscape looks like what you would expect, the food in umbria is not what americans think of as italian. it's earthy and wholesome - barley, lentils, chickpeas; sheep and goat cheeses; veal and prosciutto. there's less pasta than in the south, less risotto than in the north, and umbrian chefs sprinkle grated truffles on everything. the locals talk about the various grades and purities of their olive oil as if they were talking about wine. and speaking of wines, theirs are full-bodied and smooth. there's not a lot of english spoken, but you can get by, because the umbrian attitude makes up for everything. the following umbrian cities embody all that makes this region unique.