| Destination of the week: |
| | Spello, Umbria |
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They may not throw petals on the ground to welcome you, but they come pretty close. The hill town of Spello in Umbria is inviting all year round, but during its Corpus Domini festival you would be hard pressed to find anywhere in Italy more spectacularly postcard-pretty.
For the event, the streets and pavements of this tiny walled town – with a population of a mere 8,000 – are turned into the most amazing mosaic of intricately designed carpets of flowers, each depicting a religious scene.
The summer festival, named The Infiorata, attracts hordes of visitors from across Italy. But it is, unforgivably, one of the numerous attractions of charming Spello that many foreign visitors miss out on as they head for larger towns such as Assisi, a short drive north up the S75 motorway.
However, for those in the know looking for property for sale in Umbria, there are few towns that match Spello’s unique charm. In Roman times Spello was called Spellum and the heavy Roman influence remains to this day.
It boasts three excellently preserved Roman stone gates – Porta Urbica, Porta Consolare, which serves as its main gateway and, the most impressive, Porta Venere, flanked by two towers. There are also its walls, dating from the first century AD and the remnants of a Roman amphitheatre just outside them, which in days gone by served as a 15,000-seater gladiatorial arena.
As you make your way upwards through Spello, you come to its chief monument, the Santa Maria Maggiore church, built in the 12th century on what are thought to have been the ruins of a pagan temple. .
The church’s Baglioni Chapel features famous brilliant religious-themed frescoes by the 15th century Renaissance artist Pinturicchio – the Dispute in the Temple, the Nativity and the Annunciation. More of his work can be seen in the 13th century Sant–Andrea and the Capella del Sacramento.
Next to it along Via Cavour, the town–s main thoroughfare, lies the Palazzo dei Canonici, which holds a wide variety of art from some of the towns 26 or so churches.
Spello, like many of Umbria–s beautiful hill towns, is made to be explored on foot. Its cobbled streets and alleyways may be inviting but they are also steep, so be warned.
The effort is more than worth it, though, especially if you climb past San Severino church for Belvedere, a spot that gives you a spectacular panoramic view over the surrounding countryside.
How to get there:
There are daily international flights to Perugia, from which regular trains and buses run to Spello 20 miles away.
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