Spoleto

If you do nothing else in Spoleto you should take the short achievement out to the Ponte delle Torri , the town’s picture-postcard favourite and an astonishing piece of medieval engineering. It’s best taken in as part of a circular achievement around the base of the Rocca or on the longer trek out to San Pietro . Within a minute of leaving shady gardens in Piazza Campello you suddenly find yourself looking out over superb countryside (blighted only by the busy road way below, but this doesn’t dominate), with a dramatic panorama crossways the Tessino gorge and south to the mountains of Castelmonte. There’s an informal little bar, on the left before the bend, to help you enjoy the views. The Rocca , everyone’s intent of a cartoon castle, with towers, crenellations and sheer walls, was another in the chain of fortresses with which the tireless Cardinal Albornoz hoped to re-establish Church domination in central Italy, a primacy lost during the fourteenth-century papal exile to Avignon. It served until the primeval 1980s as a high-security prison - testimony to the skill of its medieval builders - and was home to, amongst others, Pope John Paul II’s would-be assassin and leading members of the Red Brigade. It’s approaching the end of some fifteen years of restoration, and will house, among other things, a museum devoted to the Duchy of Spoleto, but despite prodding from the EU - who place up much of the money for restoration - no date has been set for the grand opening.

The bridge is a genuinely impressive affair, with a 240-metre span supported by ten eighty-metre arches that have been used as a launching pad by jilted lovers for six centuries. Designed by the Gubbian architect Gattapone, who was also responsible for Gubbio’s Palazzo dei Consoli, it was initially planned as an aqueduct to bring water from Monteluco, replacing an early Roman causeway whose design Gattapone probably borrowed and enlarged upon. In time it also became used as an escape from the Rocca when Spoleto was under siege. The remains of what used to be a covered passageway connecting the two are still visible straggling down the hillside.

It’s well worth crossing the bridge and picking up the footpath , which zigzags up from the left-hand side of the road and then contours left into peaceful countryside within a few hundred metres, giving great views back over the gorge. Alternatively, turn right on the road and make for the church of San Pietro , whose deception beckons from a not-too-distant hillside. If the intent of another church doesn’t appeal you can easily double back to town on the circular Via della Rocca.

Though the achievement to San Pietro is a longish one (2km), it’s pleasantly shady with some good glimpses of Spoleto; the only thing to watch of on the country road (no pavements) are crazed Italians taking the bends too fast. The church would be undistinguished were it not for the splendid sculptures adorning its facade. Taken with Maitini’s bas-reliefs in Orvieto, they are the best Romanesque carvings in Umbria, partly Lombard in their inspiration, and drawing variously on the Gospels and medieval legend for their complicated narrative and symbolic purpose. A particularly juicy scene to look out for includes the Death of a Sinner (left series, second from the top) where the Archangel Michael abandons the sinner to a couple of demons who bind and torture him before bringing in the burning oil to finish the job. Fourth panel from the top (right series) shows a wolf disguised as a friar before a fleeing ram - a dig at dodgy monastic morals.

There are a couple of anonymous bargain restaurants in Piazza del Mercato, at nos. 29 and 10, both catering mainly to Spoleto’s labourers and market traders. The best basic trattoria is Il Panciolle , at Via del Duomo 3 (closed Wed), which has a wonderful terrace for al fresco meals: service can be slow, so settle in for a long lunch. For something more special, go to Sabatini , at Corso Mazzini 54 (closed Mon), the town’s smartest spot (again with outside tables), or the nicely intimate Apollinare , Via Sant’Agata 14 (closed Tues): don’t be place off by the blue and gold upholstery. More informal is the slightly cheaper and bistro-like Pentagramma , signposted off Piazza Libertà at Via T. Martani 4 (closed Mon). The place to drink in the evening is the main bar on the west side of Piazza del Mercato.

Hosting Italy’s leading international arts festival, the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds), has been a double-edged blessing for Spoleto - crowds and commercialism being the price it has had to pay for culture. Having already rejected thirty other Italian locations, the influential arts guru Giancarlo Menotti plumped for the town in 1958, attracted by its scenery, small venues and general good vibes. The ensuing festivity is a great attraction if you’re into music, diversion or theatre, though the place forgoes a good part of its charm as a result. On top of the crowds, ticket prices for top companies and world-class performers can be off-putting, as can the jet-set, well-heeled cut of the audiences. Be warned too that while the festival’s in progress you can expect packed hotels, insanity in the restaurants and higher prices all round. At the same time there’s an Edinburgh-type fringe and plenty of fellow travellers (plus lots of film, jazz, buskers and so on). Organizers, moreover, are increasingly looking to more avant-garde acts and wacky shows to recover the artistic edge of the festival’s primeval days. Check out tickets and information from the tourist office on Piazza Libertà or the festival’s own box office at Piazza del Duomo (tel 0743.28.120).

Spoleto is easily reached by train , with regular services on the main Rome-Ancona line and local links with Foligno, Terni, Orte and elsewhere. The train station is just northwest of the lower town; shuttle buses to the centre depart from outside the station (get tickets from the station newspaper stand), as do services for Norcia ; other buses leave from Piazza Libertà and Piazza Garibaldi. The Spoleto tourist office is at Piazza Libertà 7 (daily 9am-1pm & 4-7.30pm; tel 0743.220.311, info@iat.spoleto.pg.it ). Inexpensive rooms are hard to come by when the festival’s in full swing, but otherwise you shouldn’t have too many problems. Pensione dell’Angelo is very central, above a busy trattoria at Via Arco del Druso 25 (tel 0743.222.385; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98), but small and slightly dingy. Otherwise try the good, if slightly overpriced, Aurora , a perfectly situated pensione in an alley off Piazza Libertà at Via dell’Apollinare 3 (tel 0743.220.315; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98), or the seven quiet and excellent rooms above Il Panciolle restaurant at Via del Duomo 4 (tel 0743.45.677; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98). If you’re prepared to spend more, the best of the central three-stars is the Nuovo Clitunno , Piazza Sordini 6 (tel 0743.223.340, fax 0743.222.663; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), or the Charleston , Piazza Collicola 10 (tel 0743.220.052, fax 0743.221.244; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47) by the church of San Domenico. The lower town is very much a second choice, but there are more likely to be rooms available, and it’s still handy for the medieval highlights. The place to try here is the potentially noisy but well-renovated Anfiteatro , Via dell’Anfiteatro 14 (tel 0743.49.853; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48).

Campsites are also a possibility. Closest is Camping Monteluco (tel 0743.220.358; April-Sept), behind San Pietro and an cushy downhill achievement from Piazza Libertà, with (officially) only 35 places. The Il Girasole (tel 0743.51.335) in the village of Petrognano (10km northwest of Spoleto; hourly buses from the train station) is a bigger and flashier affair, with a public swimming pool nearby and tennis courts.

SPOLETO is perhaps Umbria’s most compelling town and many people’s central-Italian favourite. Known mainly for its big summer festival , it’s remarkable also for its thorough-going medievalism, an extremely scenic setting, and several of Italy’s most ancient Romanesque churches (note that, excepting San Salvatore, Spoleto’s churches close for the afternoon). Far more graceful and rustic a city than Perugia, nowadays it plays second fiddle politically to its long-time historical enemy, though for several centuries it was among the most influential of Italian towns. Two kilometres of well-preserved walls stand as testament to the one-time grandeur of its Roman colony, though its real importance dates from the sixth century when the Lombards prefabricated it the capital of one of their three Italian dukedoms. The autonomous Duchy of Spoleto eventually stretched to Rome, and by 890 its rulers had become powerful enough to lay claim to the imperial throne itself, making Spoleto, for a short time at least, the capital of the entire Holy Roman Empire. Barbarossa flattened the city in a fit of pique in 1155, and in 1499 the 19-year-old Lucrezia Borgia was appointed governer by her father, Pope Alexander VI. After that it was one long decline until about thirty years ago and the arrival of the festival.