Umbrian road trip: drugs, saints, and hill towns

PERUGIA- Is there a drug problem in this Umbrian hill town? My wife and her well-traveled friend Jodi began to wonder about this topic as they joined me on a four-day trip through the rugged region of Umbria.

 Something seemed off in this beautiful historic town. After lunch, a strange thing happened. While walking on the street in the historic centre, someone asked me for money. I thought it was a one-off until it happened again a few hours later.

 I assumed the town was too small and too historic for panhandlers. A few blocks away I saw another sign, a table with a green cloth along with three recovered addicts asking for signatures in English. This is somewhat of a scam in Rome and in other major tourist destinations in Italy. I also remember reading reviews of a central parking garage and seeing reports of multiple cars break-ins.

 “I don’t know of the drug problem directly, but because it is the principal city of Umbria, I can imagine that there is a problem,” said Federica, my wife’s Italian tutor over lunch. Federica has lived in the region for over 20 years teaching Italian and giving tours of neighboring Assisi. It was a reasonable response, and she seemed surprised by the question.

 During lunch, she later remembered a crazy story from years ago when she returned home and found a broken window and blood all over her apartment. The damage occurred during a raid of her neighbor’s house who was a drug dealer. Apparently, the drug dealer escaped out the back of his house and broke her window in the process, cutting himself and leaving a trail of blood in her apartment.

 As he came out her front door covered in blood, the police officer decided not to touch him, and he escaped by stealing a car. After this story, I thought to myself, maybe this town does have a drug problem!

 Overall, Perugia was a delightful surprise. The large medieval town is known to Italians for its chocolate, historic university and to most Americans for the drama of the highly publicized trial of Amanda Knox.

 The town’s centre, Piazza IV Novembre was stunning. It is comprised of the Duomo, the Fontana Maggiore, and the Palazzo dei Priori, one of the most outstanding public palaces in Italy. Inside the Palazzo, we visited the National Gallery of Umbria which features notable works from Perugino, Fra’ Angelico and many others in a spacious layout with many views overlooking the city.

 Perugia is filled with appealing local restaurants. The Trattoria Oberdan provided a great lunch with “Strangozzi Alla Norcina”, a local pasta dish from the Umbrian town of Norcia consisting of cream sausage and truffles. For dinner, we dined at Al Mangiar Bene, a local favorite. We enjoyed legumi and farro soup and a truffle “tagliata”(sliced steak) with roasted potatoes and spinach.

 “Guilty!” said the waiter, the hotel clerk, the garage attendant, and everyone we asked about Amanda Knox, the American woman studying in Perugia who was convicted of killing her roommate and sentenced to 26 years in prison in 2009. Two years later, a retrial was ordered through an appeal process, and the conviction was overturned. She then returned to the United States. In 2014 the appeals court convicted her again, but the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation definitively acquitted her.

 Rudy Guede, a known burglar, was arrested in 2007. He was convicted for the murder and served 16 years. We found the highly publicized trial still arouses emotions most likely due to the constant stream of documentaries and specials about the case.

 During our Umbrian tour, we visited Orvieto, a town perched on a rock cliff, known for its breathtaking 13^th century cathedral. We stayed in the centre, although the town is relatively small and the important sights can be covered in a few hours.

 Perfectly placed in-between Florence and Rome, Orvieto is a popular stop for afternoon tours. Getting a chance to watch the sunset and sunrise gave us an opportunity to see the city without the usual crowds which added to the positive experience.

 The Duomo is considered one of the greatest Gothic structures in the country. The façade of the church is its most remarkable feature due to its gleaming golden frontage, sculptures, bas-reliefs, and large rose window. There are frescos inside including “The Last Judgement” in the San Brizio Chapel by Luca Signorelli. Fra Angelico worked on the ceilings many years earlier. You can see them both staring at the audience in “The Sermon of the Antichrist.”

 Assisi was our final destination. 2026 marks the 800^th anniversary of Saint Francis’s death, proclaimed by Pop Leo XIV to be a special Jubilee year for the city. From the end of Feb. until March 22, it is possible to view his mortal remains during a visit to the town’s famous Basilica (reservations required).

 The town of Assisi just does mass tourism well with plenty of secondary sights, great views, and good restaurants, although they can be a little on the pricey side. Our hotel was just outside of the city which was a great value with excellent service and a chance to eat dinner with locals.

 After a failed attempt to get into the Basilica of Saint Francis, we settled for the Church of Saint Mary Major where we could pay our respects to the Patron Saint of the Internet, Saint Carlos Acutis, who died at age 15 from leukemia. The Saint was credited with two miracles after his death, one for healing a Brazilian boy with a rare disease in 2013, and the second for healing a Costa Rican woman with severe head trauma in 2022.

 During his life, he used his computer skills to create a website and document Eucharistic miracles while living a life of virtue. Seeing his body through a glass tomb made quite an impression, as he was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie.

 Our next stop was the tomb of Saint Clare of Assisi. She was inspired by the teachings of Saint Francis who died 28 years before her. She is known for founding the Order of Poor Ladies, now referred to as the Order of Saint Clare. Her tomb is well-organized, and her life story is displayed in English and Italian as you wait your turn to view the crypt. Like Francis, she left a life of privilege to devote her time to the church and helping the poor.

 After a breathtaking sunset, we ended the day with a dinner at La Pregiutteria Casa Norcia, a local restaurant known for their Umbrian cuisine. They brought us some fresh-cut prosciutto as a house appetizer. We enjoyed their lentil soup, cooked spinach, scalded lamb, and a tour of pecorino cheese for dessert.

 Often overshadowed by its famous neighbor, Tuscany, Umbria is filled with wonderful food, historical towns, and interesting stories. We were able to visit a lot with a car over a three-day weekend from Rome, which is a trip I would highly recommend. mlp