Umbria and Tuscany

Umbria is the green heart of Italy: dark green the woody slopes of the hills, light green the vineyards, silver green the olive groves. At the border to Tuscany this heart has a blue spot: the Trasimeno Lake, enclosed by endless rolling hills and picturesque little hill towns and villages. Less crowded than Tuscany to the West, Umbria still is a refuge for connoisseurs who seek for origial country holidays and half-hidden retreats still largely untroubled by visitors. But yet Umbria is everything else but sleepy. Many Umbrian and Tuscan villages offer art, culture, food and views of which many a European city would be proud. There is the spiritual world capitol Assisi, Perugia with its internationally renommated jazz festival and the innumerable festas and festivals in almost every little village throughout Umbria. When getting to La Rogaia you will find information brochures, maps for hiking, time tables and event calendars in your holiday apartment.

We have only included some of our personal tips and recommendations which we do not claim to be complete. If you would like to know more about travelling in Umbria and Tuscany please check our link pages or travel guides. At the bottom of this page we have listed a few suggestions for books on Umbria, Tuscany and Italy. And in case you run short of reading material during your stay at La Rogaia: We are happy to help you out from our collection of travel guides, novels, art and children’s books.

These pages with tips for your vacation in Umbria and Tuscany are being updated regularly. Come back to see what’s new !

Watch a HotSpot documentary with Martin Holvoet at http://www.shootv.com (in English)

July and August 2018
Trasimeno Blues (July and August): Blues open air concerts in the towns around Lake Trasimeno
Trasimeno Lake and the rolling hills that surround her are imbued with a joyous and evocative spirit when, in the last ten days of July and the first few days of August, the Trasimeno Blues Festival comes to town, one of the most important festivals of its genre in Italy. Its venues cover the map and Trasimeno Blues goes to most of the villages and towns that make up the Trasimeno area, from the old town centres to the characteristic parks. For twelve days twenty stages offer more than thirty concerts from dusk to dawn, almost all of them free. Alongside the music there are exhibitions, musical dinners and music labs. It is a musical journey into the green heart of Italy where over the years such important Italian and international musicians such as Johnny Winter, Jack Bruce & Robin Tower, Maceo Parker, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Sugar Blue, Brian Auger, Alex Britti, Ana Popovic, Cheryl Porter, Shemekia Copeland, Eugenio Finardi, Gegé Telesforo, Fairport Convention, The James Taylor Quartet, Carl Palmer, Them, Ten Years After, Charlie Musselwhite, Treves Blues Band and so many other. For more info please visit www.trasimenoblues.it


Mid July to mid August 2018
Festival Giovani Artisti in our village Castel Rigone (every year in August): Classical concerts on the romantic little Piazza San Francesco 
The 13th edition of the International Young Musicians Festival will take place in Castel Rigone this year, with a wonderful programme of quality performances. Started in 1997 by its Artistic Director Prof. Giorgio Porzi and organised by Prof. Beniamino Giommini and Anne Markoff, it was an immediate success. The aim of the festival is to showcase young and talented musicians, winners of great international competitions, in Castel Rigone in front of a sophisticated audience. The monumental and scenic beauty of the village, and the warm summer air, together conspire to make this an annual appointment not to be missed. The acoustics of Piazzetta S. Agostino, where the concerts are held, is soft and velvety and was obtained via complicated phono-metric calculations. It is the result of ancient construction know-how which sews the walls with an age old technique known as “a faccia vista”, which refines the sounds and then concentrically sends them back with all of their natural qualities. More info at www.festivalgiovaniconcertisti.com

End of July, early August 2018
Preggio Music Festival : Classical music performed by musicians from England, Holland, Italy and Germany, some of world class level. MOre info at www.preggiomusicfestival.com

August/ September 2018    
" Figuratevi " International puppet theatre festival at  Perugia 

September 2018
" Sagra Musicale Umbra ":   Festival of sacred music at Perugia and surroundings. More info at www.perugiamusicaclassica.com

End of August to mid September 2018
Musica Insieme Panicale: This is a musical event featuring ancient, classical, contemporary and avant-garde music performed by well-known Italian and international musicians.
The musicians perform both masterpieces and less-known works of the world's great composers. The concerts a free for anyone under the age of 18, to encourage these young people to get to know this kind of music. Info at www.facebook.com/pg/musicainsieme.panicale

Every village in Umbria celebrates a folk festival at least once a year, with music, dance, theatre and above all homemade food.

March 30, 2018
Good Friday in Assisi:[nbsp]Processione del Cristo Morto - hauntingly beautiful procession in the early evening with torchlights in the historical town centre of Assisi

April 11 to 15, 2018
Festa del Tulipano in Castiglione del Lago: Tulip festival with flower processions, processions in historical costumes. More info at www.festadeltulipano.com

May 2 to 5, 2018
Calendimaggio in Assisi: Medieval festa to celebrate the re-birth of spring with processions in historical costumes, medieval games, morality plays, song contests and pageantry. More info at www.calendimaggiodiassisi.com

May 15, 2018
Corsa dei Ceri in Gubbio: Pagan / Christian festival where three colossal wooden candles ("ceri") are raced up straight the mountain by teams of locals ("ceraioli"). All inhabitants of Gubbio go crazy for this race and therefore are called "i matti d'Italia" (the madmen of Italy).

June 1 to 16, 2018 and August 31 to September 16, 2018
Giostra della Quintana at Foligno: Medieval horse races and games. More info at www.quintana.it

June 14 to 24, 2018
Mercato delle Gaite at Bevagna: Medieval town and market life, great food cooked following  ancient recipes. According to us the most beautiful of all historical reevocation festas. More info at  www.ilmercatodellegaite.it

June 2 and 3, 2018
Le Infiorate: Flower festivals  around Corpus Domini:
Many Umbrian villages cover their streets with lush flower carpets once a year for the Corpus Domini processions. The most famous “Infiorate” are at Spello, Citta della Pieve, Ficulle, Orvieto und Montegabbiano statt. For exact dates please ask us or at the tourist information offices. We suggest to get there early to see the art works in the fresh morning air (between 7 and 9 am). More info at www.infioratespello.it

Last week of July 2018
Palio delle Barche at Passignano (last weekend in July). Historical boat race . More info at www.paliodellebarche.it

First weekend of August 2018
Festa dei Barbari at Castel Rigone Historical procession, tornaments and market commemorating the founding of Castel Rigone around 500 AD by the Ostrogoth Arigo. Watch our video of the procession of the "barbarians". And here is another video at www.youtube.com

August 8 to 19, 2018
Palio dei Terzieri at  Città della Pieve Historical town festival with procession in renaissance costumes and archery competition. More info at  www.paliodeiterzieri.it

October 19 to 21, 2018
Sagra delle Castagne (chestnut festival) at Preggio (every year 3rd weekend of October). The villagers prepare their home specialities, such as pasta with game, fried mushrooms or chestnut tarts. You can enjoy these together with must and new wine. More info at www.preggio.info/sagra-castagna

More information about the sagre you can get from us during your stay or from the tourist information centres.

Sports

Our suggestions for hiking by foot or mountain biking you can find here: hiking and mountain biking
Information about water sports at Trasimeno Lake you can find here: Trasimeno Lake

Horseback riding

Would you like to discover Umbria from horseback? There are several riding schools in our vicinity:
Agriturismo La Rosa Canina at Casalini organizes cross country riding in the hills above Lake Trasimeno.
Circolo Ippico di Valvasone at Magione offers pony-riding and pony games for children and cross country riding. The daughter of the friendly family enterprise is a national champion in endurance horse riding.

Golf

Golf Club Lamborghini in Panicale: www.lamborghinionline.it/pagine/golf-club

Golfclub Perugia: www.golfclubperugia.it/

Golfclub Antognolla www.antognollagolf.com/

Paragliding

Monte Subasio above Assisi and Monte Cucco close to Gubbio are a paradise for the silent knights of the air.

River rafting and canoeing

On the rivers Nera and Corno (close to Norcia) or at the Marmora waterfalls you can discover unspoilt nature from a raft, canoe or kayak.

Star watching

For all hobby astronomers: the clear nights at La Rogaia allow fascinating views of the starry sky above ...