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Within easy traveling distance of Casa Turrita, either by car or train, are many towns in Umbria, including Perugia, Todi, Assisi, Spoleto and Orvieto. Gubbio is about 2 hours north and Siena, in neighboring Tuscany, is just over an hour to the northwest. Florence, also in Tuscany, is about two hours away and Rome is less than two hours south.
Throughout the summer and into the fall, there are many different “sagras” celebrating everything from the lowly onion - there is even a sagra to celebrate celery! - to the best of Umbrian cuisine. There are also festivals offering theater, music and religious processions. A few are mentioned here: |
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| Calendimaggio - Assisi |
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| A medieval event in May where traditional games are performed in period costumes. |
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| Festa dei Ceri - Gubbio |
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This is a centuries old relay race from the main piazza to the top of Monte Ingino. There are three teams, each carrying a wooden statue (a cero) up a narrow mountain road made more narrow because of the throngs of people lining the roadway. The statues are of three saints, Ubaldo, Giorgio and Antonio and each weighs 200 kg. They race up the mountain to the church of St. Ubaldo. If you want to experience it like the locals do, stand in the Piazza Grande and feel the tension while waiting for the race to start…or wait along the roadway for your team to come along. However, if you want to experience the race but avoid the worst of the crowds, you can take the funicular up to the church and watch the crowd come surging up toward you. There is a bar at the top where you can leisurely wait for the race to reach you….
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| Cantine Aperte - Montefalco |
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Many of the cantinas (wineries) featuring the famous Montefalco Sagrantino Wine
are open for the day. Often there is a “navetta” or a small bus that will pick you up and take you to different cantinas. Various cantinas offer music and food. It is a fun day and a good way to try several different wines.
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