Local events, markets, festivals and shopping
Here are some listings that might help you make the most of your stay.
Markets
One of the great pleasures of holidaying in Italy is the discovery of local markets which sell very fresh local produce, as well as clothes, crafts and other items.
Here is a list of when and where some local markets are held:
Umbertide: General market (fresh produce and fresh fish in the main town square, clothes etc in the carpark opposite the castle) Wednesday mornings, spreading from Piazza Matteotti to Piazza Caduti del Lavoro. There is now also a small Saturday market in the main town square of crafts and artisan food products.
Città di Castello: Thursday and Saturday mornings, spreading from Piazza Gabriotti along the Corso Cavour.
Monterchi: Sunday mornings, along the road into town from the valley: clothes, cheap handbags and sunspecs.
Trestina: Via Maria Montessori (day tbc).
Perugia: Saturday, near Duomo.
Festivals
There are so many local festivals that it is difficult to know which ones to list (we have just put some of our favourites). Each has its own theme (mushroom festival etc), and the formula usually revolves around stalls selling local crafts and produce, and one or more restaurant areas with set-price meals.
Umbertide – Festa dell’Ottocento in September (19th century costume and traditional crafts)
Perugia – Festival of Chocolate in October
Citta di Castello – Festa di S.Bartolomeo held on the weekend closest to 24 August (agricultural fair – displays of rare breeds, huge Chianina cattle, rural crafts); National Horse Show in mid September (numerous competitions including dressage, show jumping, and men in cowboy hats rounding up cattle).
Cortona – Festa della Bistecca in August (huge t-bone steaks from the white Chianina cattle).
S. Leo Bastia – Sagra del Fungo in September (porcini mushrooms)
Lisciano Niccone – Festa dei Strangozzi (hearty handmade pasta)
Montone – Festa del Bosco in late October (handcrafts and produce of the forest)
Aside from food, there are a number of internationally renowned cultural events:
Umbria film festival: https://umbriafilmfestival.com/ with screenings in Montone and Umbertide.
Umbria jazz festival: Umbria Jazz in Perugia
Classical Music festivals: Citta di Castello Festival delle Nazioni – 59ma Edizione – Omaggio alla Germania e ai paesi di lingua germanica and Spoleto https://spoletofestival.it/
Shopping
Supermarkets:
Eurospar Supermarket in Trestina: useful as is open on a Sunday.
Coop in Umbertide – Via R. Morandi, in the centro commerciale “Fratta” – 06019 Umbertide: stocks good and often local fresh produce as well as all usual supermarket staples. Open on Sundays in summer months (but check at other times of year as Sunday opening is not generalised in Italy).
Eurospin, Via 8 Marzo 1 Umbertide (Umbria) Eurospin – Bing Maps – a basic supermarket but which (weirdly) has a particularly good fish counter.
Emi supermarket, Ss3 109 Umbertide EMI supermercato Umbertide – Bing Maps – big, another good option for food shopping.
There is also a smaller supermarket (CONAD) in the town centre of Umbertide on Via Roma which includes a good butchery counter.
For cakes, pastries, handmade chocolates and (in season) home-made icecream: Cose Dolci, Via Nestore, Verna, 075 941 0446
There is also a good gelateria near the baker, opposite the station in Umbertide: Delizia Gelateria, Piazza Antonio Gramsci 18/A-B – 06019 Umbertide; +39 075 854 0878
And another exceptionally good source of icecream is La Bottega del Gelato at the base of Umbertide’s “skyscraper”, next to Calico Jack’s: La Bottega del Gelato – Gelateria Artigianale ad Umbertide
Butcher:
There are good butcher’s counters in the Conad on Via Roma and in the Coop (see above). There are also good butchers on the main street in Trestina and in Città di Castello, on the corner of the Cathedral square.
Baker:
There is a small foodshop and bar in Spedalicchio, at the foot of our hill, where you can buy bread and other basic supplies. Otherwise the closest bakers are in Umbertide, in the square opposite the railway station, and on the main street in Trestina, or in Mercatale, on the road out of town signed towards Cortona.
Beeswax and honey direct from the farm:
Azienda Apistica Montecorona
Loc Montecorona 323
06019 Umbertide
tel: 075 9411610
http://www.ceralacera.com
Wine: Enoteca Bani, Via Garibaldi, 37, 075 942 0316. Or buy from the vineyard at any of these very local vineyards: Girasoli di Sant’Andrea, in the valley below Casa Nova: I Girasoli di Sant’Andrea – Produzione Vino ed Olio in Umbria; Chiesa del Carmine just off the E45 en route to Perugia Chiesa del Carmine – Winery in Umbria | Winetourism.com; Cantina Blasi, just outside Umbertide Blasi Cantina – Una Famiglia, una passione, quella per il vino.
Ceramics: far and away the classiest (but possibly also the priciest) of the Deruta ceramic manufacturers, patronised by US Presidents, so rumour has it: Grazia, Via Tiberina, 181, Deruta Tel: +39 075 971 0201 Fax: +39 075 972 018
http://www.ubaldograzia.com
Clothes: for designer fashions and shoes try browsing in the shop on the corner of the main square of Umbertide and along the alley that leads from the top of the square, towards the railway track, or in and around the high street in central Città di Castello, Sansepolcro or Perugia. Via dei Priori in Perugia is a particularly prime spot for clothes shopping.
Fabric and lace:
Busatti, branches in central Umbertide and in Città di Castello. Damasked linen. Lace.
Hand-knitted or woven sweaters and blankets made from alpaca or mohair, dyed with natural dyes, within walking distance of Casa Nova:
Maridiana Alpaca
Frazione Niccone 173
06019 Umbertide (PG)
tel: 0759410931
http://www.alpaca.it
Stuff to keep kids amused – toys, jigsaws, and the biggest imaginable selection of model-making material (serious model planes, airfix-type kits of all types, war-gaming models):
Emporio 45 (model shop)
Via Borgo di Sotto 3, Città di Castello
Tel: +39 075 855 5921
Open: 9-13 / 16-19.30
Some other useful Links
For more information about Umbria try: Visit Etruria: Tuscany and Umbria together
For information on Perugia: https://www.perugiaonline.com/,
and on Assisi: shttps://www.assisionline.com/
and St Francis of Assisi: http://www.sanfrancescoassisi.org/
Information on Florence: https://www.aboutflorence.com/
Language courses in Perugia: https://www.comitatolinguistico.com/
and Università per Stranieri di Perugia | Ambasciatrice dell’Italia nel mondo
National and Regional parks in Umbria: https://www.parks.it/regione.umbria/index.html and hiking: Club Alpino Italiano – CAI
Website for Italy’s museum network, with news of events and exhibitions: Sistema Museo – Musei, mostre, turismo, città, borghi, esperienze
Golf near Perugia: http://www.golfclubperugia.it/http://www.golfclubperugia.it/ or Antognolla: Exclusive Resort & Residences in Umbria | Antognolla