Spoleto

HISTORY: Spoleto is an ancient town born in the Roman times, that grew during the Longobards domination. The Duchy of Spoleto was established by the Longobard leader Faroald I in the year 571 AD, and it remained independent until 729 AD, when it was subjugated by the longobard king Liutprand.

In 1362, the Cardinal Egidio Albornoz chose Spoleto as stronghold of the States of the Church and commissioned architect Matteo Gattaponi to build the fortress Rocca Albornoziana. Spoleto had another period of glory during the Napoleonic Empire, between 1808 and 1815, when it was the capital of the Trasimene Department.

GEOGRAPHY: Spoleto is a town of about 38,000 people in the province of Perugia, in the Umbria region, on a foothill of the Apennine Mountains. The town is located about 69 kilometers southeast of Perugia, 42 kilometers south of Assisi, 82 kilometers east of Orvieto, about 115 kilometers north-east of Rome, 127 kilometers southeast of Arezzo and almost 200 kilometers southeast of Florence.

TRANSPORT: You can get to Spoleto by car, or by train, from Rome, in the south, or from Perugia and Florence, in the north. A train ticket from Perugia costs 5.25€ and the trip takes about one hour. A train ticket from Rome is 8.85€ and the trip takes about one hour and a half. The Umbria Aiport, San Francesco d’Assisi, is about 50 kilometers away.

LANDMARKS: Spoleto is known for the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival Of Two Worlds) that gathers every summer, starting with 1958, the most interesting artists of classical music and dance, but also for its monuments, like its many fountains, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Duomo di Spoleto), the Rocca Albornoziana, the Teodelapio, an impressive sculpture by Alexander Calder, and for many others.

MORE INFO: Touristic Portal | Umbria Airport | Car Hire | Train Timetables & Fares | Hotels in Spoleto