Umbria - ‘The green heart of Italy’ – is one of the country’s richest regions for art and architecture. The list of artists who worked here is witness to this: Nicola & Giovanni Pisano, Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Benozzo Gozzoli, Piero della Francesca, Perugino, Raphael, and Pinturicchio. The splendid Etruscan cities of Perugia and Orvieto and the beautifully preserved towns of Gubbio, Spoleto, Todi, Spello, Bevagno, Montefalco and Assisi tell the story of the Middle Ages in Italy. The church of San Francesco in Assisi is home to an unequalled series of painted fresco cycles from the 13th & 14th centuries, as well housing the tomb of St Francis. The delicious local cooking recipes make restaurant visits a great pleasure: the more provincial the town, the better the food seems to be.