Travel Italy: Vacation Packages, Tips, Tours of Italy

The historic town of Spello, one of the most visited medieval towns in Umbria, just few km away from Assisi, is hosting the “Infiorata” — June 1-2, 2013 — its annual festival of floral decorations.

A visit to Spello during the Infiorata festival, give you the chance to admire floral compositions, representing liturgical figures and ornamental motifs, decorating the ancient streets of this unique hill-top town.

This religious art event celebrating Corpus Christi offers visitors the chance to enjoy gorgeous colors and flowers fragrances in the streets as well as to attend a number of flowers themed events taking place throughout the week ending the Corpus Christi day.

Among the main attractions, to those who would like to taste local food specialties, we suggest a visit to “Taverna degli Infioratori”, which offers flower themed menus throughout the week.
Also, visitors can take advantage of guided visits, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, to the sites displaying the most notable floral decorations as well as to the many Spello’s art sites.
Best of all, attending Saturday night to the “Notte dei fiori” — Flowers Night — a night vigil with flower artists preparing their compositions on the streets floor making use of millions of scented flower petals.

The Infiorata of Spello offers a chance more to visit one of the most loved historic centers in Umbria as well as to taste the many local food specialties.
When: June 1st through 2nd, 2013 (annual – Corpus Christi day).
Where: Spello (Umbria).

For those who want to taste black truffle, the mountain town of Norcia offers a big chance late February.

This historic town located at the foothills of the Apennines mountains, in Umbria, hosts its National Exhibition of Black Truffle in the two last week-ends of February.

The event is much more than only black truffle, it offers the chance to taste very unique local produces and delicacies.
Norcineria, the pork processing technique through which Prosciutti, Salami and other pork delicacies well known worldwide are obtained, originates from this town.
And just to name a couple more unique produces and delicacies Norcia has to offer, the lentils from Castelluccio, grown within the National Park of Monti Sibillini and the cheeses of Norcia, obtained with the traditional ancient production techniques.

A trip to Norcia — just 180 km from Rome — , offers the chance to experience unique flavors and ancient culinary traditions, while enjoying one of the most gorgeous mountain landscapes and areas of natural beauty in Italy.

When: last two week-ends of February (annual)
Where: Norcia (Umbria).
Program and detailed info are available at www.neronorcia.it .

Living Nativity Scenes are among the major attractions for visitors Umbria has to offer during the Christmas season. Visitors have a chance to experience the flavour of a real Christmas of the past when visiting one of the many historic towns and villages in Umbria featuring living Nativity Scenes.

Among the medieval towns hosting a Nativity Scene worth to see, are Corciano (just 10km from Perugia) and Gubbio.
Gubbio, which boasts a wealth of Christmas traditions and historic sites to visit, also has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest Christmas tree in the world.
It is not a real tree, it is a mountain — Mount Ingino — which through Christmas decorations takes the shape of a Christmas tree (800-metre high, 400-metre wide tree). There are 12 kilometres of extensive Christmas decorations illuminating all the way running from the center of the town to up the slopes of Mount Ingino.

Those who love good music,should consider a visit to Orvieto.
This historic hill town, one of the most visited historic centers in Umbria, offers a major jazz festival, Umbria Jazz Winter, from Dec 28 through Jan 1st.
Umbria Jazz Winter is the sister event of Perugia’s summer jazz festival. Visitors can enjoy afternoon and evening concerts, jazz lunches and dinners and many more jazz events also including a New Year’s Day ceremonial mass in the cathedral featuring a gospel choir.

Those who are looking to buy white truffle while visiting Italy, should not miss some major truffle events taking place between late October and November.
A number of truffle festivals and fairs, held in October and November in the most important areas of the country for truffle hunting, offer the best chance to buy the most valuable of the tubers.

This piece of advice is for people who are visiting Rome or tourist areas in Umbria and Marche — those who are visiting Piedmont or surrounding areas in Northern Italy can visit the Alba International White Truffle Fair and the many more minor festivals taking places in the area (here you can find out more about it).

In Umbria, just a day trip away from Rome, you have a major truffle fair in Gubbio, worldwide well known travel destination because is one of the historic centers most visited in Umbria.
The annual fair, “Mostra Mercato Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco e dei prodotti agro-alimentari“, starts late October (2011 edition goes from Oct. 28 to Nov 1st). The program for the 2011 Gubbio’s truffle fair is here.

Just a few km from Gubbio, you have “Il tartufo bianco“, another major truffle fair, taking place in the Renaissance town of Città di Castello. The fair, featuring an important white truffle market, is held early November (2011 edition goes from Nov. 4 through 6. Here you find the 2011 program).

If you cross the Apennines mountain chain, around 50 km away from Città di Castello, in the Marches, you have “Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco Pregiato di Acqualagna” — the National Acqualagna White Truffle Fair — held in the town of Acqualagna.
Located at the heart of one of the most important areas for truffle-hunting in Italy, Acqualagna hosts one of the two most important truffle fairs held in the country.
The fair starts the last week of October and goes on the first two week-ends of November. You can find the program for the 2011 fair here.

The 2010 edition of Eurochocolate, the annual chocolate festival held in Perugia, starts October 15 and runs through October 24.

Eurochocolate is a heaven for chocolate lovers featuring ten days of exhibits, tastings and a number of chocolate-themed attractions.

Perugia is home town of Bacio Perugina, the famed bitter-sweet chocolate and hazelnut blend wrapped in a poetic love notes.

When: October 15 – 24, 2010 (annual)
Where: Perugia
(Find out festival details at Eurochocolate website http://www.eurochocolate.perugia.it/).