Penny Wainwright visits three beautiful Umbrian towns to see for herself how tourism initiatives are breathing life back into Italy’s heartland
Following the earthquakes in central Italy in 2016, I was looking forward to the opportunity to travel to Umbria to see how the region was recovering from the devastation. My journey, which had been organised to promote some of Umbria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, began in Spoleto. At the welcome dinner held in La Macchia, the train tavern, Gilberto Giasprini from the Council and Tourism Office for Spoleto spoke about the earthquakes. They had mostly affected nearby Norcia, and only a small part of Spoleto. The majority of Umbria is now open again for tourism, but the tourist associations recognise that they need to be enthusiastic in encouraging visitors to come back. This work is seen as a vital contribution to the regeneration of Norcia.