Cascia and Spoleto from Rome: a Day in Umbria, Semi-Private Tour

First stop of the tour for breakfast and and quick visit to the Roman underground aqueduct

Roccaporena is a hamlet of the municipality of Cascia (from which it is about 6 kilometres), located more than 700 metres high and set in a splendid natural setting. For years it has been a pilgrimage destination, since it is here that Saint Rita was born in 1381, whose life and works are celebrated here in many places and in many different ways. Here you can learn about the house where she was born, the church where she got married, the rock of Santa Rita, the place where she prayed.

Visit the Basilica and Monastery of St. Rita of Cascia , St. Rita was one of the most popular saints of the Catholic Church, with her related symbols being roses and figs. The Basilica was built in 1937 and consecrated in 1947, and the monastery where she lived for forty years was rebuilt in the 18th Century and houses the nuns of the Augustinian community.

An important fortified center of the Umbrians, it was a Roman colony and then a municipality (90 BC). After the fall of the Roman Empire it was garrisoned first by Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, and then by the Byzantine Belisarius. Conquered by Totila, it was rebuilt by the Byzantine Narses. In the early medieval period it was the capital of the Lombard Duchy. In 1155 it was conquered and destroyed by Federico Barbarossa and, after a series of fights between Guelphs and Ghibellines, it was reconquered by Cardinal Albornoz who secured it for the Church and made it an important center of the Papal State. The city's major monument is the Cathedral. Built in Romanesque style in the 12th century, the façade is adorned with a large Byzantine-style mosaic (1207). Inside there is a fresco with the Madonna and Saints by Pinturicchio, the bronze bust of Urban VIII by Bernini and an extraordinary cycle of frescoes by Filippo Lippi.

Rocca Alborziana a medieval fortress, located on the top of the Sant'Elia hill overlooking the city of Spoleto. It is the main bastion of the fortification system built by Pope Innocent VI, to strengthen the Church's authority in the territories of central Italy militarily and make it clearer, in view of the now imminent return of the papal seat to Rome after the seventies years of stay in Avignon.

The Duomo is the most important monument in the city. Built in Romanesque style in the 12th century, the façade is adorned with a large Byzantine-style mosaic (1207): inside there is a fresco with the Madonna and Saints by Pinturicchio, the bronze bust of Urban VIII by Bernini and an extraordinary cycle of frescoes by Filippo Lippi. The church of Sant'Eufemia dates back to the 12th century, an interesting Romanesque building whose apse area overlooks the staircase leading to Piazza Duomo, the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the abbey of San Ponziano, while the church of San Ponziano dates back to the 13th century. Domenico, the church of San Nicolò and the Town Hall. Of great interest are the church of San Paolo inter vineas (10th century), with an important cycle of frescoes from the 1200s, and the church of San Pietro, whose origins date back to the 5th century, with a splendid Romanesque façade sculpted with extraordinary bas-reliefs.

The Roman Theater was built in the second half of the 1st century BC. immediately inside the city walls, and remained in use until the 4th century. In Roman times a deep crack opened in the steps, perhaps due to an earthquake. During the Early Middle Ages, the church of S. Agata and the palace of the Corvi family were built on the scene. In 1320 four hundred Guelphs were locked up, and after two years killed, in the corridors of the theatre, used as a prison. In 1395 the Benedictine nuns settled in Palazzo Corvi and the theatre, now underground, became the cloister of the monastery.

Spoleto, medieval city is remained well preserved until today. Admire the intact Roman gates ruins around the city . Porta San Pietro or Porta Monterone, at the end of the street of the same name, still well preserved, it has a double arch and is adorned with four high-reliefs, the coats of arms of the city.