Umbria, Perugia and Assisi

Italy's rich mix of archaeological treasures, fine art and architecture, hearty cuisine and mountainous Mediterranean landscape has long proved irresistible to visitors. Unreservedly romantic and deeply influenced by religion, it's capable of stirring emotion in a way that's unrivalled worldwide. And despite possessing these attributes in abundance, Umbria slips under the radar. Its unique position as the only region in Italy that doesn't border another country or the sea ensures it remains one of the country's most authentic areas.

Umbria isn't the place to see showy tourist attractions you'd recognise from the guidebooks at a glance. This region quietly goes about its laidback local life, proudly preserving its trademark hilltop towns and protecting its landscape of fertile green plains, which dip into valleys and slope up forested hillsides to the towering crags of the Apennine mountains. It's also fiercely proud of its incredible history traceable back to ancient Etruria, which expanded over central Italy between 750 BC and 500 BC, before eventually succumbing to Roman rule. Two of the destinations on this tour were among the 12 major Etruscan cities, including our bustling base, the magnificent university city of Perugia, and the charming Tuscan town of Cortona. We also visit pretty Gubbio and clifftop Orvieto, both former Etruscan strongholds, as well as spectacular, mountain-backed Spoleto and the famous pilgrimage town of Assisi, thought to have been the territory of the Umbri tribe. Both ancient civilisations remain elusive to this day, although traces can be seen in the ruins that lay hidden beneath Umbrian streets.

The calling card of Umbrian towns is that they've been built in improbable places - climbing up hillsides or perched atop sheer walls of rock. This defensive tactic has undoubtedly contributed to their impressive preservation as portals to the past. Their deliberately inaccessible positioning, made accessible by impressive escalator systems and funiculars, also meant that victorious invaders built upwards, siting medieval towns above crumbling Roman amphitheatres and secret Etruscan cities. Of course, as we're at the heart of faithful Italy, we'll also see magnificent churches, crowned by the awe-inspiring Basilica of St Francis of Assisi.

Between dipping into local town life, we'll experience central Italy's natural attractions, including the otherworldly caves of Frasassi and the tranquil Lake Trasimeno, as well as taste the fruits of the fertile landscape at a local winery and rustic restaurant.

If you'd like to discover what lies at the very heart of Italy - a region that's every bit as beautiful and historically important as neighbouring Tuscany, but remains largely unexplored - this tour of Umbria is set to surprise and enchant.