In the interest of full disclosure, even if there's no financial interest involved, I should probably mention that on this last trip I've been made an honorary member of Pro Trevi, the volunteer tourist association of the little town of Trevi; to some, this might make any Trevi recommendation of mine a bit suspect, but I don't think it should.
The reason they made me a member of Pro Trevi in the first place is that I'm very fond of the place, and for good reason. Now that I've been to all 92 comuni of Umbria, I can legitimately have my favorites: Trevi is in the middle of my top 10 overall, and my #1 in two respects: to my mind the most photogenic Umbrian hill town from outside, from any angle -- and conversely, the views from Trevi onto the rest of Umbria are stunning, better than Montefalco's; and the place where the visitor is most likely to eat well, all the restaurants being consistently good (whereas in most towns, some eateries are good, others less so).
Trevi also tops my list for one practical aspect: for the nondriver, thus getting around by train, it's the most conveniently accessed town in Umbria. Nominally any of the 6 main stops on the Rome-Ancona line between Nera Montoro and Foligno (Nera Montoro, Narni, Terni, Spoleto, Trevi, Foligno) would be equally good, but Terni and Foligno are graceless and trafficky, Spoleto is trafficky, touristy and expensive with the additional flaw of a train station over 2 km from the center of town, Narni's station too is far from the city center, and ditto for Nera Montoro, where you're greeted by a hydroelectric plant, and the actual town of Montoro is nothing much.
Trevi in my mind is the S "anchor" of the arc of 4 beautiful towns around [the less beautiful] Foligno: from S to N: Trevi, Montefalco, Bevagna, Spello.
The visitor will find the Pro Trevi open most of the time, by the way: which isn't that common; and for your trip planning, their website is by far the best town website in Umbria, if for now mostly in Italian -- I expect to help fix that some time soon.
Trevi's flaws are that it's built for the most part on a very steep hill, so that to explore it fully you need to be in good shape (although the main sights, and all the restaurants and at least one hotel, are on a flat or almost, at the top of the hill); and the churches could be a bit more open: I'm working on them about that.
I suspect my own next trip to Umbria will be based in Trevi, just for its sheer centrality: "civilized" Umbria to the W, "wild" Umbria and the Valnerina to the E; and I'd be able to get to Rome by train as early as 6:45am, and leave Rome as late as 10+pm (putting me home at 0015h) -- which in turn would let me go to concerts in Rome, and see the many churches in Rome that open only for evening Rosary recitation. (On my trip just ended, where I was based in Umbertide, I had to be at the train station in Rome no later than 4:15pm if I was to make it home.)
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bill Thayer,
That is the type of post that makes me so excited that we have a week in Umbria. Until I stumbled on this site, I had never even heard of Trevi (sorry, Bill) and now it's on our short list of place to see. Is Taverna del Pescatore still the place to eat?
Thank you Bill.
Posts: 453 | Location: Watertown, New York, USA | Registered: 22 August 2003
Hi Bill, I will be in Umbria, in a rental between Todi and Orvieto, in about 2 weeks. Your post just adds to my mounting excitement. Thanks for the tip off on Trevi. There are seemingly so many wonderful Umbrian places; it's good to have someone who really knows "the lay of the land" to advise us. Your fan, jan
Millie: Yes, Taverna del Pescatore is still the place for atmosphere, cordiality and good food and wine. Its a few km south of Trevi on the west side of the road. Watch for the single, small sign.
Posts: 465 | Location: hilton head island, SC | Registered: 16 July 2001
You're welcome Millie; as for Taverna del Pescatore, I've not eaten there yet: not for any particular reason, just not been there at a mealtime. It's considered the tourist place, mostly for the pleasant locale: fish obviously is not the Umbrian thing, and locals feel the food is commercial and flattened out. The three main restaurants in Trevi are right smack in town (Maggiolini, the Vecchia Posta) or very close (Il Terziere, about 200 yards E of town). The Maggiolini is all indoors, one of these medieval vault places, and is an intimate locale perfectly suited for a rainy or dull day; the Vecchia Posta, my favorite, is on the main square, with seating outdoors when the weather's nice; the Terziere's diningroom is a glassed porch overlooking some of the hill, also pleasant by good weather. When I was ProTrevi'd, they took me to a tiny restaurant about 1km out of town, which was also good if in a less traditionally Umbrian style (which fine by me: you can get truffle-and-strangozzi'd out), the name of which I may never have got down right, but I may find it in my notes as I get more organized.
Trevi's specialties are its olive oil, widely considered the best in Umbria; its grilled sausages -- just sausages, but quite good; its celery, oddly (a special kind, with more flavor, often served braised, stuffed, etc.: grown in the silt-rich area of Cannapine at the foot of the hill). To these should probably be added black truffles: although there are truffles almost everywhere in central Italy, the best zone for them in Umbria starts in the hills SE of Trevi and extends to Norcia and a stretch of the Valnerina.
And JGK -- beware the area between Orvieto and Todi: it was my introduction to Umbria in 1993, and I fell in love almost immediately. That old road (via Prodo) is in spots, especially approaching Todi, one of most beautiful in the region.
I changed trains at Trevi on my way to Todi (etc) last month. I had the feeling as I waited in the train station that I was missing something special. I had a problem with my cell phone, and the entire staff of the bar spent a good 20 minutes cheerfully trying to help me. I could get a glimpse of how the town was structured and it looked so appealing. Now I know I have to go back. Thanks for the wonderful post, Bill. - gedlin BTW I had some wonderful grilled sausages in Todi, but the pastry in the train bar was pretty tasteless.
Posts: 507 | Location: Philadelphia, PA | Registered: 11 November 2003
Sally, my "Top Ten" comuni (as of before this trip) are those represented by the thumbnails that surround the map on my main Umbria page; although with no reasons given there.
This trip, during which I saw all 17 of the comuni that I hadn't yet seen, netted me 2 new faves, Corciano and especially Monteleone di Spoleto; and a revisit of Otricoli is making me think of it as a stronger candidate. To stay at 10 I may bump and juggle, I'll be doing some thinking, although it's a somewhat Procrustean and maybe even silly enterprise, why not 8 or 12. Still, it forces clearer thinking, always in short supply here. [Later: my map now marks all 13 in red.]
There are of course quite a few really small towns, that are not comuni, that are also special in my book. Roughly N to S, off the top of my head, and excluding single sights (i.e., churches etc.), the parenthesis after each being the comune: Lippiano (Monte S. Maria Tiberina), Montecolognola (Magione), Collepino (Spello), Collemancio (Cannara), Campi (Norcia), Cortigno (Norcia), Montemolino (Todi), Petroro (Todi), Viepri (Massa Martana), Pesciano (Todi), Portaria (Acquasparta), Casteldilago (Arrone), Cesi (Terni), Fornole (Amelia).
I'll be posting separately on Bastardo, where I made a happy find. [Later: here's the link for Bastardo.]
BThis message has been edited. Last edited by: Bill Thayer,
Bill, I'm so glad you highlighted Trevi. It is one of my favorites as well. The best Risotto con fungi I've ever had was at a little place we stumbled upon in Trevi in 1995. I've been trying to remember how to get to it ever since. No sign hung outside. You walked through a front courtyard to get to the entrance. The entrance was a small room with a little desk in front of a door that led to the kitchen. To the right of that desk was an archway that led to a hall. The hall curved around to the left behind the kitchen which is where you found a dining room of no more than 6-8 tables. It had yellow washed stucco walls lace covered windows high up by the ceiling. The wine list consisted of small jug or large jug. No menu, no credit cards. No English. As outsiders, we were an oddity to be observed by the local regulars with sidelong glances from the other tables. While there, we didn't observe a single "order" being placed. People just walked in, sat down, and the owner started bringing food to them. At first I thought that perhaps it was a set menu type deal. But, no, each table got what appeared to be their own unique meal. Two men who appeared to be labourers on their lunch break were served a very hearty 3-course meal. A dignified, bird-like, little gentleman with a thick thatch of white hair and a boiled wool vest, was served a mezzo/litre of wine, bowl of broth w/noodles, a hunk of cheese, and a pear. So, Bill... Does this sound like any place you remember? Or anyone else who knows Trevi, for that matter.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5946 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Not quite as off-topic as it might seem, JC. My website has been housed at the same place at the University of Kansas since 1996, but may disappear any minute. I have no connection with the university, and can't remember even having set foot in the state! but the space was given to me for my Roman history work mostly, by Prof. (Mr.) Lynn Nelson, now retiring from the history department there, and thus at any time now it could vanish. If it does, I'll put it up elsewhere: we've been running tests to put it up on our own server, but the traffic is very high: who knows.
If the site moves, as soon as I have a new address, I'll ask Pauline to do a global-replace of all my links across all of SlowTrav....
Gosh Deborah no -- by the way I really missed meeting you at MdM (or anywhere else) this time, hope things are better -- but am not in the least surprised. Top of the hill, bottom, or in between, or maybe in one of the outlying frazioni? If no one identifies it, I'll pass it on to my friends at the ProTrevi see if it rings a bell and is still open.
A quick off-topic again Bill, but I know many Universities will grant space. My industry's professional organization uses St. John's U..anyway, perhaps an ITALIAN University would give you space! You do such a great job promoting the country! Check it out...thanks for the reply. And, great pictures so far.
quote:I changed trains at Trevi on my way to Todi (etc)
Something not quite right here, I fear. I bet, or hope, you mean Terni?? Coming from Rome, to go to Todi, you do change in Terni; Trevi would be an unusual place to change trains, and not to Todi; and there is no bar in the station of Trevi.
Thought of posting this as private message but on balance don't know who else might be basing travel plans in part on this thread -- mean no harm by the correction, of course.
To top it off, very near Terni, there is a small village called ... Trevi (referred to locally as "Trevi di Terni" to avoid the confusion). As it happens, when you take the train from Terni to Big Trevi, you see Little Trevi on your left in the gorge about 4 km out.
Welcome back Bill. I have to agree that Trevi is the most picturesque and has such beautiful views. As soon as we set foot in town, we wished we had more time and promised ourselves we would definitely return. And La Vecchia Posta is fantastic! Sounds like you had a fabulous trip.
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