Umbria: In the Footsteps of Saint Francis, Between Timeless Italy and New Opportunities
From Assisi and the legacy of Saint Francis to Perugia, historic villages, friendships and remarkable properties: a journey through one of Italy’s most authentic regions.
There are places in Italy that impress you immediately.
And there are others that reveal themselves slowly.
Umbria belongs to the second category.
Set in the heart of Italy, without a coastline and away from some of the country’s most traveled routes, Umbria offers something increasingly rare: the feeling that the relationship between people, landscape, history and everyday life has remained remarkably intact.
My recent journey through the region brought me to Assisi, Perugia and other extraordinary places across the Umbrian countryside.
It was also an opportunity to spend time with dear friends, reconnect with people, discover new possibilities and experience once again a part of Italy where conversations, relationships and the territory itself seem to move at a different pace.
And today, October 4, there could hardly be a more meaningful moment to tell this story.
Because today Italy celebrates Saint Francis of Assisi.
Assisi and Saint Francis: A Message That Traveled the World
Few Italian figures have transcended their place of origin as profoundly as Saint Francis.
Born in Assisi around 1181–1182 and dying in 1226, Francis chose a life radically different from the privileges into which he had been born.
His message centered on simplicity, fraternity, peace, respect for creation and closeness to those living at the margins of society.
Eight centuries later, those ideas continue to resonate far beyond religion.
In 2026, the year marking the 800th anniversary of his death, that legacy carries particular significance.
October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis, has also returned this year as an Italian national holiday — a recognition of values that remain remarkably contemporary: peace, fraternity, solidarity and respect for the environment.
Walking through Assisi makes it easier to understand why the story of Francis remains so inseparable from this landscape.
The stone streets, the surrounding hills, Mount Subasio and the great Basilica of Saint Francis create an atmosphere that is difficult to describe only through architecture.
Assisi is not simply a destination to visit.
It is a place that invites reflection.
And perhaps that is part of its extraordinary international appeal.
Travel today is increasingly about more than seeing beautiful places. The most memorable destinations are often those that allow us to feel connected to a story, a culture and a way of seeing the world.
Assisi does exactly that.
Umbria: An Italy to Experience Slowly
Leaving Assisi and traveling through Umbria reveals another side of Italy.
Olive groves, vineyards and cultivated fields follow the contours of the hills. Medieval towns appear almost unexpectedly on the horizon. Historic homes, monasteries and stone farmhouses remain part of a landscape shaped over centuries.
There is a quiet elegance here.
Not the elegance of display, but the elegance of authenticity.
That distinction is increasingly important.
For international travelers who already know Rome, Florence, Venice or the Amalfi Coast, regions such as Umbria offer the possibility of discovering another Italy — more intimate, less hurried and deeply connected to its traditions.
Places such as Spello, Spoleto, Gubbio, Orvieto, Todi, Montefalco and the villages surrounding Lake Trasimeno each tell a different part of that story.
This is a region worth exploring without rushing.
A road between two destinations can lead to a family restaurant, an olive oil producer, a vineyard, an artisan workshop or simply a landscape that makes you stop the car for a few minutes.
Those moments are often the ones we remember.
Perugia: History, Culture and Contemporary Life
Perugia adds another dimension to the Umbrian experience.
Its Etruscan origins, medieval architecture and centuries of cultural history coexist with the energy of a university city and the everyday rhythm of contemporary Italian life.
Walking through its historic center means moving continuously between different periods of Italian history.
But what interested me during this journey was not only the monuments.
It was the life around them.
The cafés, restaurants, conversations, small businesses and people who continue to give these historic cities their identity.
That human dimension matters enormously to The Italian Excellence.
Because Italy’s greatest strength has never been simply its collection of beautiful places.
It is the relationship between those places and the people who inhabit them.
Returning to Friends — and to the Importance of Relationships
Some of the most meaningful moments of my journey through Umbria were also the simplest.
Spending time with dear friends.
Sharing a meal.
Returning to places connected with people I have known for years.
Having conversations without an agenda.
Living between Italy and the United States has taught me that distance changes the way we understand relationships.
You begin to appreciate how important it is to return.
And those personal relationships often reveal something else about Italy that cannot be captured in a travel guide.
Hospitality here is not simply an industry.
At its best, it is cultural.
It is expressed around a table, through a recommendation, an introduction, a conversation and the time people are willing to share with one another.
This is also one of the principles behind The Italian Excellence.
Business relationships become more meaningful when they begin with genuine human relationships.
When Traveling Through Umbria Becomes a Real Estate Discovery
As happened during my recent journey through Liguria, traveling through a region inevitably changes the way I look at its real estate.
A property is very different when experienced only through photographs.
Once you have driven the roads, visited the towns, eaten the food, met the people and understood the rhythm of the territory, a house becomes something else.
It becomes an entry point into a lifestyle.
During my work connecting Italy and the United States, I have seen increasing interest from international clients who are not simply looking for property in Italy.
They are looking for a different relationship with Italy.
Some want a second home.
Others imagine spending several months of the year here.
Some are interested in hospitality projects, historic estates or investment opportunities.
And others simply want to create a place where family and friends can come together.
Umbria deserves particular attention within that conversation.
Tenuta Lucinara: A Property, a Landscape, a Different Way of Living
One of the real estate opportunities we are currently presenting through The Italian Excellence is Tenuta Lucinara, a historic country estate with a private swimming pool in the Umbrian countryside.
What makes a property of this kind interesting is not simply the building itself.
It is the context surrounding it.
The landscape.
The privacy.
The connection with historic towns and villages.
The possibility of experiencing Italy not as a visitor moving from hotel to hotel, but as someone who becomes part of a territory.
For an international buyer, that distinction can be significant.
A home in Umbria can represent much more than a real estate acquisition.
It can become a personal retreat, a family gathering place, a base from which to explore central Italy or, depending on the property and the owner’s objectives, part of a broader hospitality or investment vision.
Tenuta Lucinara represents precisely the kind of opportunity that becomes easier to understand after spending time in this region.
Because once you experience Umbria, the value proposition changes.
You are no longer simply looking at a property.
You are imagining a life around it.
The property is being presented through The Italian Excellence, creating a direct connection for international clients interested in exploring distinctive real estate opportunities in Umbria and, more broadly, in Italy.
Tenuta Lucinara represents the kind of property that can appeal to buyers seeking not only a home, but a deeper connection with the Italian lifestyle, landscape and cultural heritage.
Discover the property here:
From Assisi to the World
Standing in Assisi, particularly on a day dedicated to Saint Francis, it is impossible not to think about how extraordinary it is that a message born in this small Umbrian town traveled across continents and survived eight centuries.
There is something in that story that also speaks to the mission of The Italian Excellence.
On a completely different scale, our objective is to help extraordinary Italian stories travel beyond the places where they begin.
An artisan in a small town.
A family winery.
A historic residence.
A hotel.
A designer.
A chef.
An entrepreneur.
A remarkable property hidden among the Umbrian hills.
Italy contains an extraordinary concentration of stories whose international potential is often much greater than their international visibility.
Our role is not simply to promote them.
It is to create connections.
From Umbria to the United States: Creating New Connections
The more time I spend traveling through Italy, the clearer this idea becomes.
Travel, hospitality, food and wine, real estate and business development should not always be viewed as separate worlds.
They frequently begin with the same thing:
discovery.
Someone discovers Assisi and wants to explore the rest of Umbria.
A traveler discovers an Umbrian wine and decides to visit the winery.
An American family falls in love with the region and begins considering a second home.
An Italian hospitality entrepreneur becomes interested in building relationships in Miami.
An investor discovers a historic property that could become the beginning of an entirely new project.
A friendship leads to an introduction.
An introduction becomes a conversation.
And sometimes a conversation becomes an opportunity.
That is the bridge The Italian Excellence wants to continue building between Italy and the United States.
Not simply presenting beautiful things, but connecting people, territories, experiences, properties and opportunities.
The Quiet Strength of Umbria
My journey through Umbria reminded me that Italian excellence does not always need to announce itself.
Sometimes it is found in silence.
In an ancient stone street in Assisi.
In the hills outside Perugia.
Around a table with old friends.
In an olive grove.
Inside a historic home.
Or in the landscape that Saint Francis contemplated eight centuries ago and that continues to inspire visitors from around the world today.
Perhaps this is Umbria’s greatest strength.
It does not try too hard to impress you.
It simply allows you to discover it.
And once you do, you understand why some journeys become much more than journeys.
They become relationships with a place.
Discover Umbria with The Italian Excellence
Explore the history, culture, landscapes and experiences of one of Italy’s most authentic regions through The Italian Excellence Umbria Destination Guide.
For international clients interested in exploring distinctive real estate opportunities in Italy, discover Tenuta Lucinaraand our selection of Italian properties.
The Italian Excellence connects Italian lifestyle, real estate and business opportunities with an international audience, with a particular focus on building relationships between Italy and the United States.
About the Author
SALVATORE DOMINA
Real Estate & Investment Advisor | Italy – USA
Based in Miami, Florida
Founder – The Italian Excellence
Connecting Italian real estate, investment opportunities, lifestyle and business with the United States.
Italian roots. International vision. A bridge between Italy and the United States.
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