Slow trip

10 slow days of food and wine: Castell'Arquato, Porto San Giorgio, and Montefalco

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10 days based in Castell'Arquato, Porto San Giorgio and Montefalco, in September, October and November, built around food and wine. Castell'Arquato gets 2 days, with Parma, Bobbio and Castelvetro di Modena nearby. Porto San Giorgio gets 3 days, with Senigallia, Ripatransone and Grottammare nearby. Montefalco gets 6 days, with Bevagna, Norcia and Spoleto nearby.

10 days · September, October, November · food & wine-first · no mobility limits

Castell'Arquato

Castell'Arquato, 2 days

Base yourself in Castell'Arquato and make these your day trips.

4 towns · qualifying pool of 5 from 30 candidates

Hill and plain towns in the provinces of Piacenza, Parma, and Modena. Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP, Borghi Più Belli d'Italia, and TCI Bandiera Arancione.

Getting around

Rent a car for this corner. Only 1 of the 4 towns has a railway station; the day trips assume driving.

While you're there

  • Castell'Arquato · Rivivi il Medioevo, SeptemberWeekend medieval reenactment with encampment, costume parades, fire spectacles and international historical fencing tournament in full armor.
  • Parma · Festival Verdi, OctoberOctober opera festival since 2001 in Teatro Regio di Parma and Busseto around Giuseppe Verdi's birthday with operas, Messa da Requiem and Gala Verdiano.
  • Castelvetro di Modena · Sagra dell'Uva e del Lambrusco Grasparossa, SeptemberTwo-weekend September wine festival featuring tastings, music and a kit-based pathway through local winemakers in this hilltop village.

Day 1 · Arrive in Castell'Arquato

Settle in. Castell'Arquato is your base for the next 2 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.

Castell'Arquato

Province: Piacenza

Castell'Arquato

A 224-meter hilltop borgo in the Val d'Arda, kept intact since the tenth century and crowned by Luchino Visconti's 1342 fortress.

Picked for:food and wine · hill town · Rivivi il Medioevo, September

Day 2 · Day trip to Parma

First outing. Head to Parma for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Castell'Arquato for dinner.

Parma

Province: Parma

Parma

A 57-meter Po-plain capital on the Via Emilia, where Correggio painted the Duomo dome and Parmigiano ages in vaults across the province.

Picked for:art and history · plain · Festival Verdi, October

Porto San Giorgio

Porto San Giorgio, 2 days

Base yourself in Porto San Giorgio and make these your day trips.

4 towns · qualifying pool of 7 from 146 candidates

Coastal and hill towns in the provinces of Fermo, Ascoli Piceno, and Ancona. Borghi Più Belli d'Italia, Bandiera Blu coast, and Spighe Verdi.

Getting around

Porto San Giorgio, your base, is on the rail network. 2 of the 4 towns here have a station; the rest need wheels. A rental car makes this corner simple, a rail-plus-taxi version takes patience.

Day 1 · Arrive in Porto San Giorgio

Settle in. Porto San Giorgio is your base for the next 2 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.

Porto San Giorgio

Province: Fermo

Porto San Giorgio

A 15,000-resident beach town on the Adriatic between Ancona and Pescara, with one of the largest tourist marinas in the central Adriatic, the medieval Rocca Tiepolo above the harbor, and a long fine-sand seafront under date palms.

Picked for:sea and coast · autumn travel

Day 2 · Day trip to Grottammare

First outing. Head to Grottammare for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Porto San Giorgio for dinner.

Grottammare

Province: Ascoli Piceno

Grottammare

A double town on the Riviera delle Palme, with a palm-lined seafront and a medieval upper borgo where Pope Sixtus V was born.

Picked for:art and history · coastal

Montefalco

Montefalco, 6 days

Base yourself in Montefalco and make these your day trips.

4 towns · qualifying pool of 16 from 107 candidates

Hill towns in the province of Perugia. Prosciutto di Norcia IGP, Borghi Più Belli d'Italia, and TCI Bandiera Arancione.

Getting around

Rent a car for this corner. Only 1 of the 4 towns has a railway station; the day trips assume driving.

While you're there

  • Montefalco · Enologica Montefalco, SeptemberMid-September festival in the Sant'Agostino complex dedicated to Sagrantino DOCG with tastings, cellar visits, vineyard lunches and the Sagrantino Wine Trail.

Day 1 · Arrive in Montefalco

Settle in. Montefalco is your base for the next 6 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.

Montefalco

Province: Perugia

Montefalco

The hilltop wine capital of Umbria at 472 meters, where Sagrantino is grown almost nowhere else.

Picked for:food and wine · hill town · Enologica Montefalco, September

Day 2 · Day trip to Bevagna

First outing. Head to Bevagna for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Montefalco for dinner.

Bevagna

Province: Perugia

Bevagna

Roman Mevania on the Umbrian plain at 225 meters, four medieval quarters that compete every June in a reconstructed market of the 13th century.

Picked for:food and wine · hill town

Day 3 · Day trip to Spoleto

Out again, this time to Spoleto. Same rhythm: leave after breakfast, return for evening in Montefalco.

Spoleto

Province: Perugia

Spoleto

Lombard ducal capital at 396 meters under the Rocca Albornoziana, where a 230-meter aqueduct bridge crosses to Monteluco and Menotti founded the Festival in 1958.

Picked for:food and wine · hill town

Day 4 · Day trip to Norcia

Last day trip in this corner, to Norcia. Make a day of it, then back to Montefalco.

Norcia

Province: Perugia

Norcia

Birthplace of San Benedetto at 604 meters on a Sibillini plateau, leveled by the 2016 earthquake and rebuilt stone by stone.

Picked for:food and wine · hill town

Day 5 · Day in Montefalco

A slower day. Stay in Montefalco. Walk side streets, find the market, take a long lunch.

Day 6 · Day in Montefalco

A slower day. Stay in Montefalco. Walk side streets, find the market, take a long lunch.

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