Umbria goes under the nickname "the green heart of Italy" not only because of its natural beauty but also because it is, at the peninsula’s center, Italy’s only land-locked region. Its strategic location is one of the central reasons that Umbria’s original settlers, the Oscan-Umbrians, made their home here around 1000 BC. Interestingly, their ancient settlements were the foundations to Umbria’s most prominent towns and cities: Terni, Todi, Spoleto, Assisi, Gubbio, and Città di Castello.

A few centuries later, the Etruscans forced the Oscan-Umbrians to concede some of their land; but a healthy relationship grew between these civilizations, so much so that they joined in a united front against the growing Roman Empire. In 295 BC came Rome’s defeat of the Oscan-Umbrians and the Etruscans at the Battle of Sentino, which led to both of their declines. Interestingly though, while in most of Italy the ancient Empire’s presence is keenly felt, in Umbria, a unique local spirit is partially attributed to the persisting presence of Etruscan culture. Anyone who has ever passed through Umbria and even parts of Lazio has noticed the dome-shaped tombs of the Estrucan necropolis. And even in the modern cities of Orvieto, Città delle Pieve, and Perugia is a uniquely organic cityscape that stands in stark contrast to the rigid Roman design.

The peoples of Umbria eventually became incorporated into the Roman Empire and enjoyed economic prosperity and peace. But Rome fell in the 4th century AD, and Umbria, like much of the rest of the Empire, eventually became part of Christendom, beginning a rich religious heritage that exists even today. Today the region’s many churches and magnificent cathedrals bear testimony to this and to the many great religious leaders who influenced the area, most famous of all St. Francis of Assisi, who, not coincidently, was a great lover of nature’s beauty, believing it to be one of God’s most relevant and poignant manifestations, a tradition that is maintained by his Order today.