Umbria Artistica

Always more to see...

8 borghi dell'Umbria che (forse) non conosci - parte 2 © CAN I CAT - Alla scoperta di 8 incantevoli borghi dell'Umbria, forse meno noti, ma ognuno con delle caratteristiche uniche.

This is the little square where our group sketched at the tables of a coffeebar. The tower has been lit with blue lights, and I don't remember the tree, but the little church is always the same.

Incredible Etruscan tomb near Perugia:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=D9cGHqDNKgE

Tomba etrusca del Faggeto (PG): meraviglia architettonica e paesaggistica © CAN I CAT - Una visita emozionante alla scoperta della meravigliosa tomba etrusca del Faggeto (località San Giovanni del Pantano, PG), un gioiello architet...

Umbria is full of very private and very beautiful spots. One afternoon we visited the Abbey of San Salvatore di Montecorona,just north of Perugia. Besides the fifteenth-century Abbey itself, with its restored crypt and cloister, there is also a wonderful old road/trail that leads into the hills, first to a hermitage begun in the 1500s, then to the tiny, wholly fortified village of San Giuliano. The walk is an easy one, a loop of about eight miles or shorter sections if you wish.

On our first day driving around Umbria we came to Todi, perched high above the Tiber valley. The town was as we remembered it: exquisitely preserved and strongly evocative of its medieval past. People there told us that it was recently declared "The Happiest Place in Italy"

We had such a great visit to Umbria over the last few weeks, looking for new places to take our next group, in 2020. We'd like to share some of them with our readers....

I am really taken with beautiful Bevagna. It's a quiet town, with no hills...! Perfect for strolling and sketching.

Today we visited Deruta, where the tradition of majolica ceramic production continues to thrive.

This is the city, blushing from the last kiss from the sun

moon over Perugia

We are so happy to be back in Umbria! Tomorrow we will explore nearby sites to find the best places to bring our group in the spring.

We're back! Bob and I are here in Perugia finding even more great things to do and beautiful places to sketch.

I never tire of the serene beauty of this church.

Tempio di San Michele Arcangelo | Virtual tour generated by Panotour Virtual tour generated by Panotour

Umbria Artistica updated their website address.

"Our Tree" looks lonely.

Even if you don't think you can draw, the act of recording visual impressions deepens your experience! "Rather than think of drawing as a talent that some creative people are gifted in, we should consider it as a tool for seeing and understanding the world better..."

Why drawing isn’t just an art There's a growing understanding that drawing is much more than an art form: it's a powerful tool for learning.

Bartoccio is the folk character that a restaurant in Perugia is named for, and the puppet makers we visited are performing Bartoccio tales!

SI PREPARA IL GRANDE SPETTACOLO DEI BURATTINI DEL BARTOCCIO
Mario Mirabassi e il Tfu al lavoro per il nuovo spettacolo di burattini delle Giornate del Bartoccio

Nei laboratori del Teatro di Figura di Perugia, ferve la solita animazione e la solita concitazione: il maestro Mario Mirabassi ed il suo gruppo di artisti sono al lavoro per preparare il nuovo spettacolo del Bartoccio, che anche quest’anno concluderà in allegria e qualche puntura di spillo le Giornate del Bartoccio 2019.
Protagonista dello spettacolo è, neanche a dirlo, il nostro frizzante Bartoccio, accompagnato come sempre dalla moglie Rosa e dal compare Mencarone, insieme ad altri personaggi popolari come Rubbagaline e Truffarello. Fanno loro corona le figure classiche della satira popolare, come il dottor Magnamacco, il brigadiere Schioppetto, l’on. Trippapiena, il prete don Prospero, insomma tutti i personaggi potenti e intoccabili che a carnevale si potevano mettere alla berlina.
E infatti non mancheranno anche i burattini di prestigiosi esponenti della società perugina, bersaglio delle frecciate polemiche del nostro Bartoccio.
Si tratta dell’ottavo spettacolo realizzato da Mirabassi, sui testi di Renzo Zuccherini. Ricordiamo i titoli degli spettacoli degli anni scorsi: Il Bartoccio è artornato (2012), Il Bartoccio alla riscossa (2013), Il Bartoccio estraterrestre (2014), Bartoccio e Ciuflancanestro (2015), Bartoccio sulla luna (2016), Bartoccio e la boccetta magica (2017), Bartoccio e la macchina del tempo (2018).
Che cosa combinerà quest’anno il vulcanico burattino perugino? Di preciso non è ancora possibile rivelarlo; certo sarà ancora una volta impegnato, con i suoi metodi spicci e risolutivi, a combattere le ingiustizie, le malefatte, i privilegi che schiacciano la povera gente, attraverso le sue mirabolanti imprese e peripezie che si concludono infallibilmente con la vittoria della maschera perugina.
Non ci resta che attendere il Grande Spettacolo, previsto per il 2 marzo.

Even a simple sketch creates a lasting memory!

The act of drawing something has a “massive” benefit for memory compared with writing it down By Emma Young. It didn’t matter how good the drawings were for the memory benefits to manifest.

Find out what you've been missing!

Assisi turned out to be a blast. We went there the day before the town's big spring festival, the Calendimaggio, kicked off, but there was still a lot of crazy festivity there. We are thinking that during Umbria 2019 we might organize a special trip just to see the festival, beating the crowds by using our hired van. Nothing quite like Italian parties....!

Getting ready to kick off promotion for our Umbria 2019 trip, which is tentatively scheduled for 2 - 12 May. Why not begin with a photo of Cindy at work (though in nearby Lazio, not Umbria!)

Perugia is more than stone and stucco, these artisans bring tradition, innovation and life to the city.

Untitled This is "Untitled" by Marco Tortoioli Ricci on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.