There’s more to the region than its past, however. Umbria is very far from being fossilised. (See the pages About Umbria for more about the region.) Visit the local towns of Umbertide, Citt? di Castello or Sansepolcro on market day and you’ll find them abuzz: stalls laden with fresh produce or, produced with typical Italian flair, rip-offs of the latest in designer fashions. Stroll down the high street at the hour of the passegiata (the traditional stroll before an aperitif and dinner) and enjoy the mix of shops offering modern design, high fashion, gadgetry (no Italian would be without the very latest in mobile phones), antiques, wines and regional food (such as pecorino cheese, dried porcini mushrooms and truffles). Locals predominate, but tune in and you’ll catch a good mix of languages. Anyone not born in the locality is, of course, seen as irremediably and forever foreign. But that applies just as much if you come from Trento in Northern Italy as from London or Paris and to say that you’re seen as foreign is not at all to say that you’ll be treated as unwelcome: on the contrary, we have always found people here to be remarkably welcoming.
