Quietly stealing Tuscany’s thunder because of its own beguiling blend of natural assets and art-filled towns, Umbria offers much undiscovered territory. Craggy forests where rivers tumble and truffles are hunted, undulating waves of green pastures, small-town gems like Todi. . .

But the undisputed must-see is Assisi. Surprisingly unspoiled by the attention it gets, Saint Francis’s birthplace remains at heart a pretty country town, albeit with a scattering of globally-renowned monuments. To see it at its most charismatic, get there as the first sunbeams touch the Rocca’s battlements, or at least before guided parties pile into the Basilica. And, as you tand, awestruck, before the frescoes of Giotto, lovingly restored after the 1997 earthquake, give a thought to Saint Clare.

It was her town too and she is the patron saint of television – something to do with her visions. Were it not for mass communication, Assisi in peril might not have been rescued, as it was, by the world’s art patrons.

A ’Festival of Two Worlds’ unites the operatic stars of America and Italy each summer in lofty Spoleto. Umbria loves festas and makes anything from music to mushrooms an excuse. In autumn, the captivating old town of Gubbio is the centre of truffle mania – including boisterous markets where the delectable fungus can fetch a euro fortune. Charming Orvieto rightly celebrates its white wine – for quality, look for the three Bs, Barberini, Bigi and Barbi. While Perugia, goes for jazz in July but, as a university town, the region’s capital is always lively and full of fun – as well as packed with architectural marvels.

Umbria may be landlocked, but its lakes have beaches. The biggest, Trasimeno, although often busy with water sports in summer, has tranquil reaches reserved for fishing and picnicking, and islands that may be visited by boat.

Further south, just over the border of Umbria into neighbouring Lazio, another lake, Lake Bolsena, lies close to a World Heritage site – the fairy-tale Civita di Bagnorégio. As you approach via a raised walkway, a chorus of birdsong floats up from the green petitpoint of the forest below. Sheer enchantment.