Todi and the territory of the Middle Tiber Valley
Between the provinces of Perugia and Terni, the Todi territory is an
outpost rich in Roman and Etruscan remains, medieval and renaissance churches
and palaces, in addition to landscapes of indisputable beauty. The Monti
Martani (Martana mountains) form the frame of the internal district
and they constitute one of the principal attractions. The vegetation is
predominantly composed of ilex, oak and in the higher areas beech. The Monti
Martani are rich in caves, funnels and blow-holes caused by water erosion.
The same water feeds numerous springs, some of which are famous.
Todi to Dunarobba
From Todi follow the SP39 towards Avigliano Umbro. The
Fossilised Forest of Dunarobba in the district of Avigliano Umbro
stems from a natural phenomenon that allows us to admire, after millions
of years, this open museum of fossilised tree trunks, exceptionally conserved
in their original position. We are speaking about colossal plants, very
similar to the modern sequoia, buried in clay and broken off at 5-10 metres
high, capable of reaching a diameter of more than 1.5 metres
Todi to Spoleto
From Todi follow the SP451 towards Spoleto. The fascination of this city
stems not only from its monuments, but above all from the relationship with
the nature that surrounds it. The Monteluco
not only acts as a scenographic backdrop, but as a protagonist in the story
of the city, with its forest of ilex protected since ancient times. At the
close of the 5th Century it was also a natural place of isolation for hermits,
for meditation and prayer. It offers many excursions and long walks in a
countryside suited to the exaltation of the sanctity of nature. Today Monteluco
is considered an interesting natural and artistic heritage, enough to be
inserted in the list of places observed by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
From Spoleto continue on the SS3, coming off at Campello. A veritable natural
jewel of Umbria, the Fountains of Clitunno
(see photo above), for the impression that they evoke, are the ideal place
to comprehend the crossover between religion and the environment. Here springs
of intense colour and luxurious vegetation create an environment of incomparable
beauty. Dedicated to the God Clitunno, personification of the river where
he spoke to his followers, already famous in the roman period and celebrated
by Properzia, Plinio and Virgilio in their writings, this water has inspired
in more recent times poets such as Byron and Giosuč Carducci, painters such
as Corot and even today disgorges from cracks in the rock and gathers in
a delightful pond.
From Todi to Alviano
From Todi follow the SP448 towards Orvieto, come off at Baschi and follow
the SP205 towards Alviano. The Oasis of Alviano
was created in 1978 on an area of 800 hectares and included in the Parco
Fluviale del Tevere (the Tiber Fluvial Park). From 1990 the WWF has managed
a wildlife reserve, in a context rich from the point of view of vegetation
both riverside and marshland. Inside the oasis you can bird watch from positions
on the towers, platforms with well equipped huts. There is even an open
classroom right in the middle of the swamp. The zone is humid and ideal
for the passage and nesting of rare migratory and permanent birds, you can
admire Kingfisher, heron, cormorants, seagulls, hawks and other birds.
Todi to Marmore Waterfalls and Lake Piediluco
From Todi follow the SS3 bis towards Terni-Rome, coming off at Terni,
The Marmore Waterfalls are among the most remarkable
and fascinating natural spectacles. It is a formidable work of Roman engineering
made by the Roman Consul Manio Curio Dentato, who designed the drainage
of the Velino swampland and had a canal excavated, called Cavo Curiano,
at the point where today you find the main waterfall, channelling the still
waters of the river. The Marmore Waterfalls are so called because of the
incrustation of calcium crystals that give an appearance similar to marble
(marmo). The waterfalls develop in three spectacular drops for a total of
165 metres (the highest in Europe), two equipped observations points allow
visitors and tourists to observe the atmospheric and fascinating spectacle
offered by the force of the water.
A few kilometres from the Marmore Waterfalls, Lake
Piediluco, set between green mountains is a tourist attraction not
to be missed for its beauty. It is the second biggest lake in Umbria.
