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gualdo tadino |
| GUALDO TADINO , like Gubbio, is distinct from the rest of Umbria and
has a similarly rugged mountain-outpost character. Sprawling over the
lower slopes of the Apennines, it has a bleakly medieval centre, hedged
about with light industry and unplanned housing around the station and
plain below. With Umbrian and Roman origins, its single historical claim
to fame was as witness to the death of Totila the Hun, who was slain by
the Romans under the town walls. The only remarkable thing about the thirteenth-century Gothic Duomo is that the facade has two tiers instead of Umbria's usual three; the interior, done to death in the nineteenth century, has absolutely nothing to recommend it. The Pinacoteca housed in the angular San Francesco is more interesting, but is currently closed indefinitely (call the Vigili Urbani, tel 075.916.647 for latest details). Much space is given to local painters such as fifteenth-century Matteo da Gualdo, but the centrepiece is a polyptych by Nicoḷ Alunno , considered unsurpassed among the central Italian artists before Perugino came on the scene. Without the sugary quality of some Umbrian offerings - all soft-focus saints and dewy-eyed Madonnas - Alunno has a harder edge and a wider and more genuine range of emotion. With little to detain you, you could easily soak up the atmosphere of the place between the frequent trains from Foligno and Fabriano. The cheapest accommodation , however, if you need it, is at the two-star Centro Sociale Verde Soggiorno , Via Bosco 50 (tel 075.916.263, fax, 075.914.2951; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), or the two-star Dal Bottaio , Via Casimiri 17 (tel 075.913.230; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48). The best food is at Gigiotto (closed Wed & Nov), Via Morone 5, though service can be lacking. The tourist office Pro Tadino at Via Calai 39 (May-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 3.30-7.30pm; tel 075.912.172) will fill in the gaps. |