When Umbria puts itself on show, it usually does so here: Bastia Umbra's Umbriafiere is the region's largest exhibition centre, hosting everything from the Agriumbria farming fair to truffle festivals. The town of 21,653 on the Chiascio river is Assisi's industrious gateway — the Porziuncola chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli lies two and a half kilometres away, Saint Francis' basilica under five.
Its ancient name, "Insula Romana", recalls when the settlement stood island-like among the later-drained marshes of the Umbrian valley. Today it is one of the province's liveliest trading towns, with the practical bonus of plain-priced beds a step from the Franciscan sites.
Near Bastia Umbra
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
