lucid.page A Day Trip to Spoleto from Rome: The Bridge of Towers, the Duomo and the Rocca
Text size
Read time6 min

# A Day Trip to Spoleto from Rome: The Bridge of Towers, the Duomo and the Rocca

Direct trains on the Rome-Ancona line, the escalators to the upper town, Filippo Lippi’s frescoes and the fortress hours

Contents

By Finzi

Spoleto is an Umbrian hill town about an hour and a half from Rome by direct train. It is smaller and calmer than Assisi or Orvieto, with a Roman past, a Lombard duchy in the early Middle Ages, a papal fortress and one of the most striking medieval structures in central Italy: the Ponte delle Torri, a tall bridge and aqueduct across a deep gorge. The town is best known abroad for the Festival dei Due Mondi, a summer arts festival, but it is worth visiting at any time of year.

# Getting there

Spoleto is on the railway line from Rome to Ancona. Direct trains leave Roma Termini, some of them Intercity and some regional. The fastest take about an hour and a quarter; slower regional services can take up to around two hours. Check the Trenitalia timetable for your date and plan your return before you go, since evening services are less frequent.

The station is in the lower, modern town, on the plain. The historic center is on a hill to the south. You can walk up in about twenty-five minutes through the lower town, take a local bus or taxi, or use the free escalators and moving walkways, the “percorsi meccanizzati”, that connect parking areas in the lower town with the upper town. They save a lot of climbing; ask at the station or look for the signs.

# The Duomo

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta stands at the bottom of a wide stairway, so you see it from above as you arrive: a Romanesque facade with a Renaissance porch, rose windows and a large gold mosaic of Christ from 1207.

Inside, the apse is covered with frescoes of the life of the Virgin by Filippo Lippi, painted in the 1460s with his workshop. Lippi died in Spoleto before finishing them, and he is buried in the cathedral, in a tomb designed by his son Filippino Lippi with an epitaph by the humanist Poliziano. The Coronation of the Virgin in the half-dome is one of the great paintings of the Italian Renaissance.

The cathedral also keeps a letter written by Saint Francis, in a chapel on the left side, and frescoes by Pinturicchio in the Eroli chapel.

Entry is free. The Comune di Spoleto publishes opening times, which vary through the year; in November it lists the cathedral as open from 8:30 to 18:00. Hours change during Masses and celebrations. Dress as you would for any church: the notes on church dress codes and photo rules apply here too.

# The Rocca Albornoz

Above the town stands the Rocca Albornoziana, a papal fortress begun in the 1360s for the Spanish cardinal Gil Albornoz, who was reconquering central Italy for the popes, then based in Avignon. Popes stayed here, and Lucrezia Borgia lived here briefly as governor in 1499. From the nineteenth century until 1982, it was a high-security prison. Today it houses the Museo Nazionale del Ducato di Spoleto, with art and objects from the fourth to the fifteenth century, and the Camera Pinta, a room painted with scenes of courtly life.

Practical details from the Umbria regional museums:

There are also panoramic walks on the towers, with separate information on the museum’s site.

# The Ponte delle Torri

From the Rocca, follow the path around the hill, the Giro della Rocca, to the Ponte delle Torri. The bridge spans the gorge of the Tessino stream between Spoleto and Monteluco, about eighty meters high and more than two hundred meters long. It was built in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, possibly on Roman foundations, as both a bridge and an aqueduct.

The walkway across the bridge has been closed for long periods for safety checks after earthquakes. Before you plan to cross it, check with the Comune or the tourist office. Even if it is closed, the views of the bridge from the Giro della Rocca and from the path below are the main reason people come.

# Other things to see

# A day plan

  1. Morning direct train from Termini.
  2. Escalators or walk up to the upper town.
  3. Rocca Albornoz when it opens at 10:30.
  4. Giro della Rocca and the Ponte delle Torri.
  5. Lunch in Piazza del Mercato.
  6. The Duomo in the afternoon, when the light falls on the facade.
  7. Walk down to the station and train back to Rome.

# Practical advice

For a sense of how much walking a day like this involves, the guide on how far you walk on a Rome day out gives useful reference distances.

# Frequently asked questions

Is Spoleto worth a day trip from Rome? Yes, especially for travelers who have already seen Orvieto or Assisi and want somewhere quieter.

Do I need to book the Rocca? Not usually for individuals. Groups and guided tours should book.

Can I use a regional ticket? Yes, on regional trains. Intercity trains need a specific ticket.

# Sources

End