Eating my way around the “Green Heart of Italy”
It was Italian poet Giosuè Carducci who first helped popularize the idea of “green Umbria” in his Barbarian Odes. With its lush landscape, rolling countryside and long history of agriculture and farming, the nickname still feels fitting today.
Umbria, Italy is also the only region in central Italy that is completely landlocked, bordered by Tuscany, Lazio and Le Marche. There’s no coastline here, though several rivers run through the region, including the Tiber.
On my first visit to Umbria a few years ago, I immediately realized this under-the-radar Italian region was worth exploring again. This time, armed with my own research and recommendations from friends in the food, wine and restaurant industries, I created a private food tour of my own.
The itinerary: two drastically different towns, two distinct styles of accommodations and five diverse restaurant experiences. There was a multi-generational, family-owned enoteca that has become internationally known; a “cultural restaurant” bringing global flavours to Perugia’s city centre; a casual-cool bistrot and proper hotel cocktail bar; a gourmet fusion restaurant led by a trailblazing female Michelin-starred chef; and a contemporary fine-dining destination on the outskirts of Perugia.
First stop: Spello. Known to most as the city of flowers, I knew it as somewhere else worth exploring for another reason: some seriously good olive oil.
Spello, Umbria, Italy
Enoteca Properzio and Casa Vacanza Palazzo dei Canonici
Inside a space dating back to 1550 sits the Angelini family’s Enoteca Properzio in Spello. Eight generations strong, its cellar holds more than 3,000 labels and counting, representing some of the best Italian wines alongside bottles from around the world.
A truly visionary family, the Angelinis began with a cantina where Luca’s great-great-grandfather made table wine from the family vineyard. By around the third generation, it officially became an enoteca — the first in Umbria and one of relatively few in Italy at the time.
Today, this generation includes Luca, the face of the family brand who oversees marketing and sales; his sommelier sister Irene; and their mother Daniela, the chef and now head of the family following the passing of patriarch Roberto last year. Their warmth, hospitality and charm seem to be hereditary.
The food at Enoteca Properzio tastes like home, but there’s also an impressive lineup of wine and food experiences. Guests can book a wine and food pairing lunch, take a three-day wine-tasting course, join guided tours of notable wine estates, experience olive oil tastings, take cooking classes and even receive professional assistance in creating their own wine cellar.
Or simply order a bottle or two and settle in for a leisurely, educational meal. The à la carte menu is available for lunch year-round, with dinner offered during high season.
For something a little more formal in both menu and atmosphere, there’s the family’s restaurant, Il Molino, next door.
And if you want to stay overnight, the Angelini family also offers six holiday residences through Casa Vacanza Palazzo dei Canonici.
From there, it was on to Perugia, Italy — home to one of Italy’s biggest jazz festivals, a city famous for chocolate and, as I was about to discover, a surprisingly diverse dining scene.
Perugia, Umbria, Italy
L’Officina
Meaning “The Workshop” in Italian, L’Officina describes itself as a “cultural restaurant,” combining influences from around the world with ingredients and traditions rooted closer to home.
But L’Officina is more than a restaurant. It’s a concept, and the space reflects that.
Chef consultant Ada Stifani and her husband, chef Joannis Karakousis — very much the heart and soul of the restaurant — opened L’Officina in 2006 with a clear vision: to create a place where art and cuisine could merge.
The dishes are full of creativity and flavour, using carefully selected ingredients that are plated like miniature works of art. But their appreciation and support for the arts extends beyond the kitchen. The restaurant regularly hosts exhibitions, concerts and presentations, building strong ties to Perugia’s cultural community.
On the menu, you’ll find delicacies and influences from across Europe, alongside artisanal products from small producers in Umbria and central Italy, with nods to Karakousis’ Greek roots appearing from time to time.
L’Officina’s contemporary cuisine blends tradition with innovation and isn’t afraid to push boundaries. I tried a new dish that, on paper, sounded almost scandalous: pasta, tuna, wild boar and pineapple.
Somehow, it worked.
In fact, it was one of the most memorable things I tasted on the trip, thanks to Karakousis’ impressive culinary intuition.
There are two degustation menus to choose from, both offering excellent value at €45 and €55 per person.
L’Officina is one of those genuine hidden gems: an ambitious culinary experience without unnecessary pretension, offered at a price that makes exploring something new feel much more accessible.
Hotel Priori Secret Garden
A women-owned business, Hotel Priori Secret Garden was created by three entrepreneurial friends from Umbria — Maria Carmela Colaiacovo, Maria Cristina De Angelis and Antonella Nocentini — who partnered with architect Letizia Spigarelli to completely transform the historic property.
Thoughtful renovations preserved elements of the building’s past while bringing new life to the 19th-century structure through the work of expert local craftspeople.
With 52 rooms, each slightly different, and the recent addition of an enchanting garden and terrace, this boutique four-star property manages to feel design-forward without being inaccessible.
The warm reception and hospitality are led by resident manager Patrizia Poggioni and her team, while the hotel itself is deeply connected to Perugia’s local art and music community.
Like the region surrounding it, Priori Secret Garden also places an emphasis on sustainability, making it another genuine hidden gem in the city.
Priori Secret Bistrot & Terrace
Part colourful neighbourhood bistrot, part proper cocktail bar, Priori Secret Bistrot & Terrace offers a refreshing new dining option for hotel guests, locals and visitors alike.
The interiors are minimal, relaxed and designed to feel almost like your own living room — only a little cooler.
The menu follows suit. Alongside Umbrian classics, you’ll find internationally inspired comfort food including pulled pork sliders, tacos, tartare, Roman pinsa, burgers and short ribs with barbecue sauce, plus inventive pastas and mains.
The cocktails are another highlight, thanks to the young but impressive bartender Antonio.
In a city where serious cocktail bars can be surprisingly difficult to find, Priori offers something different.
Ada Gourmet Restaurant
Set within Etruscan walls dating back to the third century B.C., Ada Gourmet is one of Perugia’s most memorable dining rooms and home to one of Umbria’s most celebrated female Michelin-starred chefs.
The experience is fine dining through a distinctly multicultural lens.
Chef Ada’s cuisine takes diners on a sensory journey spanning Umbria, Puglia, Japan and far beyond. Her cooking is inspired by distant places and flavours, but remains deeply connected to her homeland and personal roots.
Trying to define it with one label feels almost impossible.
It is multicultural gastronomy that is sophisticated and surprising, but above all, fun — as great food experiences should be.
If I absolutely had to choose one favourite dish, it would be the quail with sea urchin and alkekengi, paired with orange wine.
Ada’s approach to cooking also places an emphasis on sustainability and using ingredients thoughtfully. In her Branzino di Acquanaria, for example, virtually every part of the fish is incorporated into the dish.
The result is a tasting experience that can make you feel as though you’ve travelled across several countries without ever leaving your seat.
There are two five-course tasting menus: the vegetarian Percepire and Storytelling, which speaks to the restaurant’s broader philosophy.
Ada’s staff plays an equally important role in the experience. Sommelier Lorenzo intuitively pairs wines with each course, while host Nora acts almost like a personal chaperone through the meal, guiding guests from their first taste to their last bite.
Both are young, deeply knowledgeable and naturally warm — exactly the kind of hospitality that makes an ambitious dining experience feel welcoming rather than intimidating.
Ristorante L’Acciuga
Editor's note: Please note Ristorante L’Acciuga has since closed its doors, with a new restaurant - name/concept/format to be comfirmed - from the same owner Luca and some of the old L’Accuiga team coming soon (set for this fall/winter). Stay tuned for more details.
Ristorante L’Acciuga was a pleasant surprise in almost every way.
Located on the outskirts of Perugia, along one of the busy roads connecting the city centre with the countryside, the restaurant sits inside a small white house covered in greenery. It is an unexpected little oasis and an unusual setting for a fine-dining experience.
Its name translates to “The Anchovy,” a fish historically associated with humble Italian cooking despite being rich in both flavour and nutrients.
That idea is at the heart of L’Acciuga.
The restaurant connects history with the present, pairing originality and technique with a respect for nature, seasonality and raw ingredients — especially those traditionally overlooked or considered “poor.”
Bold flavour combinations come together in surprisingly delicate dishes.
The result feels like fine dining 2.0: contemporary cuisine served in a room that embodies comfortable elegance.
That balance was exactly what owner Luca Caputo set out to achieve — a restaurant where the service is polished but still genuinely warm.
Another surprise came from the kitchen. The two main chefs, along with much of the L’Acciuga team, are under 30.
That youthful energy is tangible.
Chefs Francesco Rossetti and Matteo Peppoloni, both born in 1995, bring a fresh perspective to the kitchen, while maître Maria Raffaella Fiorentino and the broader team help create an experience that feels confident without being overly formal.
My standout dishes were the barbecue spinach with fermented raisins, pine nuts and vermouth, and the tagliolini pasta with guinea fowl.
With this next generation at the helm, the future of L’Acciuga — and perhaps the broader Umbrian dining scene — looks exciting.
A new generation of dining in Umbria, Italy
With meats that can rival neighbouring Tuscany, an exceptional tradition of charcuterie and a food culture deeply connected to agriculture, Umbria is one of Italy’s greenest destinations in more ways than one.
There is a genuine emphasis here on cultivation, local sourcing, seasonality and making the most of what the land provides.
From homemade olive oil and comforting family recipes to multi-generational enotecas housing extraordinary wine collections, Umbria’s traditions run deep.
But there’s another side to the region emerging.
Experimental tasting menus, internationally inspired cuisine, creative fusion, casual fine dining and Michelin-starred restaurants are adding a new dimension to what it means to eat in Umbria.
That juxtaposition may be what makes the region so exciting right now.
Umbria remains one of Italy’s most underrated food destinations, but it certainly doesn’t eat like one.
So, the next time you’re planning your travels around food, don’t overlook this off-the-beaten-path region in the heart of Italy. Come for the landscapes and history, but stay for the extraordinary hospitality, wine and one-of-a-kind dining experiences.
Editor's note: Article originally published August 16, 2026, and has since been updated to reflect some notes on a recent restaurant closure.
