The walk around the historic centre of Città di Castello will certainly have occupied most of your time, but between one palazzo and the next, don’t miss out on visiting the numerous city Museums that reveal stories of ancient life expertly integrated with the spirit of modern society. This unusual combination together with the Municipality’s long-sightedness have given rise to superb exhibitions, such as the Collezione Burri, co-hosted by Palazzo Albizzini in the city centre and the former Tabacco-drying plant on the southern outskirts of the city. And let us not forget the two Museum-Workshops that make Città di Castello such a unique destination: the collezione “Tessile Umbra” is both a Museum and an active Workshop where the centre’s hand looms, established in 1908 by the barons Alice and Leopoldo Franchetti, produce masterpieces of local craftsmanship. Similarly, the Museo delle Arti Grafiche is also a printing works, the Tipografia Grifani Donati, established in 1799 by Bartolomeo Carlucci and Francesco Donati. Inside the rooms of the former church of S. Paolo, skilled craftsmen still preserve the traditional art of printing, which has existed in the city since the 16th century. Their work fuels the local economy, being one of the city’s major productive industries.
In one of the Tiber valley’s main hubs, there is certainly no lack of alternative activities. If you prefer the outdoors, you will be spoilt for choice: you can visit the park called Parco dell’Ansa del Tevere, close to the city walls in Viale Nazario Sauro, or Parco dei Cigni, on the Tiber river side, to the south of the city, where you can admire many species of non-captive water birds. Between the two parks, at the Ponte del Tevere (bridge) in via Aretina, you fill find Città di Castello’s Canoe Club headquarters. Its professional guides are available to accompany you on a truly captivating canoe route on one of the most important rivers in Italy. And if this were still not enough, you can go for a walk or a run up to the Terme di Montecchio (spa), some 3 kilometres from the city centre, where the sulphurous waters and the natural mud baths are the secret behind the Centre’s attainment of a certificate of excellence in the ‘Super First’ category, not only for the quality of wellness treatments but also, and above all, for the importance of its diagnostic and therapeutic centres, which are open all year round. Finally, several kilometres from the city, beyond route E45, and reachable only by car, you can visit the elegant Parco con villa di Montesca. The options are endless!