Palazzo Leti, the fourteenth century home of the noble Leti family, consists of twelve beautifully restored rooms, each looking across the valley towards Monteluco.  Situated in the center of Spoleto, one of the lesser-known jewels of Umbria, the town is an important center for the arts with numerous museums and galleries as well as historic sites including the Roman theater, the Ponte delle Torri aqueduct , the Santa Maria Assunta cathedral, all dominated by the imposing medieval Castello Rocca Albornoziana.  

Of particular note to plein air artists, many of the town’s principal piazzas and sites have recently been connected by underground escalators, eliminating the need to carry painting gear up and down the hilly cobblestone streets.  

Although worthy of many days of exploration in its own right, Spoleto’s strategic location at the head of a broad valley in the foot hills of the Apennines provides easy access to some of the best known towns in Italy including Assisi, Trevi, Terni, Perugia and Bevagna.  With plenty to do for non-painters as well, the Spoleto-Norcia narrow grade railway bed has been converted to a bike path with spectacular views of the nearby Nera Valley, which is also one of Italy’s best known fly fishing rivers.