Gubbio Medieval Town in Perugia

Gubbio's Gothic Beauty

The beautifully modulated hillside town of Gubbio has all the charm of a small village pressed in as it is amongst the feudal walls of its boundaries. It is a town of substantial size compressed and intensified behind this fortified exterior armour of walls. Protected, almost hidden by its walls, the streets and squares open up to create amazing spaces, one minute small and twisted lanes, the next minute wide expansive plazas with sweeping views stretching out across the valley below, only to close in again around the next intimate cluster of shops.

Gubbio is a medieval town ancient in its history, in its buildings and in its atmosphere. The dramatic palace towers over the town, visible from almost every street corner. Its crenellated ramparts and cloister-like windows add expression to the vertical planes of its towering stone walls. Severe in its restrained grey Gothic style, it is a building which shapes and dominates the town. The houses which cluster around the streets and group around the foot of the palace often look untouched from the time more than five centuries ago when many of them were built.

Gubbio clings to the edge of  Mt Ingino, one of the tallest mountains in the Perugia region. The streets twist, turn, rise and fall around the edges of the mountainside. Narrow alleys turn into steep steps climbing up or dropping away to the lower levels. The city walls are broken by archways offering glimpses of the countryside and mountain beyond. Pedestrians share the cobbled streets with cyclists and the occasional creeping car. A dry channel where a moat once flowed, appears here and there around the perimeter of the town walls.

Below the town, restaurants are embedded in the caverns where once the wine was cellared. Gubbio is alive with cafes and bars, traders and dealers, tourists and locals. It is a historic town made vibrant and current by its inhabitants. It teems with enterprise and culture, welcoming in visitors to add to the trade which keeps the region alive.  Gubbio will always be a microcosm of the past in its buildings and architecture but in terms of its present it could not be more alive.

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Dozza - Town of Art in Italy

The Town of Living Walls

When you step into Dozza you step into a village of art. As unique as any village you might hope to see, this is a small commune which has singled itself out from its surroundings by inviting in artists not just from Italy but from foreign shores as well.  Every two years internationally recognized artists come to Dozza, and let loose their artistic creativity on the walls of the houses which line the handful of streets. The art of Dozza fills the town walls with colour and vibrance. The villagers revel in their point of difference and the visitors come from far afield to view the walls of Dozza.













Dozza is not just known for its murals and its wall art. It is also renowned for a particularly handsome and well preserved fortress. This fortress with its sturdy circular tower cannot help but dominate the landscape due to its sheer size, compared to the humble village houses surrounding it.  However even though the fortress might be substantial it is not overbearing, and the warm gold of its walls blends comfortably with the surrounding countryside and village. Five centuries of age have left scarcely a mark. Within the fortress in the cellars, the wines of the Emilia Romagna region are sold in a well-stocked wine bar where more than 800 wines can be sampled and enjoyed.

During the Festival of the Painted Wall visitors flock to Dozza to view the artists at work as they labour over their latest additions to the streetscape. Each festival adds another layer of colourful facades. At present there are around 100 pieces to view.

The festival provides an opportunity for artists to freely express themselves, as well as providing an identity and point of pride for a small Italian village. The liberal nature of the festival gives free rein to the artist, imposing no specific theme or subject on those who come. Hence the great diversity in style on the walls of Dozza, where around every corner a new canvas can be viewed in this unique outdoor gallery.

www.unusualstays.com ( A New Zealand chronicle of unique and unusual places to stay)
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