This work delves into Tuscany's lavish natural beauty: the dense concentration of Renaissance art that spills out of Florence into Pisa, Lucca and Arezzo. It helps the reader cheer on Siena's frenzied Palio; wander through the sumptuous vineyards of Chianti; explore the medieval hill towns of green Umbria; and visit historic Perugia over the Tiber Valley, the newly restored monuments and architecture of Assisi and the famous cathedral of Orvieto. '[Umbrians'] devotion to Umbrian food can reach astonishing proportions: Umbrian teenagers on their summer language courses in England who had to be flown home after two days because they were starving to death; adventurous Umbrian diners who dared to enter a Chinese restaurant, but could only eat the rice; our Umbrian landlord who went to Dalmatia on his honeymoon, found the pasta overcooked and returned to Terni, swearing he would never leave again as long as he lived.'