Introduction to Todi

43km (27 miles) W of Spoleto; 40km (25 miles) S of Perugia; 203km (126 miles) S of Florence; 130km (81 miles) N of Rome

If you had to use the word "quaint" to describe any Italian town, Todi would be a front-runner. It's one of the most picturesque hill towns, a warren of narrow medieval streets twisting and plunging off at every angle, with many alleys whose graceful sets of shallow stairs flow down the center. It's a cobble of mottled grays accented with brick, all surrounding a picture-perfect central square celebrated as one of the finest medieval spaces on the peninsula.

Seemingly frozen in the Middle Ages, aside from its almost Swiss cleanliness and pristine condition, Todi actually has much deeper roots. A backwater for the past 500 years or so, it headed its own small Umbrian empire for a while in the early 13th century, and during the long Dark Ages of Lombard rule in central Italy, the comune apparently maintained its independence from the Lombard dukes in Spoleto. Todi claims a 2nd-century-A.D. martyr to prove it was Christianized early; while only a few bits of the 42 B.C. Roman Tuder survive, traces of the Etruscan border town Tutare are scarcer still. Even the Etruscans were relative newcomers, having conquered the city from an Umbri tribe that probably had displaced the Iron Age squatters who occupied the site in 2700 B.C.

Todi doesn't harbor much great art, with the exception of one jewel of High Renaissance architecture; the wine and cuisine aren't particularly outstanding; and its long heritage is more in the history books than in plain view. People come here mainly just to look; to drink in the vistas from the town's terraces and the medieval character of its alleyways; to nap, picnic, and play in the public gardens; and to sit on the Duomo steps and stare at the Gothic public palaces across the way. Todi's once-upon-a-time atmosphere hasn't gone unnoticed. It sees its share of film crews and has gotten press in America as one of the world's eminently livable cities; English-speaking expats have taken notice, and mortgages. Property speculators and Italian businessmen have taken advantage of its relative proximity to Rome to buy medieval palazzi and commute from Todi to the city. But notwithstanding the disproportionate number of Alfas, Mercedes, and even Range Rovers purring down the constricted medieval streets, Todi remains a showcase hill town, and a refreshing break from a culture-heavy Italian tour. Note: The best time to visit is in the morning, when churches are likely to be open and you can get a photograph of Santa Maria della Consolazione with the sun at your back.