Plan a day trip to Spello and Assisi from Rome
Have you heard about the picturesque Roman town Spello? What about its neighbour Assisi? I’m willing to bet that the latter is more familiar than the former, mostly due to St. Francis of Assisi and the UNESCO-listed basilica bearing his name. Spello and Assisi are within perfect day trip distance from Rome by train. Going there for a day will let you see more of Italy and give you a breather away from the crowds in the eternal city.
Why go on an excursion to Spello and Assisi?
Rome got enough on offer for at least a week’s worth of exploring, so why would I even suggest that you should get out of a city for a day? Because Italy is so much more than just the capital and Assisi and Spello are both good examples of fortified towns where you can find a mix of history and local life, surrounded by the green, Umbrian landscape.
Spello, the least known of the two, is famous for its elaborate flower decorations in summer with the Infiorate festival as a main highlight. It’s also classified as one of the prettiest villages in Italy, which says a lot – Italy is packed with stunning places. Spello has been inhabited since ancient times and can boast with architecture dating all the way back to the 1st century BC when it was a Roman colony.
From Spello, you can look over to the larger town Assisi. At least equally old, and definitely busier with tourists coming to visit UNESCO World Heritage Listed Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi and its connecting monastery.
How to get there on a day trip from Rome?
If you are not a huge fan of driving in hectic, Italian cities, trains are your best friend. From Rome’s main railway station, Termini, there are frequent departures directly to both Assisi and Spello throughout the day. The train ride takes approx. 2 – 2,5 hours one way. To get the most out of the day, we opted for an early morning departure to nearby Foligno instead – a 15 minutes’ taxi ride from Spello.
We used Google maps’ route descriptions to find the timetables and showed up at Termini station half an hour before departure. Here there are plenty of easy-to-use ticket machines in the departure halls, and large screens telling you where to find your train.
Tip: Remember to stamp your ticket on one of the small, green machines before boarding the train. I can’t tell you where to find it though, as we weren’t aware of this until arrival to Spello… Luckily, no one noticed, but it could have resulted in a fine.
After getting your tickets stamped, go through the ticket gates and find the correct platform as advised on the screens. To our surprise, the train to Foligno left from a platform hidden behind the main platforms. Resulting in an early morning sprint!
Upon arrival to Spello, walk up to the fortified old town. If you arrive at Foligno station, like we did, get a taxi to Spello old town square. Or wait for the next train going to Spello via Foligno.
What to do in Spello on a day trip?
The main thing you must do in Spello is walking up and down the medieval cobbled, streets. The old, stone buildings will move you back to a different time. Just interrupted by the occasional modern car manoeuvring through the narrow lanes. Here, men are sitting on the piazzas and women shout to each other through open windows.
Like any Italian town, Spello got plenty of old churches to pop into. A perfect opportunity to get out of the sun or just to admire the artwork inside. Most famous are perhaps Pinturicchio’s renaissance frescos inside the Baglioni Chapel in the church Santa Maria Maggiore. For more artwork, visit Spello Art Gallery inside the Palace of the Canons of the Collegiate.
What I really want to visit next time, is the Villa of Mosaics. The huge old Roman villa with 500 square metres of mosaic floors was discovered in 2005, when they planned to make a new parking lot just outside the city walls. Thankfully, the parking lot plan was discarded, and the excavated area is turned into a museum.
A town of flowers
If you come here in spring or summer, you will be welcomed by a flower feast like no other. Thousands of colourful flowers sparkle up the somewhat greyish and dim architecture. The residents of Spello actually compete in having the most beautifully decorated houses, and I assure they won’t let you down.
If you can, witness the Infiorate flower festival in June. We were a bit early, but the preparations were in full swing.
Infiorate di Spello is an annual flower festival. During night to the 9th Sunday after Easter, the people of Spello come together to decorate the narrow streets with carpets of flower petals in beautiful patterns. Only to be walked over and destroyed by the bishop, all part of the ritual of the Passage of the Blesses sacrament.
Remnants from forgotten times
Spello is a fortified village located on a hill, with several gates and entering the town you will first come across Porta Consolare. This impressive structure dates back to Roman times and are crowned with statues above the entrance. Another ancient gate is Porta Venere a bit further uphill. It has two towers which is renovated and possible to climb within the opening hours.
Another thing I’d really like to do, was to go through Porta Montara, towards the mountainside. Here you can find an Roman aqueduct to follow further uphill along olive grounds to get a great view of the town. Partly due to the heat at the time of our visit and partly due to a homemade lasagna waiting at my niece’s family’s home, I unfortunately had to skip this.
That said, I’m really glad I didn’t ditch the lasagne because of a viewpoint. The lunch was worth the day trip on its own!
Buy your souvenirs locally
Walking through the picturesque streets of Spello, make sure to stop by some of the small shops and galleries you walk past. Here are no tacky souvenir shops. Just individual stores where you can find unique locally produced souvenirs, wine, ham, and olive oils to bring home. Don’t worry if mass made souvenirs are more of your cup of tea. You will find plenty of them in Assisi later.
Even if you’re not as lucky as I and got a local lunch invitation, I assure you won’t leave Spello hungry. The town got a variety of cafés and restaurants serving Italian delicacies. And off course, gelato. Gelato is a must!
Tip: Refill your water bottles in one of the water fountains on the streets. It’s cold, fresh, and safe to drink!
After lunch, it’s time to continue onwards to Assisi for the rest of the day trip. It’s actually so close you can see it in the distance from Spello.
How to get to Assisi from Spello?
Walk back to the Spello railway station to continue your one-day excursion from Rome. Purchase tickets to Assisi on the ticket machines on the platform. And again: remember to stamp it in the green machine. Also, make sure you stand on the correct platform – there are only two, but the other will take you back in towards Rome. You are going towards Perugia.
Trains between the two towns are frequent. This leg of the journey is only one stop and takes approx. 10 minutes, so don’t get too comfy on board.
If you have read more of my posts, you know I’m a huge fan of walking while travelling. However, just like Spello, Assisi is built on a hillside. And for once, I don’t recommend walking into town from the railway station. Especially if you are here on a day trip. Whether you decide to catch a taxi or take the city bus from the station, take it to Piazza Matteotti. The city bus goes in a loop and departures are quite frequent, but as we could see it leave as we came out of the station, we found it more timesaving to share a taxi.
How to explore Assisi in a few hours?
Assisi is larger than Spello, and with limited time we were advised to follow the route described below. It worked like a charm, and I highly recommend you doing the same.
As soon as you have left the bus or taxi behind on Piazza Matteotti, head towards the narrow streets of the old town. Walk your way downhill to Piazza San Rufino and take a look at the Cathedral of S. Rufino before continuing to the large Piazza del Comune. Here, take a pit-stop for some refreshments and people watching!
Next, follow Corso Mazzini to Piazza Santa Chiara and the basilica holding the same saint’s name. If you haven’t pulled out your camera before, this is where to do it. Head over to the wall and admire the views of the town and the green Umbrian landscape in front of you!
Join the pilgrims to the Basilica of St. Francis
Assisi’s best known tourism attraction is the UNESCO-listed Saint Francesco Basilica, but it is also considered one of the most important pilgrimage places in Italy. From Piazza St. Chiara, follow Via Sant’Agnese onto Via Fontabella until you reach Via Giorgetti on your right-hand side. This street will take you straight into the wide courtyard of the basilica and monastery.
This is by far the most crowded place you will experience on your day trip to Spello and Assisi, but it really is a must to visit. Entrance to St. Francis basilica is free of charge and it’s advised to wear modest clothing covering shoulders and knees.
The grand structure originates back to the 13th century and actually consists of two basilicas: the Lower and Upper Basilicas. You enter through the Lower, where you also can visit the crypt which holds the saints’ remains. The Upper Basilica is entered via the Lower and can’t be missed – just follow the line of people!
Return to Rome after a day in Assisi and Spello
Leaving the religious site behind, take a taxi or a city bus back to the station and wait for the next train enroute Rome. There’s a bar/café on the station in case you must wait for a bit.
Once inside the train, sit down and lean back to the views of the Italian countryside. You will be back in Rome from your day trip to Spello and Assisi just in time for dinner and drinks.
Tip: Make sure you disembark at Rome Termini, not the prior Roma Tiburtina station. Guess what we did?
Have you visited either Spello or Assisi? Do you think it’s worth a day trip? Let me know!
