Discover Calvi Dell Umbria

Calvi dell’Umbria can be explored through specific cultural and historical sites: a former olive mill with a museum, nativity scene art in the form of figurines and murals, and churches connected to the town’s history. There are also hiking stages linking Calvi with Stroncone and Narni. This gives you the option of making art, local history or a walking stage the focus of your stay.

Museum and history of the olive mill

The museum at Oleificio La Corte di Frezza is housed in the oldest wing of the original complex of a historic olive mill. It displays historical objects and machinery used to produce olive oil. You can also see a historic olive mill with wooden beams that were used when operations began in 1790. Together, the site, equipment and milling technology offer a tangible insight into the history of olive oil production. If you are interested in how olive oil was made and the tools used, you will find a clearly defined focus here: the historic site and the objects and machinery used for production take centre stage.

Nativity scene art in figurines and murals

Another distinctive theme is the Christmas story. The monumental nativity scene consists of more than 30 polychrome terracotta figures created by Giacomo and Raffaele da Montereale between 1541 and 1546. In the historic centre, a walking route through the lanes also leads to more than 50 works depicting the Christmas story. In the 1980s, local artist Antonio Valentino, known as Valan, invited painters from around the world to decorate the town’s walls with such scenes. You will encounter two different artistic forms: the nativity scene’s terracotta figures and the images on the walls. The route connects the lanes of the historic centre with a large number of works centred on a single theme.

Churches and historical connections

Santa Maria Assunta was the mother church of Calvi dell’Umbria. It is located near Porta Ternana on Via Roma, formerly Via Sabina, and was enlarged between 1620 and 1650. This site brings together its former ecclesiastical role, a specific connection to the road layout and a precisely dated phase of construction. The museum of the Ursuline convent is also a cultural point of interest: it is in the historic centre, within the convent complex, and opened in 2002. The church and museum offer different points of connection to the town’s history.

The church of San Francesco and the convent of San Berardo offer another example of the relationship between architecture and landscape. Both stand on a ridge separating the valleys of Otricoli and Magliano Sabina. Unlike the road connection at Santa Maria Assunta, the focus here is on the ridge and the two named valleys.

Hiking stages with Calvi as a reference point

You can also consider Calvi as either the destination or starting point for the hiking stages. The second stage runs through the countryside from Stroncone to Calvi dell’Umbria; the third connects Calvi dell’Umbria with Narni. The named endpoints distinguish the two stages: Calvi is the destination for one and the starting point for the other. When planning your trip, you can decide whether to combine your stay with a stage that ends in Calvi or one that leads from there to Narni.

Discover more destinations: Cesi, Ferentillo, Polino, Sismano, Fornole, Visciano Di Narni, San Carlo, Piediluco

For the broader travel overview: Terni.