Umbria in May - Todi

On Wednesday our run of luck, during one of the wettest and coldest Mays in recent years, comes to a halt. The forecast is for rain all day. In the morning I catch up on some writing and some work and we plan our onward journey the next day. Mid-afternoon the rain lets up and so we venture the few miles to Todi. Parking is easy at the foot of the funicular-lift. 1.20€ per hour or 0.60 per hour after 4pm. It's 3.45. The funicular is free and frequent and we are soon in the little park at the top with a good view of old Todi. 

From there it's just a few minutes to San Fortunato. The green area just below it is not as scenic as I expected. Just grass, and a little long at that.

But the portal is richly decorated with stone carvings and inside, the church is pleasant with its three naves, luminous despite the gloomy day, and there are some nice frescoes. The steps to the crypt are steep and there's just the tomb of San Fortunato.

We continue our stroll around Todi, quiet on this wet afternoon and stop to look at the view over the countryside from Piazza Garibaldi. There are a lot more steps up to the Concattedrale and no way of avoiding them, but the inside is pleasant, in particular the side nave separated by arches.

We wander a little more, faintly hungry, but Todi has little to offer. We settle for a hot chocolate and a cappuccino in the bar Bacio a Todi, sitting outside at the pleasant decorated glass-topped tables in Piazza del Popolo

at the the foot of the steps to the cathedral, until it starts to spit with rain again and we hurry back to the car.

After a very brief stop at Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione where there is nothing to see, we head for home to get ready for moving on the next day.