Secret Italy: The country's most beautiful towns and villages

Verdant, undulating Umbria has more designated "beautiful" towns than any other region in the country, according to L'associazione de I Borghi Piu Belli d'Italia - the association of Italy's most beautiful towns. The fortified hilltop towns and villages, with their labyrinth laneways, ancient architecture and uninterrupted vistas of Umbria's fertile fields and forests are particularly enchanting. There are scores of Umbrian hilltop villages and towns, so which to choose as a base? Each has its own special charm, but here are five to consider.

Spilling down a foothill of Mount Subasio, encircled by olive groves and ancient walls, Spello has earned a name as one of Umbria's prettiest towns. Known by the Romans as "Hispellum", the old town has narrow medieval streets, with houses of honey-hued limestone, facades adorned by hanging baskets of flowers and greenery. They're rarely without a climb or descent, encouraging gentle-paced meandering.

Shop at food stores selling local specialities such as truffles, prosciutto from Norcia and Castelluccio lentils, taste some wine at a local enoteca, browse art galleries and artisan workshops, admire the churches of Santa Maria Maggiore, Sant'Andrea and San Lorenzo, and explore the Roman remains of an amphitheatre, mosaics and city gates.

A small lively town that was formerly an Etruscan capital, Orvieto is dramatically perched on a tufa rock plateau. The jewel in its crown is its duomo, a fantastic folly of golden mosaics, black and white striped marble, a wooden trussed ceiling and stained glass.

There are remains of the city gates and fortress, laneways lined with galleries and museums to wander, workshops of artisan jewellers, leather workers and ceramicists, along with bars, caffes and restaurants, where you can (and should) try dishes like wild boar pasta or pigeon cooked cacciatore-style and taste the local white wine.

Need to walk off some of those kilojoules? Head down the 248 steps of Saint Patrick's Well. At more than 50 metres deep it was built in 1537 to ensure the town had water if it was ever besieged.

One of the best-preserved medieval towns in the world, lofty Assisi is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its extravagance of art and historically significant architecture. The town's most famous son is the humble Saint Francis, patron saint of animals whose image is omnipresent - from souvenir shop statues to snow globes. It's a place of pilgrimage for catholics, where you'll see gaggles of young nuns and priests from all over the catholic world as well as brown-robed monks deep in contemplation or bare-foot penitents dressed in sackcloth.

The best-known attraction is the 13th century Basilica of St Francis with its incredible Giotto frescoes, but while hordes of tourists daytrip to Assisi, the sheer number of churches, museums, historical sights and galleries make it worth staying over and exploring at a more leisurely pace.

Protected by three rings of ancient walls - built by the Etruscans, added to by the Romans and fortified during the Middle Ages - Todi is a town of slopes and staircases, terracotta rooftops and pretty, narrow laneways.

A former medieval stronghold, Torgiano today is important as a wine region, as evidenced by the many vineyards surrounding it. Built in 1274 and the symbol of the town, the Torre di Guardia is the only remaining structure of the ancient defence fortification left. Wine lovers should visit the Museo del Vino in the Baroque-era Palazzo Graziani-Baglioni, with a fascinating collection of ancient and modern artifacts connected to oenology, from pottery to Roman glassware, manuscripts and photographs. Make sure to do a tasting at the Lungarotti winery of their quality reds or (by appointment) a tour and tasting at their vineyard.

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