Todi

Todi is the ideal hub for visiting Umbria and the rest of central Italy. Rome is just ninety minutes away, Florence two hours, and both cities are easily reached by car, train or bus. There is also the Sant’Egidio regional airport, just thirty minutes away from Todi in the outskirts of Perugia. In Todi and Umbria one can enjoy an alternative lifestyle, one that offers values eagerly sought today because they are rarer in modern society: slow daily rhythms allowing time for reflection, the silence of woods and free spaces - and mostly the richness of sincere and profound human relationships.
Todi is a gracious city of antique origin crowning hills from whose slopes one can see much of the middle valley of the Tiber River flowing below.



Founded by the Umbrian people around 2700 B.C., Todi’s name derives from the word tutere, meaning ‘border’ - perhaps to indicate a frontier delineated with respect to the neighboring Etruscans. Todi became a municipium, hence a Roman colony, but reached its highest splendor during the Medieval period when it was enriched with splendid communal buildings and enchanting civil and religious edifices. Among the most eminent figures of Italian literature, Jacopone da Todi, friar and poet, is still famous for having written the first laude (religious hymns) in vernacular Italian.
Todi’s famous Piazza del Popolo is surrounded by beautiful public and ecclesiastical buildings and remains the center of the town’s civil, economic and social life. It is a meeting point for residents and tourists alike, with its many open air cafés and art, antique and clothing shops. It is also a great point of reference for our students who can easily build a large network of new friends while living and studying in the city as genuine residents.

  

Todi firmly maintains Italian and regional culinary traditions with a number of fine restaurants serving typical foods in genuine and non-touristy venues. There is also the chance to enjoy good local wines such as Grechetto - praised by the ancient Romans, as attested by the great Roman historian Plinio il Vecchio in his renowned Natural History of Wine.

A love of music is expressed in the regular organization of classic and avant-garde musical concerts in the splendid Teatro Comunale, lately restored, as well as in other suggestive locations such as centuries-old convents, cloisters and abbeys.
Surrounding Todi is a countryside of the liveliest green and gold hues, uniquely fascinating and for this reason, the selected residence of artists and professionals from all over Italy and from around the world. It is a beautiful area both for its landscape and, from an historical point of view, rich with castles that once formed part of an articulate and effective defense system.

There are reputedly as many as there are days of the year - 365 are indicated on historical maps of the territory and some are still intact like Montenero, protected by its thick pine forest, Izzalini, Porchiano, Collevalenza and Canonica.

 

By virtue of its geographic location, Todi is an ideal place to study the Italian language. It has a welcoming ambiance and friendly atmosphere allowing a chance for students, teachers and residents to naturally create a favorable climate for language learning through full immersion into Italian social and cultural life. A stay over in Todi not only offers the chance to learn the language but also - and most importantly - the possibility to practice it constantly through direct participation in cultural events typical of the area, allowing students to savor a real taste of living in Italy.



Come raggiungerci

In aereo:
Aeroporto di Fiumicino a Roma
In treno da Roma (2 ore): ROMA-TERNI, TERNI-TODI
Si invita a consultare il sito www.trenitalia.it
In autobus:
da Roma Fiumicino: Partenze dal Terminal C, arrivi internazionali.
Autobus diretto per Todi. Due corse giornaliere.
Consultare orari su www.sulga.it linea Roma Fiumicino-Perugia-Assisi

In treno da Firenze (2 ore):
FIRENZE-PERUGIA PONTE SAN GIOVANNI- P.S. GIOVANNI – TODI
Si invita a consultare il sito www.trenitalia.it
In auto da Sud:
AUTOSTRADA A1 PER FIRENZE. Uscire a ORTE, proseguire in direzione Perugia,
uscire a Todi-Orvieto
In auto da Nord:
AUTOSTRADA A1 PER ROMA. Uscire a VALDICHIANA, proseguire in direzione Perugia-Terni,
uscire a TODI-ORVIETO