The magnificent Rocca (castle-fortress), built on the hill of Sant'Elia, is the first thing you see when you get to Spoleto. It was commissioned in 1362 by the pontifical legate, Cardinal Albornoz who entrusted its construction to the architect from Gubbio, Matteo Gattapone. This impressive building has a rectangular plan with six mighty towers around its perimeter. These towers are joined by walk-ways which divide the internal area into two: the military courtyard for the troops and the courtyard of honour for the private use of the city governor. At the centre of this courtyard there is a charming well bearing the pope's heraldic arms. The courtyard itself is surrounded by a portico on two floors. A large hall looks out onto it, together with the room of the lord of the castle which is called the Camera Pinta (painted room), with noteworthy frescoes which recent restoration has brought back to life. The Fortress was once an impregnable residence for nobility and their illustrious guests. During the nineteenth century it lost its original function when it was transformed into a jail. In 1983 the Fortress was finally returned to the city of Spoleto under the tutelage of the Ministry for Cultural Affairs. At present it is completely restored including the National Museum of the Duke of Spoleto and opened to visitors with guided tours.

The Tower Bridge, can be reached by following the panoramic walkway opened up in 1817 around the base of the Fortress. The Bridge is 236 m long and 76 m high and is supported by mighty ogival arches sitting in turn on grandiose stone piers. A road and an aqueduct built into the stone construction run along the top. There is much debate about when the Tower Bridge was built. However, most scholars agree that it was ordered by Albornoz and developed by Gattapone out and on top of an aqueduct dating back to Roman times. The Tower Bridge supposedly dates back, therefore, to the second half of the fourteenth century. Given its obvious strategic importance, the Bridge was defended by towers (hence its name) both in the Fortress and in the small Mill Fortress opposite.

Walking towards the centre of the town, through Via del Ponte and Via dell'Arringo, you will find the impressive Cathedral in Piazza del Duomo. Widely spaced steps lead the way down to the square. These same steps are the perfect seats for the audiences which pack into this area to watch the concert in the square which closes the Festival every year. They also offer a fascinating view of the square with the Cathedral (Duomo) as backdrop. The Spoleto Cathedral, the city's most important civil monument, originally built in the Romanic style during the 12th century, has undergone subsequent modifications with the addition of a portico in the Renaissance style between 1491 and 1504 and the remodelling of the interior in the 17th century. In the upper part of the facade, which is hut-shaped and decorated with rose-windows and ogival blind arches, is a great mosaic in the Byzantine style (1207) representing Christ between the Virgin Mary and St. Giovanni, and placed between the symbols of the four Evangelists.
The interior, made up of three naves on columns, contains, among many works of great artistic merit: in the first chapel on the right, a fresco with the Madonna and Saints by Pinturicchio; above the middle portal bronze bust of Urban VIII by Bernini On the right of the street, one can admire the noteworthy, though deteriorated, monochromatic graffiti attributed to Giulio Romano which decorate the Renaissance faÇade of the sixteenth-century building palazzo Racani-Arroni. This palazzo is the perfect setting for art exhibitions. There is also an impressive internal courtyard with its original nymphaeum The Piazza del Duomo already was created in Roman times by excavating earth from the hill of Sant'Elia. On the right there is a stone seat and a fountain, both added in 1954 when the square was entirely re-paved. The fountain also holds a third-century AD Roman sarcophagus with hunting scenes.

Next to the church of Santa Maria della Manna d'oro, there is the quaint Caio Melisso theatre . The theatre was built in wood in 1600 as the "nobile theatre" of the city. It was re-built in 1800 to hold larger audiences and, in fact, it now seats 400. It was restored again in 1958. Its ceiling decoration and the stage curtain must not to be missed. Piazza del Mercato. The Roman Forum which stood here held great importance for the social life of the city. This square still represents today the "centre" par excellence inasmuch as it is still indisputedly the heart of both the historical centre (more and more rarely called "Borgo Santa Maria") and, indeed, the entire city. The Baroque Fonte di Piazza, proudly stands out at one end of the square. This fountain was designed by the Roman architect, Fiaschetti and completed in 1746. The monument in the tympanum to Urbanus VIII and the Barberini Family is the only thing left of the fountain which formerly stood here.
The fountain substituted the front of the Romanesque church of San Donato. The span of the arches on one side remind us of this old church but have now given over their original use to being small shops in the adjacent and once Roman via dei Duchi. Corso Mazzini (and beyond). This is the last tract of the National Cross-Road. It is the main artery of the historical centre and the Corso par excellence. It is also the most modern and is flanked by beautiful buildings. In contrast, it leads off to decidedly mediaeval streets and lanes. After the Seat of the Tribunal Courts (formerly the convent of the Filippini) there lies via Plinio il Giovane on the left. This is the continuation of Piazza del Mercato and is also of Roman origin. By going down this street, one comes across piazza Sordini with Sala Pegasus (formerly the twelfth-century church of St. Laurence). On the upper side there is Palazzo Rosari-Spada (17th-18th century). At the bottom of the steps Piazza Collicola opens out. The name derives from the eighteenth-century building situated here which is now the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. On the other side the square and the church of San Domenico.

Use the map below to create a custom itinerary to help you reach Spoleto and the Hotel San Luca.