2366, 2367 ITALY (Umbria) - Umbria, the green heart of Italy

2366 Umbria: 1. The Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi;
2. Church of Saint Rita in Cascia; 3. The Cathedral of Orvieto;
4. Todi Cathedral; 5. Spoleto Cathedral; 6. Venus' Gate in Spello;
7. Palazzo dei Consoli and Church of San Giovanni in Gubbio;
8. The Albornoz fortress in Narni; 9. Fontana Maggiore in Perugia.

Umbria is the only Italian region having neither a coastline nor a border with other countries. Partly hilly and partly flat, and fertile owing to the valley of the Tiber, its topography includes part of the central Apennines. It is crossed also by the Umbrian valley, and includes the Lake Trasimeno, and Cascata delle Marmore, the tallest man-made waterfall in Europe (165m). Umbria is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy, and influence on culture.

2367: Umbria: 1. Cascata delle Marmore;
2. The Basilica of San Francesco
in Assisi; 3. The Church Santa Maria
della Consolazione in Todi; 4. Palazzo
dei Consoli in Gubbio.

 

The region is named for the Umbri people, an Italic people which was absorbed by the expansion of the Romans. After the collapse of the Roman empire, parts of the region were owned by Ostrogoths,  Byzantines, and Lombards. Later, Charlemagne gave some Umbrian territories to the Pope. Some cities acquired a form of autonomy, and were frequently at war with each other. In the 14th century, the region was subsumed into the Papal States, and the Papacy ruled it until the end of the 18th century.

After it was part of the Napoleonic Empire between 1809 and 1814, the Pope regained Umbria until 1860, in 1861 being incorporated in the Kingdom of Italy. At the end of the 19th century, the region, whose economy was based on agriculture, experienced a dramatic economic shift with the founding of a major steelwork in Terni. During WWII, it was heavily bombed and in 1944 became a battlefield between the allied forces and the Germans retreating towards the Gothic Line.

Referred to as il cuore verde d'Italia (the green heart of Italy), the region is characterized also by historical towns such as Perugia (the regional capital), Assisi (a World Heritage Site associated with St. Francis of Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and other Franciscan sites, works by Giotto and Cimabue), Norcia (the hometown of St. Benedict), Gubbio, Spoleto, Todi, Città di Castello, Orvieto, Castiglione del Lago, Narni, Amelia, and other small cities.

About the stamps
On the postcard 2366
The first stamp is one of the two issued on May 5th, 2003 by Italy for Europa 2003 - Poster Art, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of the series Women in Art, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2367
The stamp is part of the definitive set Posta Italiana, about which I wrote here.

References
Umbria - Wikipedia

Sender 2366, 2367: Natalino Trentini
2366, 2367: Sent from Florence (Tuscany / Italy), on 03.11.2011
Photo 2366: Stefano Caporali