Are there still parts of Italy that are undiscovered country for Irish tourists? Many Irish people will at some point have seen a friend married in Italy, probably in Tuscany. Most of us have at least once stumbled around Rome in the baking heat, with frequent stops for gelato and suppli. Italian hills are as familiar in winter for ski and snow breaks as they are in summer for hiking holidays, and many Irish film fans, with a soft spot for The Godfather, will have spent a stint in Sicily.

And yet, spinning around the hills and highways of Umbria, at the eyewatering speeds that seem to be the local equivalent of “driving defensively”, it’s easy to think that this region is largely untroubled by tourism. Lazio and Tuscany are nearby, it’s the only Italian region not bordered by the sea or another country, and Florence and Rome are just two hours’ drive away. The feeling here is that this is a place people travel thorough rather than travel to.