“This green is for the olive groves,’’ which surround Spello and provide the fruit for the region’s famously smooth olive oil. “The pink and cream,’’ she said, pointing to a blush and ivory dishtowel, “represent the color of the city,’’ which, like Assisi, was built from the rosy stones of nearby Monte Subasio.
Since we were alone in the shop, Covelli continued to explain how the garnet pigment represented the local red wines, such as Montefalco Rosso and Sagrantino. The russets and tans evoked the area’s wheat and flax fields. Scroll patterns, leaves, flowers, and amphora jugs - used to transport oil, wine, and perfume - were classic Renaissance designs, while the griffin was the symbol of Perugia and imported from China in the 17th century, when Italian potters began copying Chinese ceramics. The popular bee pattern? That was a symbol of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who became the Pope of Rome in 1623. Three bees were his coat of arms.
Overwhelmed by so many beautiful options, I held off on buying. Then I thanked Covelli for her time and told her I would be back.
Spello, considered the “jewel of Umbria,’’ cast its spell over me this summer when I rented a villa with some friends in the cool, bug-free mountains above the city, which is more like a town, since there are only 8,700 or so inhabitants. Spello is the sort of spot you always hope to find in your travels, a place that appreciates visitors but exists more for the locals. Instead of Prada bags and Maseratis, you find cloth satchels and walking sticks, along with flower-filled walkways, stone houses, and narrow, winding cobbled streets, which snake throughout the ancient part of the city.
