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Ancient Umbrian towns are located east of the river Tiber running along the middle
of the Umbria region.
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Back in 2009, I had the pleasure of meeting a respected Italian history professor who got interested in what I was doing for Cama. He had arts & cooking talents, he was in love with life. He soon became a source of valuable information for me.
This professor knew everything about our ancient civilizations in Italy. We ended up spending much time together wandering around Umbria.
That's how I had the opportunity of finding out more about my Italian origins. And that's when I really understood that I am Umbrian by birth and speak Etruscan by heritage.
I got really interested in knowing more about the Umbrians.
I feel partial towards ancient Umbrians because I have always been attracted by the people who live east of the river Tiber. I love their dialects and that's something making the difference to me. Unfortunately, I speak a dialect that comes from the Etruscan heritage despite my growing up east of the Tiber. We cut words and it goes under the name of 'syncopal dialect'.
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| View on famous St. Angel castle and bridge over the river Tiber in Rome |
On the contrary, Italians who live in ancient Umbrian towns have a much sweeter and warmer accent. That's what makes me feel close to them: sweetness & warmth!
Literature narrates that the Umbrians were the oldest population in Italy. They were originally from the 2nd millennium B.C. and they were famous for being non-belligerent. Umbrians arrived in middle Italy from central-east Europe (the territory that goes from Poland to the Balkans). Their land expanded from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic sea and down from the Po valley to the upper part of the Lazio region.
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| Cypress trees are a symbol of the Etruscan supremacy |
Around 1200 B.C. the Etruscans arrived in our land and conquered little by little three hundred Umbrian sites. They settled down west of the Tiber. Etruscans were originally from Lydia in Asia Minor (Turkey). They migrated to the Italian peninsula as a result of a famine. Further invasions to central Italy followed in Roman times.
Nowadays the surviving Umbrian towns can be found east of the river Tiber, a historical Umbrian territory. Towns such as: Gubbio, Gualdo Tadino, Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Todi, Trevi, Spoleto and Norcia all have Umbrian origins.
Last but not least I am learning now how to determine a river's right and left bank. You have to face downstream. The river Tiber rises on Monte Fumaiolo in the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano, so we look towards southern Italy. And the surprise is that ancient Umbrian towns east of the Tiber are located on the RIVE GAUCHE!
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FRIENDS OF CAMA
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