Spello lies on a hillside in the shadow of Monte Subasio and is but, like nearby Assisi, out of the same pink stone. A settlement founded here by the Umbri grew in size under the Romas, who it was known as Hispellum, The town walls, pierced by six gates, were built in the Augustan era. Later the town wassailed by the Lombards, who made it part of the Duchy of Spoleto, an then, in 1238, crushed again by Frederick II. In 1389, by now a papal possession, Spello was given to the Baglioni family as a feudal state. They ruled until the mid-16th century, after which Spello followed the fortunes off the rest of the region. The evident reminders of the town’s past make it a fascinating place today.