With the heady fragrance of fresh truffle wafting from the kitchen, my mouth waters as I await the plate of handmade tagliolini pasta that will soon be coming my way, while sunlight filters onto the patio. It’s easy to think that this is the perfect Italian hill town. But then, there are so many to choose from.

I’m in Umbria, the region that lies between Rome and Florence at Italy’s geographic center, and this is my third hill town today. The problem with Umbria isn’t that gems are hard to find. It’s that there are too many. The region has a seemingly endless supply of utterly charming towns and picture-postcard landscapes.