Umbria is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. The region covers 8,456 km² and has a population of 834,000 (2003 census).

The region is named for the Umbri tribe, who settled in the region in the 6th century BC. Their language was Umbrian, a relative of Latin. The modern region of Umbria, however, is essentially a different region of Italy than that bearing the same name in Roman times (see Roman Umbria), which extended through most of what is now the northern Marche, to Ravenna, but excluded the west bank of the Tiber — and thus for example Perugia — which was in Etruria, and the area around Norcia, which was in the Sabine territory.

Geography

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Umbria is mostly hilly or mountainous. Its relief is dominated by the Apennines to the east — accounting for the highest point in the region at the summit of Mt. Vettore on the border of the Marche (2476 m =  8123 ft) — and the Tiber valley basin, accounting for the lowest point at Attigliano (96 m = 315 ft).

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