Umbria — The Green Heart of Italy

Umbria is the Italy you discover when you slow down. Rolling hills, olive groves, vineyards, medieval hill towns and wonderful little restaurants make it feel worlds away from the crowds, yet Tuscany is just next door. Spend your days exploring places like Assisi and Perugia, learning to cook, tasting local wine and olive oil—or simply sitting outside with a glass of wine watching the countryside change with the light.

This is Italy without the rush—and that's exactly why I love it.

(Your) Private Umbrian Villa | Between Umbria & Tuscany

The Kind of Place That Makes Everyone Want to Come to Dinner

There are villas where you drop your bags and immediately start planning everything you're going to do away from the house.

This isn't one of them.

Hidden in the hills near the border of Umbria and Tuscany, this wonderfully private farmhouse sleeps up to 12 guests and feels as though it was made for families who actually want to spend time together.

You reach it along a country road through the woods. Then the gates open, the landscape appears, and suddenly you're looking across those rolling Italian hills we've all seen in photographs.

Except now, for a little while, they're yours.

This Is Why I Love Villa Travel

There's room here for everyone to do their own thing without everyone having to go their separate ways.

Someone can be reading under the portico.

The children can be playing.

Someone else is already thinking about what's for dinner.

And I suspect at least one person will have claimed a chair beside the 17-meter infinity pool and have absolutely no intention of moving.

Then eventually everyone comes back together.

That's the part I love.

And Wait Until You See the Kitchen

If your group includes someone who loves to cook, you may have trouble getting them out of here.

This is a real cook's kitchen, with plenty of workspace, two ovens, a large refrigerator and enough room to actually enjoy preparing a meal rather than simply heating something up.

And outside?

There's a dining area for 12 with a pizza oven and barbecue.

This is Italy. I don't need much more convincing than that.

Imagine a trip to the local market in the morning, bringing everything home, opening the wine and making dinner together while the children play and someone attempts the first pizza.

It may not be the perfectly shaped one.

It will probably be the one everyone remembers.

A Villa Where Children Are Actually Welcome

One thing I particularly like about this property is that it's genuinely designed with families in mind—not simply described as “family friendly” because children are allowed to stay there.

The long infinity pool has a separate shallow area for younger children.

There's a separate playhouse just a few steps from the villa, along with toys, books, games and other things to keep younger travelers entertained.

That makes this especially appealing for a multi-generational trip.

Grandparents can come. Children can come. Everyone gets to experience Italy together.

And no one has to spend the entire vacation whispering, “Don't touch that.”

Six Bedrooms — And Space to Spread Out

The villa has six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, arranged across several levels of the house.

That's worth noting because this is an old Italian farmhouse, not a modern single-level resort residence. There are corridors, different levels and steps connecting various areas.

For many families, that's simply part of the character.

If someone in your group has mobility concerns, though, it's something I'd want to discuss before deciding this is your villa.

The goal isn't just to find a beautiful house.

It's to find one that works for everyone who's coming.

The Best Room May Be Outside

As lovely as the house is, I think much of your vacation will happen outdoors.

There are two hectares of grounds, partially fenced, with several places to gather.

One covered portico becomes an outdoor living room with wonderful countryside views.

Another is made for dining, with seating for the entire group, the pizza oven and barbecue.

And then, of course, there's that pool.

Morning coffee outside.

Long lunches.

Someone falling asleep with a book.  (I have the names of some really good ones - Meet Me In Italy by Brenda  Novak is one!)

Children in the pool.

Wine before dinner.

Dinner lasting considerably longer than anyone planned.

That's my idea of an Italian villa vacation.

Umbria or Tuscany? Why Choose?

Another reason I like this location is that you're sitting near the border between Umbria and Tuscany.

Cortona is about 30 minutes away, and the tiny ancient village of Preggio—with a couple of restaurants and a small grocery shop—is only about five minutes away.

From here you can explore some wonderful parts of central Italy, including Cortona, Arezzo, Gubbio, Assisi and Perugia. Siena is possible for a longer day out.

And within about 15 minutes you'll find local restaurants and trattorie serving the kind of Umbrian and Tuscan food that may make everyone rethink the cooking plans back at the villa.

Golfers aren't forgotten either: Antognolla Golf is approximately 30 minutes away.

But here's the thing.

You don't have to turn this into a race to see everything.

Pick a town.

Have lunch.

Wander.

Come home.

You're staying in Umbria. Give yourself permission to slow down.

Who I'd Choose This Villa For

This one immediately makes me think of a multi-generational family vacation.

Grandparents.

Adult children.

Grandchildren.

Or perhaps several families traveling together.

I'd also consider it for a group of friends who love food, wine, golf and the Italian countryside and want a home base for exploring Umbria and Tuscany.

It sleeps 12, but more importantly, it has places where 12 people can actually be together.

That's a distinction I pay attention to when I'm looking at villas.

Could This Be Your Family's Italy?

You don't need to begin by choosing a house.

Start with the people.

Who's coming? What ages are the children? Is anyone celebrating something? Do you want to explore every day—or would everyone be perfectly happy spending Tuesday by the pool making pizza?

Those answers tell me far more than a bedroom count ever could.

Then we'll find your place.

REQUEST CONSIDERATION

Travel with Pat | LadyBug Destinations
Cruises • Villas • Resorts

Did you know?  Together Is a Destination.

Leccino for Umbria living - for 5* olive oil, vineyards and villa stays by the pool

Sleeps 2  230 E per night 

Fontanaro Organic Olive Oil Estate | A Very Special Corner of Umbria

This One Is Personal  (I've known about these for 30 years)

Every once in a while, I get to recommend a place that isn't simply somewhere I know about.

It's somewhere—and people—I know.

Fontanaro is owned by friends of mine in Umbria, and that changes how I tell you about it.

I know the countryside. I know the olive groves. I know how easy it is to settle into the rhythm of this part of Italy and suddenly realize that the days don't need nearly as much planning as you thought they did.

This is the Italy I love.

Welcome to the Green Heart of Italy

Fontanaro began as a stone farmhouse built in 1893.

Today, the beautifully restored estate sits among 40 acres of Umbrian countryside, surrounded by approximately 3,000 olive trees, a vineyard and those rolling green hills that seem to go on forever.

The estate produces its own organic extra virgin olive oil, so the olive trees aren't landscaping.

They're part of life here.

And that's one of the things that makes Fontanaro different.

You're not staying somewhere that was designed to look Italian.

You're staying somewhere that is.

Two Little Homes in the Countryside

The original two-story farmhouse has been restored into two separate, independent one-bedroom accommodations: Leccino and Frantoio.

Each gives you your own place to settle in, with a fully equipped kitchen and the modern comforts you want—air conditioning, high-speed Wi-Fi, laundry facilities and the conveniences that make a longer stay easy.

But I don't think you'll come home talking about the television or the dishwasher.

You'll remember opening the door in the morning.

The hills.

The olive trees.

The changing light.

And those Umbrian sunsets that somehow make you understand why painters have been trying to capture this landscape for centuries.

Come Hungry

If there's one thing I would tell you before going to Fontanaro, it's this:

Don't schedule every meal somewhere else.

Food is part of the experience here.

You can join one of Fontanaro's cooking classes and spend time in the kitchen learning traditional Italian dishes with local experts. For someone who wants to go deeper, a culinary holiday can turn food into one of the main reasons for coming.

And, of course, there's the estate's own organic extra virgin olive oil.

This isn't simply a bottle of olive oil waiting on the counter.

There's a story behind it—the land, the grove, the harvest and the people who produce it.

That's the sort of thing I love about traveling this way.

Your First Taste of Umbria Is Waiting for You

I particularly love the welcome at Fontanaro.

When you arrive, you'll find a basket with a selection of Fontanaro's organic products and local provisions—things such as milk, coffee, eggs, wine, honey and the estate's own EVOO.

It's a small detail, but it's exactly the kind I appreciate.

After traveling all day, you don't immediately have to figure out where to buy coffee for tomorrow morning.

You can simply arrive.

Cook—or Don't

Your accommodation is self-catering, and the kitchens are properly equipped if you want to cook.

But this is vacation.

If nobody feels like cooking, the concierge can help arrange prepared meals from local restaurants.

And that's how I think a stay like this should work.

Cook because you want to.

Take a cooking class because it sounds fun.

Go into town for dinner.

Or have something brought back and eat at home with a bottle of wine.

There are no points awarded for making vacation complicated.

Umbria Beyond the Estate

Fontanaro makes a wonderful base for discovering a quieter side of central Italy.

The concierge can help arrange wine experiences, cultural excursions and other ways to explore the region, so you can venture out without feeling as though you need to plan every detail yourself.

And then you come home to the olive grove.

That's an important part of the appeal for me.

See something wonderful during the day.

Then return somewhere that feels peaceful enough that coming home is part of the vacation.

Or Don't Go Anywhere Today

Not every day in Italy needs an itinerary.

Fontanaro can arrange massage treatments, manicures and pedicures, and yoga can be arranged in the gardens.

Or you could do something even more radical:

Nothing.

Read.

Walk among the olive trees.

Open the wine.

Sit outside.

Watch the light change across the hills.

Some of my favorite memories of Italy have absolutely nothing to do with checking another monument off a list.

Who I'd Send to Fontanaro

This is one I'd choose for someone who tells me:

“I don't just want to see Italy. I want to feel like I'm living there for a little while.”

It's wonderful for couples, food and wine lovers, repeat visitors to Italy, and travelers who have already seen some of the famous sights and are ready to slow down.

It's also the kind of place I'd consider combining with a busier part of an Italian itinerary.

Do Rome. (By train from Florence about 1.5 hours)

See Florence.  ((train from Paciano or drive – about 45 minutes)

Explore Tuscany.

Then give yourself a few days when the biggest decision of the afternoon is whether you're going to a winery—

or staying home with the olive trees.

Why Fontanaro Is Different for Me

There are thousands of places I can show you in Italy.

Fontanaro is one I can tell you about personally.

The owners are friends of mine, and this is a part of Italy I know and care about. That doesn't mean it's right for everyone.

But when it's right for someone, I know exactly why I'm recommending it.

It's not because a booking engine gave it five stars.

It's because there are some places where the land, food, people and pace of life come together and remind you why you traveled all this way in the first place.

Fontanaro is that kind of Umbria.

Ready to Slow Down in Italy?

Tell me what you want your Italy to feel like.

Not simply how many cities you want to see.

If you're dreaming of olive groves, cooking, wine, little villages, long meals and enough time to actually enjoy where you are, we should talk. Tell me how you're traveling, and I'll help you find the right fit.

REQUEST CONSIDERATION

Travel with Pat | LadyBug Destinations
Cruises • Villas • Resorts

Sometimes the best part of Italy isn't what you went to see.
It's where you stayed long enough to belong.

Plus, ask about Frantoio and Moraiolo or Tartagli Villa, Fontegarasole, Fonte Cicerium, or Fonte Della Pace. PDF's are available for those as well.