Do you have villas in Umbria?

No. Our houses are Tuscan; the closest to the border are the Castiglion del Bosco estate villas in the Val d'Orcia, from which Umbria's border towns are about an hour away.

Which Umbrian town is best from a Tuscan villa?

Città della Pieve for nearness and quiet, Orvieto for the cathedral and the wine. Assisi is the furthest and the most affecting.

Is Umbria worth it on a one-week stay?

One Umbrian day fits comfortably into a Val d'Orcia week. With two weeks, or a party of art lovers, two or three days over the border are easily justified.

Can you arrange the days over the border?

Yes: drivers, early starts for Orvieto, table bookings and the Trasimeno ferry timings are all things we set up routinely.

Exclusive Tuscany

Est. MMXXV

TuscanySub-region

Umbria, Tuscany.

Italy's green heart, directly east of Tuscany — the same hill towns and cuisine, with far fewer crowds.

On Umbria

Umbria,
from Smaranda.

Umbria is not Tuscany, and it does not want to be: the green, land-locked neighbour over the southern border, quieter and less visited, with hill towns that would be headline acts anywhere else in Italy. For a villa week based in the south of our collection, Umbria is the second country of the trip, close enough that the border is a line you cross for lunch.

We keep no houses in Umbria itself. What we offer instead is honest proximity: from the Castiglion del Bosco estate in the Val d'Orcia, the border country around Città della Pieve is about an hour's drive, Lake Trasimeno a little over, Orvieto a long but worthwhile morning. Guests who want Umbria at the centre of the week rather than its edge should tell us; for everyone else, one or two Umbrian days deepen a Tuscan week considerably.

The Umbrian Days That Work from a Tuscan Base

Three day trips earn their drive. Orvieto, for the cathedral facade and the white wine, pairs the most dramatic hill-town site in central Italy with an easy, flat old town once the funicular has lifted you up. Città della Pieve, Perugino's home town, is the closest and quietest, all rose-pink brick and almost no tourists. And Lake Trasimeno gives a swimming-and-fish-lunch day when the inland heat peaks, with Isola Maggiore reached by a short ferry from Tuoro or Passignano.

When to come

May, June, September and October, the same shoulder logic as the Val d'Orcia. Umbrian hill towns hold their own in high summer better than crowded Tuscany, which makes July and August day trips surprisingly pleasant.

Towns worth knowing

Orvieto: The greatest Gothic facade in Italy; go early, lunch on Orvieto Classico.
Città della Pieve: Perugino's home town, an hour from the Val d'Orcia houses and blissfully unvisited.
Assisi: Giotto's Basilica of San Francesco; further, but the one pilgrimage that repays the drive.
Passignano sul Trasimeno: Lakeside base for the Trasimeno swimming-and-ferry day.

Best for

A second-country day or two inside a Tuscan week
Hill towns without Tuscany's crowds
Giotto, Perugino and Signorelli beyond the Uffizi canon
A lake day when the inland heat peaks

Practicalities

From the Val d'Orcia houses, count about an hour to Città della Pieve, a little more to Trasimeno, and around ninety minutes to Orvieto or Assisi. Umbrian roads are good and empty by Tuscan standards.

Frequently asked

Do you have villas in Umbria?: No. Our houses are Tuscan; the closest to the border are the Castiglion del Bosco estate villas in the Val d'Orcia, from which Umbria's border towns are about an hour away.
Which Umbrian town is best from a Tuscan villa?: Città della Pieve for nearness and quiet, Orvieto for the cathedral and the wine. Assisi is the furthest and the most affecting.
Is Umbria worth it on a one-week stay?: One Umbrian day fits comfortably into a Val d'Orcia week. With two weeks, or a party of art lovers, two or three days over the border are easily justified.
Can you arrange the days over the border?: Yes: drivers, early starts for Orvieto, table bookings and the Trasimeno ferry timings are all things we set up routinely.