Without name
I Ruderi
(x 2 people)
Sleeps 2 | Bedrooms 1 | Bathrooms 1 | South of Orvieto, Umbria
Independent villa | Private pool | Air conditioning | Maid included |
Overview
Perched at the edge of a perfectly preserved and impossibly picturesque medieval village, I Ruderi is an exquisite aerie with breathtaking views of steep hills and limestone cliffs. The tall, narrow stone house is decorated with a great deal of charm and taste and retains several unusual features from the village's Etruscan origins, including a wine cellar grotto carved right into the hillside. The modern kitchen is cleverly designed to blend in with the decor, air-conditioned living room and bedrooms and equally modern bathrooms are fitted to the standards of a luxury hotel. A staircase leads from a balcony down to a grassed pool terrace surrounded by ancient olive trees. There are simple shops within walking distance of the house, excellent restaurants close at hand and some of the prettiest villages and most interesting towns of Umbria, Lazio and southern Tuscany within a short drive.
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Civitella d'Agliano is one of central Italy’s best-kept secrets. Founded 3,000 years ago by the Etruscans, it was occupied by the Romans and altered in the Middle Ages -but virtually nothing has happened there since, beyond the construction of a small cluster of ‘modern’ shops and restaurants, and a pink town hall, on its outskirts. The old village is a maze of cobbled alleyways and steps huddled at the edge of a steep bluff; it overlooks the valley of the Tiber River which is entirely agricultural in this area and dotted with the limestone cliffs known as ‘calanche.’ No cars are permitted within the village but all the essentials are within walking distance: a wonderful restaurant and inn, the Tana de l’Istrice, owned by the local wine baron, lies two minutes’ walk away in the main square, with several small shops - a grocer’s, a butcher, a pharmacy, a post office and a pharmacy, as well as a handful of simple but good restaurants - just beyond. Winding roads lead from the village to key sights in both Lazio and Umbria within 30 minutes’ drive or less: the gardens of the Villa Lante, the ‘Monsters’ Park’ at Bomarzo and picture-perfect Lake Bolsena in the former, and Orvieto with its gorgeous cathedral and vineyards in the latter.
