Umbria farmstay accommodation, Italy
| country: | Italy |
| location: | Carpina Valley, Umbria |
| price: | From £44 - £51 per room per night. From £48 - £56 per room per night including breakfast. (sleeps 2-10) |
read 1 travellers review
description
An organic teaching farm inside the Pietralunga Forest.
This farmstay, in the Carpina Valley, is in a remote natural area in Upper Umbria, not far from Gubbio and Città di Castello.
Guests accommodation comprises a total of 3 houses.
The Oak is a recently restored XIV century farmhouse, once believed to have been a monastery. It has 6 rooms and 2 suites each named after a local tree. With its bio-bar and veranda, its small acorn-shape swimming pool and its barbecue area, it is the ideal place for relaxing holidays in nature.
The Marble Gall is an typical old Umbrian farmhouse, with 9 rooms, each named after a local shrub. With its riding-ground, its small football field and 2 open-air workshops (the aimals garden and the wizard’s garden) it is the ideal place for active holidays in nature.
The Old Barn is a typical red brick house. In the old days the perforated bricks let the air circulate for keeping the hay. Today, they contain two small apartments, surrounded by a little garden, under the shadow of an old maple. The ideal place for a self-run holiday in nature.
Each season, in the two small farm restaurants, Silvana serves organic dishes prepared according to the traditional local recipies, while Gino guides the guests along the farm paths for nature walks and leaf peeping (admiring the varied colours of leaves).
This farmstay, in the Carpina Valley, is in a remote natural area in Upper Umbria, not far from Gubbio and Città di Castello.
Guests accommodation comprises a total of 3 houses.
The Oak is a recently restored XIV century farmhouse, once believed to have been a monastery. It has 6 rooms and 2 suites each named after a local tree. With its bio-bar and veranda, its small acorn-shape swimming pool and its barbecue area, it is the ideal place for relaxing holidays in nature.
The Marble Gall is an typical old Umbrian farmhouse, with 9 rooms, each named after a local shrub. With its riding-ground, its small football field and 2 open-air workshops (the aimals garden and the wizard’s garden) it is the ideal place for active holidays in nature.
The Old Barn is a typical red brick house. In the old days the perforated bricks let the air circulate for keeping the hay. Today, they contain two small apartments, surrounded by a little garden, under the shadow of an old maple. The ideal place for a self-run holiday in nature.
Each season, in the two small farm restaurants, Silvana serves organic dishes prepared according to the traditional local recipies, while Gino guides the guests along the farm paths for nature walks and leaf peeping (admiring the varied colours of leaves).
travellers' tales
It was great to meet people from other parts of Italy as well as other countries, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, whilst enjoying excellent home cooking. (more)
rooms, food and facilities
The Oak: 6 rooms and 2 suites (with open fireplace), with private bathroom, central heating and a panoramic view. Downstairs there is a farm-restaurant and a clubhouse with TV and music saloons, reading saloon with a small library, organic bar with veranda and internet point. Laundry facilities are also available. Close to the Oak, the sunny acorn-shape swimming pool is composed of a larger basin for adults (10m long) and a smaller, shallower round one for children. There is also an organic restaurant which services typical local food.
The Marble Gall: 9 rooms with private bathroom, central heating, and energy-saving lamps. The clubhouse is well equipped including an internet point. Downstairs the farm restaurant and the farm shop offer the organic products prepared in the kitchens behind including jams, liqueurs and precious truffles. Close to The Marble Gall, the horse-riding centre where the guests can attend a short breefing in the riding-ground and then take an unforgettable excursions.
The Old Barn: 2 small apartments with bathroom, dining area and cooking-spot. Close to the Old Barn a barbecue area and the bowshooting field with mobile and pointing targets.Family & pet friendly: This farmstay is family friendly with a range of activities for children including horseback riding, a baby pool, a baby park, the football ground and a childrens menu at the restaurant. 4 legs friends are always welcome on the farm. They can sleep in the rooms, they can stay in the restaurant or they can go outside and run.
Cycling friendly: There are many mountain-bike trails in the area and maps are available of the routes. Bikes are available to rent and can be booked directly with us.
Walking friendly: There are many unforgettable nature walks, under the banner of leaf peeping, along the marked paths in the Regional Forest. These can be done with the help of a map, or, better, with an expert local guide.
how to find us
By air: The nearest airport is in Perugia, S. Egidio airport which is 60 km away.
By train: The nearerst station is Fossato di Vico, near Gubbio (on the railway between Rome and Ancona) which is 40 km away.
By road: Go along the superstrada E45 (connecting Bologna to Rome), leave at Montone exit; drive along the S.P. 201 to Pietralunga (18 km).
how this holiday makes a difference
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We work in partnership with the local community by setting up a cooperative for environmental education activities, to educate the community about the need for conservation and the benefits of preserving the local habitat. We have set up a group for responsible tourism in the Carpina Valley, encouraging guests to visit local communities and get involved and encouraging guests to visit and use local facilities and attractions. We have also transformed our organic farm in a teaching farm.
In our farm the 75 acres of crops are grown according to organic farming methods. The wood management (50 acres forest trees and 90 acres coppices) is based on natural forestry and the domestic animals stay wild for several months. In our business we use energy saving measures such as insulating houses and using high efficiency rating fridges and freezers, long-life/low-energy bulbs and small kettles to decrease water and power useage. We conserve water by using low flush toilets and low flow taps and low pressure showers. We ask guests to reuse towels and sheets more than once. We also recycle glass, metal, paper and plastic. We feed food scraps to our animals (chickens, pigs, goats, sheep and horses) and we compost our organic waste on a compost heap. We use the internet to cut down on paper-based advertising and we print leaflets and brochures on recycled paper. We used traditional building methods with locally available materials and local craftsmen/builders. We grow our own fruit and veg (and animals) and the food we don't produce we buy organic, as well as, locally and seasonally available produce. We've purchased locally produced wooden furniture (such as beds and wardrobes for the rooms, tables and chairs for the rooms and the restaurant), iron-crafts and ceramics (for the clubhouses). We employ only local people which is 1 man for the farm, 2 ladies as waitress and chambermaid. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |