General Information:
Less than 1 1/2 hours from Ancona airport, 2 from Florence airport, or 2 1/2 hours from Rome, 'La Capriola' is ideally situated for visiting the medieval hill towns of Assisi, Gubbio and Perugia, while Florence and Siena make day trips. Go walking in nearby Monte Subasio Nature Park, try the excellent local restaurants, or laze in La Capriola's secluded garden. There are panoramic views from the upstairs living and dining rooms; the bedrooms benefit from the cool of the ground floor. Signora Gina, who looks after the house in our absence and generally sees to the cleaning and laundry, lives at the farm up the lane and can sell you fresh eggs or seasonal vegetables (though she speaks no English, so here's a chance to practice your night-school Italian!) but she'll never intrude.
The House:
The upstairs living and dining rooms have splendid high sloping ceilings with exposed chestnut beams and enjoy panoramic views over hillsides of pasture, woodland and olives. In the evenings you can relax on leather sofas, or enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner beneath overhead candelabras. Also upstairs, the oak fitted kitchen is roomy and well-equipped, while a separate utility room has a washing machine and sink. The upstairs shower room is complemented by a downstairs bathroom, both decorated with hand-painted tiles. The three ground floor bedrooms are comfy and cool and each comes equipped with a fan; duvets, bed linen and towels are supplied. (If requested at the time of booking, a child's cot and high chair can be provided at no extra charge.) All the rooms have pull-down insect screens and internal as well as external shutters on the windows. As non-smokers ourselves (one of the owners is an opera singer!) we would ask you please not to smoke in the house.
The Garden:
The garden is simple: grass with trees and shrubs, and a spacious terrace for dining outdoors. Tables and chairs, sun umbrellas, loungers and a rudimentary barbecue set are provided. The house enjoys a secluded position on an unmade (or 'white') road, about 1.5 kms from the main road at San Presto, so it is very quiet. Few cars will pass by (more than half-a-dozen counts as a busy day!) and you will not be overlooked by anyone.
Other Activities:
visiting artistic/ historic/ pilgrimage sites
