This is an unusual and very lovely villa on the doorstep of fairytale Todi and just a little over an hour’s drive from Rome airport. This villa has been cleverly designed to satisfy the needs of both medium and larger groups.

The ground floor of the villa sleeps up to 8 in stylish comfort as you can see from our photos. Should your group be larger than 8, there are three more handsome bedrooms and three more bathrooms upstairs. In effect, the villa can sleep up to 14 - on special request. Naturally, the extra 3 bedrooms (together with a pretty upstairs sitting room and a small kitchen) are only available to groups booking the main ground floor part of the villa. If you are interested in renting both floors of Villa Gelsomini, just let us know. Summer’s Leases offers seriously enjoyable, worry-free holidays, so we guarantee you exclusive use of the villa with absolutely no uninvited visitors living upstairs!

Villa Gelsomini is a little over 100 years old, set in a garden of mature olive trees. The villa has recently been refurbished in superlative good taste. We are offering the ground floor of the villa in the photos above. You’ll see there’s even a little suite at one end of the ground floor which makes the perfect getaway for grandparents, or perhaps the children’s nanny, who want to be with the family but also need a quiet space just to themselves occasionally. The first floor is simply an optional extra to allow for larger groups.

The owner has spared no expense in restoring and furnishing this delicious holiday spot situated in the tiny hamlet of Fiore, 7 km from Todi. After a heavy day sightseeing or soaking up the fabulous view by the pool, you may decide to stroll just 50 metres down the road from Villa Gelsomini to eat out at the pleasant trattoria “La Rosa dei Venti” if Giselda isn’t cooking for you. Didn’t I mention Giselda??? Well, she’s a wonderful asset to the house! Giselda not only maintains the house in good order - she calls two mornings a week (included in our price of course) to clean - she’s also an outstanding cook. You can book her to prepare authentic Umbrian dinners for any night of your stay - except Saturdays when she’s busy preparing the house for arrivals and just can’t stretch to cooking too. If you want to sample her home-grown, home-cooked food, nothing could be simpler. At 25 euro per person with wine included, you can afford to treat yourselves to a very special Villa Gelsomini holiday experience. Giselda transforms her ingredients, fresh and pure from her farm, into meals that positively zing with flavour!

There are endless wonderful sights to be seen from your villa. Orvieto, with its cathedral as fancy as a tiered wedding cake, its fascinating Etruscan museum, glorious art and local cantinas offering some of Umbria’s best wines is a must. Perugia is Umbria’s capital city and bursts with fine art, enticing shops and handsomely sophisticated bars. Both Orvieto and Perugia are within an hour’s drive. Assisi (twinned with Jerusalem) is only a bit further away and is an absolute must for your sightseeing list! Saint Francis rests in the beautiful cathedral of this important hill town. Pilgrims from the entire world drop by to pray for peace in this imposing, but nevertheless homely place. The splendid frescoes of Giotto and the three dimensional marquetry on the choir stalls are well worth seeing for those who have no wish to pray but who will still enjoy marveling at the soaring arches and cerulian blue ceilings decorated with golden stars. The southern Umbrian towns of Spoleto, Norcia (Umbria’s “truffle capital”) and Amelia and Narni all make happy, easy day trips too.

In short, Villa Gelsomini is the perfect spot to chill out in beautiful surroundings - and it’s also the perfect base to explore Umbria, land of mystic saints, thriving medieval hill towns, glorious wines, stunning art and warmly welcoming Italian charm. Villa Gelsomini is the real McCoy for those looking for an authentic holiday experience!