San Gregorio - Solfagnano - Umbria

It is said that Umbria is the centre of the world, Foligno is the centre of Umbria, and, in a certain bar in Foligno, there’s a billiard table which is the very epicentre of it all. Of course this is romantic nonsense, so why mention it? To introduce San Gregorio, which is nowhere near Foligno, but it does have a pristine, full sized Italian billiard table for your enjoyment!

A tarmac lane, lined with ancient umbrella pines, takes you to this quiet country house 15 km north of Perugia and only a few kilometres from the main road. The original roof beams overhead and the authentic doors and windows, with ingenious old catches, discreetly make the point that this house is the genuine article. There are cool terracotta tiles underfoot as you step out of bed or wander into the big farmhouse kitchen for a reviving espresso.

You enter the ground floor of the house by either the huge sitting room, with lots of inviting sofas and that billiard table, or via a well-equipped kitchen. This opens conveniently onto a splendid shady dining terrace: one of a plethora of pleasant outdoor sitting areas. There’s also a handsome double bedroom, with views across to hilltop Civitella, and a bathroom on this floor too. Outside, brick steps lead to an airy loggia on the first floor with chairs and coffee table. From here, you enter the original farmhouse kitchen with its old dining table, open fireplace and authentic atmosphere of times past (plus all the modern cook could wish for of course!). The pretty first floor sitting room has glorious views from its deep windows. Both handsomely decorated bedrooms on this floor have stylish en suite bathrooms.

A vineyard and olive trees cover much of the 2½ acre grounds, while around the house there’s a well-established garden. There’s a lovely arched barn for shady parking and even a fridge by the pool to ensure well chilled bubbly is always to hand.