VILLA DI MONTE SOLARE
Good living and wellbeing in the Umbrian hills
HIGH IN THE UMBRIAN HILLS, Villa di Monte Solare is one of those rare finds that combines peace and serenity with terrific views. Spread over an estate of 80 hectares, this rich country property is bursting with comfort, character and history.
Dating back to 1780, the Villa itself is rich in original features such as fireplaces, frescoes and terracotta floors. Then there is the Limonaia (an old Umbrian lemon store), whose rooms all enjoy a terrace; Casa dei Gelsi, with its five spacious suites; and the Mulberry House, which even has its own swimming pool.
Classic bedrooms in Villa di Monte Solare have antique beds, original tiled floors and wooden shutters you can fling open for views of tree-covered Monte Solare. With no room numbers, it feels very much like staying in a rich uncle's hilltop mansion. Rooms in the Limonaia are more spacious and contemporary, with a wide terrace and briiliant valley views. We awoke to the crisp, clean colours of early morning and the valley below wreathed in strands of mist.
Hit the Spot
On a hillside high above Umbria's Lake Trasimeno.
Bedtime
Rooms in the villa have antique wooden beds and shutters.
Be Savvy
Bathrooms have sensor-driven lights – just in case you're planning on a long soak.
Be Smitten
Charm and serenity in hillside Umbria.
Rare wine vintages
Add to this a restaurant serving traditional Umbrian/Tuscan cuisine – chef concocts a different four-course menu each day – and a cellar stocked with over 400 Umbrian wines, including many rare vintages, and you have just the place for an indulgent away-from-it-all break. The little bar is just the place for a chilled aperitivo.
You can work off your excesses on the tennis court, in the pool or in Villa di Monte Solare's immaculate and intimate spa, with its menu of over 100 feel-good treatments. There's an old stone chapel with frescoed ceilings in the grounds (a dreamy spot to get hitched) and classical concerts are held here weekly in the summer. Formal gardens lead to the pool terrace, with cliff-edge vistas of rolling Umbrian hills.
Walk up the hill, and you have great views over Lake Trasimeno. And if you must get away, some of Umbria’s finest old towns are on your doorstep.
Villa di Monte Solare was reviewed for Room for Romance by Claudia Vicenzi
Dating back to 1780, the Villa itself is rich in original features such as fireplaces, frescoes and terracotta floors. Then there is the Limonaia (an old Umbrian lemon store), whose rooms all enjoy a terrace; Casa dei Gelsi, with its five spacious suites; and the Mulberry House, which even has its own swimming pool.
Classic bedrooms in Villa di Monte Solare have antique beds, original tiled floors and wooden shutters you can fling open for views of tree-covered Monte Solare. With no room numbers, it feels very much like staying in a rich uncle's hilltop mansion. Rooms in the Limonaia are more spacious and contemporary, with a wide terrace and briiliant valley views. We awoke to the crisp, clean colours of early morning and the valley below wreathed in strands of mist.
Hit the Spot
On a hillside high above Umbria's Lake Trasimeno.
Bedtime
Rooms in the villa have antique wooden beds and shutters.
Be Savvy
Bathrooms have sensor-driven lights – just in case you're planning on a long soak.
Be Smitten
Charm and serenity in hillside Umbria.
Rare wine vintages
Add to this a restaurant serving traditional Umbrian/Tuscan cuisine – chef concocts a different four-course menu each day – and a cellar stocked with over 400 Umbrian wines, including many rare vintages, and you have just the place for an indulgent away-from-it-all break. The little bar is just the place for a chilled aperitivo.
You can work off your excesses on the tennis court, in the pool or in Villa di Monte Solare's immaculate and intimate spa, with its menu of over 100 feel-good treatments. There's an old stone chapel with frescoed ceilings in the grounds (a dreamy spot to get hitched) and classical concerts are held here weekly in the summer. Formal gardens lead to the pool terrace, with cliff-edge vistas of rolling Umbrian hills.
Walk up the hill, and you have great views over Lake Trasimeno. And if you must get away, some of Umbria’s finest old towns are on your doorstep.
Villa di Monte Solare was reviewed for Room for Romance by Claudia Vicenzi
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Dining in
Chef Nicola Fanfano prepares flavoursome Trasimeno cuisine and traditional Tuscan-Umbrian dishes using local organic and seasonal ingredients. A different four-course dinner is prepared each night, and (if you must) there's an option to order calorie-controlled dishes for which the damage is no more than 1001 cals including a glass of vino. Talking of wine, there's an outstanding cellar here stocking more than 400 wines from Umbria alone. Some are from small and skilled artisanal producers, and the owners themselves personally evaluate each one.
Dine fireside in the cosy dining room in winter, its walls covered in old hunting frescoes. There's also a pocket-size bar where you can sip an aperitivo or some chilled spumante.
Dining out
You'll want to eat around the shores on Lake Trasimeno, and Ristorante Da Massimo in San Savino should fit the bill nicely. Menus feature daily lake specialities.
Where?
Villa di Monte Solare
What's cooking?
Regional Trasimeno cuisine with plenty of lake-caught fish, game and truffles in season.
Dress the part
You're in gracious surroundings where you'll want to smarten up for dinner.
Top table?
By the fireside in winter, and the gardens in summer.
See & Do
Nearby Lake Trasimeno will be high on your list of places to explore. Start perhaps at Castiglione del Lago, with its waterside medieval fortress, then take a ride out to Isola Maggiore, one of the lake's three islands, from Passignan sul Trasimeno. Walks around the lakeshore are easily arranged (with a pick-up at the end of your hike to save any back-tracking) and there are plenty of places to stop for drinks and icecreams. You're also within easy reach of the city of Perugia, with its wonderful art collections, churches and old streets.
Shop
Arrive during October's chocolate festival and you'll find wall-to-wall choccies on sale in Perugia, home of world-famous Baci chocolates. If savouries are more your style, pick up a slice of torta di formaggio (cheese bread) in one of the town's delis.
Spa
You'll love Le Muse, the hotel's intimate and immaculate spa, in the estate's former lemon house. Tall arched windows frame tracts of vineyards and olive groves with the Umbrian hills beyond, while chunky oak beams, mosaic-tiled walls and Miro prints all add to the pleasing surrounds. Have a hot stone massage (one of an array to choose from) a facial or body toning treatment, and melt in the heat of the sauna or Turkish bath. Various wellbeing packages are available.
After dark
You'll find some late-night bars in the nearby small town of Panicale – though a glass of vino on your terrace or balcony at the Villa will be just the ticket.
Dates
July
Umbria Jazz sees jazz, blues and other fusion genres performing both on the streets and at venues around Perugia,
October
Throw out the diet book – Eurochocolate is an absolute must for chocolate fanatics.
Chef Nicola Fanfano prepares flavoursome Trasimeno cuisine and traditional Tuscan-Umbrian dishes using local organic and seasonal ingredients. A different four-course dinner is prepared each night, and (if you must) there's an option to order calorie-controlled dishes for which the damage is no more than 1001 cals including a glass of vino. Talking of wine, there's an outstanding cellar here stocking more than 400 wines from Umbria alone. Some are from small and skilled artisanal producers, and the owners themselves personally evaluate each one.
Dine fireside in the cosy dining room in winter, its walls covered in old hunting frescoes. There's also a pocket-size bar where you can sip an aperitivo or some chilled spumante.
Dining out
You'll want to eat around the shores on Lake Trasimeno, and Ristorante Da Massimo in San Savino should fit the bill nicely. Menus feature daily lake specialities.
Where?
Villa di Monte Solare
What's cooking?
Regional Trasimeno cuisine with plenty of lake-caught fish, game and truffles in season.
Dress the part
You're in gracious surroundings where you'll want to smarten up for dinner.
Top table?
By the fireside in winter, and the gardens in summer.
See & Do
Nearby Lake Trasimeno will be high on your list of places to explore. Start perhaps at Castiglione del Lago, with its waterside medieval fortress, then take a ride out to Isola Maggiore, one of the lake's three islands, from Passignan sul Trasimeno. Walks around the lakeshore are easily arranged (with a pick-up at the end of your hike to save any back-tracking) and there are plenty of places to stop for drinks and icecreams. You're also within easy reach of the city of Perugia, with its wonderful art collections, churches and old streets.
Shop
Arrive during October's chocolate festival and you'll find wall-to-wall choccies on sale in Perugia, home of world-famous Baci chocolates. If savouries are more your style, pick up a slice of torta di formaggio (cheese bread) in one of the town's delis.
Spa
You'll love Le Muse, the hotel's intimate and immaculate spa, in the estate's former lemon house. Tall arched windows frame tracts of vineyards and olive groves with the Umbrian hills beyond, while chunky oak beams, mosaic-tiled walls and Miro prints all add to the pleasing surrounds. Have a hot stone massage (one of an array to choose from) a facial or body toning treatment, and melt in the heat of the sauna or Turkish bath. Various wellbeing packages are available.
After dark
You'll find some late-night bars in the nearby small town of Panicale – though a glass of vino on your terrace or balcony at the Villa will be just the ticket.
Dates
July
Umbria Jazz sees jazz, blues and other fusion genres performing both on the streets and at venues around Perugia,
October
Throw out the diet book – Eurochocolate is an absolute must for chocolate fanatics.
GETTING THERE
Location
Via Monatli, 06068 Tavernelle di Panicale
Parking
There is free guest parking
Trains
Castiglione del Lago station - 12km
Taxis
EUR 25-30 from the station
Airport
Perugia – 42 km
Rooms and suites
28 rooms
Special features
Firesides, frescoes and period furniture characterise rooms in the old villa. Those in the Limonaia are larger and more contemporary, with wide terraces.
Also…
You'll find beautiful gardens, a tiny chapel, spectacular valley views and a fully fledged spa.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
EUR 180 - 250
Open/closed
Open all year
Check-in
2pm
Check-out
11am
Minimum night stay?
Three nights during New Year and Easter
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast is served until 10am
Room service
Available from 8am to 11pm
Children
Kids are welcome, though during New Year it's over-12s only.
Pets
Small dogs are welcome if it's arranged in advance.
Air conditioning
Yes – all rooms
Languages
Italian, English, French and German
Wedding license?
No
Your contact
Rosa Iannarone – owner
Location
Via Monatli, 06068 Tavernelle di Panicale
Parking
There is free guest parking
Trains
Castiglione del Lago station - 12km
Taxis
EUR 25-30 from the station
Airport
Perugia – 42 km
Rooms and suites
28 rooms
Special features
Firesides, frescoes and period furniture characterise rooms in the old villa. Those in the Limonaia are larger and more contemporary, with wide terraces.
Also…
You'll find beautiful gardens, a tiny chapel, spectacular valley views and a fully fledged spa.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
EUR 180 - 250
Open/closed
Open all year
Check-in
2pm
Check-out
11am
Minimum night stay?
Three nights during New Year and Easter
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast is served until 10am
Room service
Available from 8am to 11pm
Children
Kids are welcome, though during New Year it's over-12s only.
Pets
Small dogs are welcome if it's arranged in advance.
Air conditioning
Yes – all rooms
Languages
Italian, English, French and German
Wedding license?
No
Your contact
Rosa Iannarone – owner
