La Passionata

LA PASSIONATA: La Passionata, a large, open-plan apartment of about 150 sq.mts, is both sensuous and splendid. This spacious apartment, with its beamed and domed ceilings, has 2 double bedrooms – 1 double on the ground floor with a casement window overlooking the gardens and 1 twin in the loft space with a sloping roof and a sky-light - a fully equipped kitchen/breakfast room built into the rocks, an awesome L-shaped, open-plan dining/sitting room with its own 16C fresco as a centre-piece - the artist, Lo Spagna, also has work in the duomo in Spoleto and the Vatican, a huge 16C stone fireplace and 1 bathroom. The main “wow” factor, however, are the 6 huge arched windows on two sides of the dining/sitting room that overlook the spectacular countryside, the gardens and that evoke a feeling of intimacy with the natural beauty surrounding you.

LA ROMANTICA: Below, and to the side of La Passionata, is the other smaller apartment, La Romantica with beamed ceilings throughout. The fantasy bedroom has silky, ruched curtains and magnificent views/Sat TV/Eng speaking. Its 'wow' factors are 2 wall-sized arched windows. One in the bedroom looks onto olive groves and hills rolling towards Assisi, dotted with medieval towers, castles and monasteries and fringed by the Sibilline mountains. The other in the kitchen/diner looks onto gardens, castle ruins and hills.The pretty, snug sitting-room contains 1 single bed made up as a sofa with cushions and a couple of chairs. It faces the terrace and part of the gardens. The spacious hallway with 2 comfy chairs leads directly to private terrace. Here you can chill-out with your glass of Orvieto and contemplate the beautiful garden and the hills beyond.

THE AREA: Just 10 minutes outside of central Spoleto, Bazzano is a wholly Italian enclave and heaves with a history reflected in many of its wondrous old buildings, its awesome church and its grand palace nestling amidst the olive groves. Bazzano is famous locally for its walking territory. Albeit untouched by tourism, it's a little more sophisticated than its neighbouring villages, particularly regarding its small country roads that meander up and down the surrounding hills and join the upper part of Bazzano with its lower part. Strolling back down to the Convent with the stunning panoramic views changing at every twist and bend in the road and enjoying a glass of cold Orvieto at the end of your walk can best be described as a dream-like experience.

Apart from visiting Assisi, Perugia, Todi, Orvieto, Gubbio and Rome, not to be missed is a drive across the Sibbiline mountain range or through the Apennines to the sea-side on the Adriatic coast (about 2 hours), or to Norcia and the Gran Piano.