This tiny village looks as if it has leapt from the pages of Nat Geog Mag.

History: San Mamiliano was a fortress/castle built by the Vatican around the 10C to protect its boundary with Perugia. In the middle ages, the Pope would stay in San Mamiliano on his way to Rome.

Over time, San Mamiliano developed into a bustling and fairly large community, housing some 300 people. Now, it houses only 5 of its original families, the rest of the San Mamilianese having died or moved into the towns and cities in search of work. Consequently, it is too small to sustain a shop, a bar or an eaterie, though there are plenty of the latter in the surrounding hills.

During its restoration, two 9C tiny, arched alley ways were discovered that lead from the middle piazza to the upper piazza and the church. They had been buried for many centuries and completely forgotten about ! Not so, the famous painting inside our church, which the Bishop of Spoleto is still trying to covet, to complete a set of paintings in the Spoleto Duomo. He will not succeed. Our painting will remain where it is is.

Traditions come and go: The arrival of supermarkets in the nearby towns and cities is a sign that things are developing in Umbria. 15 years ago, we were connected to mains water and gas. Before, we were dependent on a well for water and wood for heat. However, wood remains the local Italian’s major source of heat and since Italians still prefer to cook on the fire, wood is essential for this purpose too. And, until a few years ago, we lived cheek by jowl with the animals. Hay and dung littered the tiny alleys. There was no sanitation. Every day, we hosed down the village, drawing water from an underground stream.

Now, San Mamiliano is 'sanitised' and totally restored. The animals are in fields. And, order has replaced chaos. Is it better ? Come judge for yourselves. Step straight into the pages of National Geographic.

Cultural activities abound from the Spoleto Festival to the honouring of St Valentino, (birthplace in nearby Terni), to the myriad of local festas, celebrating olive oil, truffles, wine etc.

Location: Our location is the middle of Italy, in the Appenines, 25 min to Spoleto, 90 min to Rome, 45 min to Asissi, 70 min to Perugia, 2 h 30 min to Florence (depending on traffic), 3 h 30 min to Naples (also depending on traffic), the Amalfi coast and Pompei. Castellucio, the famous Gran Piano (with fantastic natural flower displays across this gigantic plain around about Easter) is just over 1 hour away.

On the way to Castellucio is Norcia, which is worth a visit and where most of our white truffle is to be found (our area is abundant with black truffle all the year round - consequently, it's cheap to dine out on truffle, one of my favourite dishes, at around 10 Euro for a bowl of ciriole al tartufo).

However, all around us, within a 30 min drive, are an abundance of small towns eg Todi and Spello which are all equally beautiful and fascinating. Indeed, it is our local countryside that Benigni (Oscar winning film-maker of Life is Beautiful and Piccochio) features in his films.