Cypressa on the ground floor includes all mod-cons and is decorated in traditional style with white plastered walls, beamed ceilings and terracotta tiled floors inside with shady stone terraces outside. Cypressa has proven extremely popular with our guests last year. As one of them put it: “we have been so glad finally to have found a holiday apartment which is just right for the two of us – most of the others would have been simply too big”.
Cypressa is a large studio that sleeps two, in double or single beds according to preference. An extra guest bed or cot can be provided by arrangement. All mod cons are available: a large and comfortable seating area, a dining table and chairs, chests of drawers and a large built in wardrobe. The separate kitchen is well equipped with implements and crockery besides dishwasher, fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster and coffee maker. The shower room is equipped with a bidet, lavatory and a separate section with a washbasin.
One of the most charming features of Cypressa is its private outdoor dining area a structure we call, for lack of a better word, the gazebo. The vine covered summer-house offers splendid views of distant hillsides that are thickly covered by forests, with olive groves and vineyards on the lower slopes. No wonder the region is called Umbria Verde, or Green Umbria! The rich vegetation all round attracts a colourful variety of wildlife. The most magical of all, perhaps, are the fireflies. Throughout early summer they appear as soon as evening has fallen, the darkness patterned by their pulsing light as they float past. The stars, it seems, have come down to earth…
Wahing & Ironing kit, Cot etc, video/DVD available on request. Fax and internet as necessary
Further details
Though unheated, the swimming pool is generally usable from mid-May to late September.
The grounds are terraced, very peaceful but not manicured so giving shelter to wild flora and fauna. Suitable footwear is recommended for areas beyond the pool.
Further details indoors
Cypressa on the ground floor has very easy access, car a few steps away, includes all mod-cons and is easy care through out. A corner position gives extra space for relaxing, outdoor furniture too
Washing & Ironing kit, Cot etc, video/DVD available on request. Fax and internet as necessary
• You'll rebuild your reserves in your tranquil apartment in this converted farmhouse on the Umbria-Tuscany border.
• You'll rebuild your togetherness looking at wonderful views and great art.
• Easy self catering apartments in beautiful grounds, including pool. Combining modern furnishings and appliances in the middle of nature, art, history, silence and open skies.
Further details outdoors
Pool and Grounds
Pool
The pool is set on the first terrace behind the house and is a good size at 5x12 metres and 1.6 metres deep at the far end. Semicircles of Roman steps allow easy, shallow access to the water. There is a pergola with table and chairs for poolside refreshments (there is a cool-bag and plastic utensils in your flat). Plenty of loungers, cushions and shades make the pool the centre of recreation in the summer. You are truly part of nature here – do not be surprised if you are joined by a thirsty butterfly or a swift during your swim!
Grounds
Your apartment is part of Casa Fontana, a converted Umbrian farm house that sits in five acres of olive groves. We have not yet been able to make an exact count but we think we have somewhere in the region of two hundred olive trees. That's a lot of Martinis!
The grounds are a series of terraces, climbing ever higher to provide increasingly panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. There is a copse of oaks that give shelter to wild boars in the winter and porcupines in the summer. In the spring bright yellow broom and wild flowers of every hue cover the slopes. There are plenty of edibles too, from wild asparagus to sweet golden figs. In the distance you can see huge birds wheeling lazily in the sky.
Summer Food and Art Tour 1 to 7 June guided and catered - gourmet
Summer nights are wonderful at the Casa. There is hardly any light pollution, affording a stupendous view of starry skies – a magnet to romantics and amateur astronomers alike. The moon is almost bright enough to read by, certainly suitable for a night walk! Perhaps the loveliest sight comes in May and June when hundreds of fireflies float and pulse all around the house at night, giving the trees and bushes a magical air.
Late Summer Food & Art Tour guided and catered -sumptuous
Autumn is a particularly cheerful time of the year, offering plenty of sunshine, strolls though golden forests and sumptuous seasonal specialities, such as game and truffles.
November is olive picking time, nature is generally kind and gifts us great weather so that the pickers often strip to T-shirts in the sun and we can have great picnic lunches sitting on the grass. There is nothing to compare the taste of freshly pressed olive oil: take a piece of crusty bread, dribble a little of the dark green oil on it and enjoy the peppery, nutty flavour. In the fullness of time the oil will mature, change colour and acquire a smoother, rounder flavour. The taste may change somewhat but one thing is certain – our oil has never met a chemical either during its tree life or during processing. It is full of antioxidants and other health giving goodness. Casa Fontana's cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil is as good as it gets!
We offer short break 'Olive picking Course' and experience. Pick your break during 10th to 20th Nov.
Covers training, use of equipment, alfresco lunches, visit to olive press, tutored oil tasting, NEW pressed oil to take home (New Pressed oil is very different from the mature oil we are used to = more green, more peppery. Very different and only possible in the 4 weeks following pressing. Normal apartment rentals with picnic lunch included for the 'pickers'