location
Villa Castellaro is located in the North West corner of Umbria, close to the border of Tuscany. It lies about 25 kms east of Cortona, and about 10 kms from the nearest large town, Umbertide.
The closest airport to Villa Castellaro is the small regional Perugia airport (about 40 minutes away), which you can fly directly into on Ryanair from Stansted airport, outside of London. Most visitors fly via Rome (3-4 hour drive). Other accessible airports include Forli, Florence, Bologna and Pisa. The Terontola-Cortona train station lies on the main Roma-Firenze line and is about 45 minutes by car from the property. As your arrival date gets closer, contact us for more precise directions.
culture
ANCIENT HILL TOWNS
While you may never want to leave the Villa, part of the joy of the region is exploring the cobblestone streets, medieval piazzas, shops, and restaurants of ancient hill towns, many of which date from Etruscan times (6/7th century B.C.). Within an hour’s drive lies Umbria’s capital Perugia, the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, as well as towns such as Gubbio, Cortona, Sansepolcro and Arezzo.
FOOD
There are a number of fantastic restaurants nearby including: La Chiusa, in Molino Vitelli, which serves exceptional food and wine from its small organic farm, as well as offering cooking courses varying in length from an afternoon to 3 or 4 days; Nonna Gelsa, located in Niccone, 20 minutes away; and Calangra, just down the hill from the property with excellent food and wonderful valley views.
ART
From Villa Castellaro there is also easy access to a wealth of art history, with paintings by artists such as Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Signorelli and Rosso Fiorentino all within an hour’s drive. Our good friend, and Niccone valley neighbor, Dr Tom Henry is an expert in Italian Renaissance art and his Casa Nova website is great resource for those interested in learning more about exploring the art in the region.