POSTO DEL SOLE (with pool) nr SPOLETO - 7 miles to Spoleto Centre/Car Necessary

From 670 euros/week inc.....

APT HI consists of 2 self-contained apts : 2 dble bedrs, 2 kitchen/diners + 2 shower rms/sleeps 6

APT LO consists of 1 self-contained apt : 2 dble bedrs, 1 kitchen/diner,  1 utility room, 1 sitting/dining rm + 2 shower rms/sleeps 6

Just over 7 miles from Spoleto historic city centre, this sunny, "Hanzel and Gretel", 15C stone cottage, (with a pool that is for the exclusive use of the guests at Posto Del Sole), stands on a hillock, in an open space, deep in the woods. Its elevated position allows it to embrace sublime panoramic views of olive groves, tiny hill-top villages, mountains, orchards and vineyards. And, immediately from your front door, you step into a maze of easy paths that meander in every direction up and down the mountains as well as to the neighbouring villages. 

See more photos : http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/index.php?cats=155&id=71 

POOL FOR EXCLUSIVE USE OF GUESTS AT POSTO DEL SOLE...... 

2 APTS FOR THE PRICE OF 1 !!!!!

WEEKLY RATES - INC OF UTILTIES, LINEN, TOWELS, BEACH TOWELS   ETC + A GENEROUS WELCOME PACK:

APT LO - LOWER  (including 2 apartments that have been joined - 160 sq mts)

(2 DBL BEDROOMS, 2 SHOWER ROOMS, 2 SITTING/DINING ROOMS INC  1 FITTED KITCHEN) (rate includes up to 6 persons)

July 16 – Aug 21, 2010                      | 840 euros

Aug 22 – Aug 31, 2010                       | 790 euros

Sept, 2010                                         | 690 euros

BOOKED OCT - APRIL INC

May, 2011                                          | 670 euros

June, 2011                                         | 790 euros  

July 1 – July 15, 2011                        | 910 euros

July 16 – Aug 21, 2011                       | 970 euros

Aug 22 – Aug 31, 2011                        | 910 euros

Sept, 2011                                          | 810 euros

……………………………………………………………………………………..

APT HI – UPPER (including 2 apartments - 85 sq mts +  75 sq mts)

(2 DBL BEDROOMS, 2 SHOWER ROOMS, 2 SITTING/DINING ROOMS INC 2 FITTED KITCHENS) (rate includes up to 6 persons)

July 16 – Aug 21, 2010                      | 870 euros

Aug 22 – Aug 31, 2010                       | 820 euros

Sept, 2010                                         | 720 euros

BOOKED OCT - APRIL INC

May, 2011                                          | 710 euros

June, 2011                                        | 830 euros  

July 1 – July 15, 2011                        | 950 euros

July 16 – Aug 21, 2011                      | 1010 euros

Aug 22 – Aug 31, 2011                       | 960 euros

Sept, 2011                                         | 860 euros

……………………………………………………………………………………..

COUNTRY HOUSE ie APTS HI + LO : WHOLE HOUSE - UPPER AND LOWER FLOORS (including 4 apartments) (320 sq mts)

(4 DBL BEDROOMS/4 SHOWER ROOMS/4 SITTING/DINING ROOMS + 3 KITCHENS) (rate includes up to 12 persons)

July 16 – Aug 21, 2010                      | 1490 euros

Aug 22 – Aug 31, 2010                       | 1390 euros

Sept, 2010                                         | 1150 euros

BOOKED OCT - APRIL INC

May, 2011                                          | 1100 euros

June, 2011                                         | 1350 euros  

July 1 – July 15, 2011                        | 1600 euros

July 16 – Aug 21, 2011                       | 1800 euros

Aug 22 – Aug 31, 2011                        | 1600 euros

Sept, 2011                                           | 1350 euros

Please note that –

-        in all cases, you can use a spare sitting room as an extra bedroom – we can erect single beds accordingly;

        -        the weekly rate includes up to 6 persons in either APT HI or APT LO and up to 12 persons in the whole house. This      allows for plenty of space for all the guests.

See more photos : http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/index.php?cats=155&id=71

I am walking deep in the woods. I feel like Gretel, out of the Grimm fairy tale. Except, there is no wicked witch to get me and, Hans is busy welcoming guests in nearby Spoleto. I am high in the countryside. It feels wild. The sun pierces the misty air. The dark and sparkling lights confuse me so that I do not recognise the path. Trees and bushes cast black, spiky shadows on the dappled foliage. Broken branches, stones and boulders catch the light and scatter it everywhere. It stabs my eyes. In bright strips, I glimpse violet, yellow and purple flowers, spot-lit in the sun’s sharp rays. The sky is deep blue.

At once, I come across a clearing and see before me a vast chasm, filled to the brim with foaming white mist. Here, above the clouds, butterflies flutter through the dappled haze, young foxes screech for food, a robin watches me with his large beady eye, the air resounds with a medley of bird-song and, I am still to the core. Within seconds, I see fragments of my world below unfurl in a torch-lit golden splendour. And, out of this burning mist, appears an old stone house, shrouded and glittering in the early morning light of an Umbrian day-break.

Welcome to Posto Del Sole. This is how it revealed itself to me many years ago.

Now, a beautiful newly restored Umbrian farmhouse, lovingly converted into 3 apartments, 1 of them very large (160 sq mts), the 2 others, smaller (85 sq mts/75 sq mts) but which share a large verandah.

This is a house that has seen centuries of life, a house that sits amidst the dreamiest of atmospheres. Its large windows in every room bear testament to the natural environment that pervades every sunbeam and shadow in the house.

A fire-place in every room, this is a house to experience in winter or in summer. At any time of the year, this part of the mountain is a joy. And, unlike many mountain houses that for much of the winter are totally without sun, Posta Del Sole stands in a clearing on a hillock and is sun-lit all the time.

You reach this fairy tale cottage either via Bazzano Superiore or directly from Spoleto. It is the same distance either way ie about 7 and a half miles.

Very easy access to Orvieto, Assisi, Perugia, Trevi, Foligno, Bevagna, Montefalco, Norcia, Castelucia and the Gran Piano. Rome is just over 1 hour by train. And, of course, the jewel in Umbria's crown, Spoleto, is just 7 and a half miles, about a 15 - 20 mins drive.

Posto Del Sole is above a small village called Bazzano Superiore, one of the most sought after villages to live in outside of Spoleto.

The private, 1 mile drive-way leading to Posto Del Sole is a dirt road, to be distinguished from a 'white' road ie an un-madeup road full of boulders and stones. This is a driveable road, even though it is not tarmacked. It joins a "proper" road at the gateway of Vista Del Mondo, a mile away, and, then, leads to a main road, about a half a mile away.

So, you could be driving on the Valnerina within 20 minutes, from where you can easily go to Norcia and the Gran Piano or to the Adriatic, passing a myriad of hill-top towns on the way. Or, in the opposite direction, you could be in central Spoleto in 20 minutes.

Whichever way you choose to go, Assisi, Perugia, Orvieto, Trevi, Foligno…. are all well within a 45 minutes drive. And, the territory that you pass through is mind-blowingly beautiful. After all, the Umbrian countryside is what dreams are made of. And, if you want a bit of the action, then, you can always try Rome – a mere 1 hour and 15 minutes by train from Spoleto.

And, there are many, many tracks that lead for miles, criss-crossing each other over the mountains that seem to go on forever. Great walking territory and, even better mountain biking country – we provide mountain bikes free of charge.

Let me describe more fully this beautiful old Umbria house. Until 3 years ago, Posta Del Sole was a tumble down ruin ! Now, it is a large, stone cottage that has been immaculately restored, attention having been paid to the tiniest of details. Antique cupboards and doors, riddled with worm-holes, have been carefully and lovingly preserved, restored and polished, the ancient cupboards having been “bastardised” with old glass panes – absolute works of Art. And, absolutely, no worms !

The original old doors seem to hang drunkenly from their frames. At the same time, everything is in perfect working order. You will be amazed at the standards that the excellent crafts men have achieved with these apartments, skills gained after years and years of restoring, churches, monasteries and honed to perfection.

In the old days, the Umbrian kitchen centred around the fire-place. However, this house is so ancient that the original fire-places were too dilapidated to retain and the kitchen, as we know it today, was non-existant. And, we decided that you wouldn’t want to cook on the fire, as was the way of the traditional Umbrian farmer ! So, we fitted new kitchens – all streamlined and fitted with hobs, ovens, microwaves, washing machines and fridges.

And, we replaced the old fire-places in all 3 apartments with superbly designed, super-modern fireplaces. Made of the most contemporary of local materials, a kind of white chalk, then, impregnated with a diversity of local marbles, stones and bricks, the fire-places give the effect of blocks of Montelimar – really unusual and the kind of design only the Italians could come up with – totally in keeping with the spirit of this old house, built of the same marbles, stones and bricks. Indeed, there are 2 fireplaces on both floors, 2 in APT LO and 2 in APT HI, 1 in each of the two apartments that make up APT HI.

Most owners and agencies try to fit as many people as they can into these large houses, especially when there is a pool included. But, we are not interested in packing our guests in, sardine-style, in order to make more dimes. No, instead of creating 25 rooms – relatively easy in a property of this size - we have created just 8 spacious rooms + 4 shower rooms. And, this is how we have done it :

Posto Del Sole consists of 3 separate apartments, 2 on the top floor, 1 on the ground floor (this was originally 2 apartments, the same size as the ones upstairs, but we have joined them).

The two apartments on the upper level, APT HI, each consist of 1 double bedroom, 1 sitting/dining room with a fitted kitchen, slightly separated from the room in an alcove, 1 double bedroom with a big bed and 1 shower room.

The apartment on the ground floor, Apt LO, consists of 2 large bedrooms - each with big beds, 2 shower rooms, 2 sitting/dining rooms, 1 fully fitted kitchen and 1 utility room.

Any of the sitting rooms are easily convertible to bedrooms by request, where we can erect single beds.

The layout of each apartment is designed to create maximum light as well as make the best use of space. And, it works extremely well.

All 3 of the apartments are very similar in terms of their interiors and decor and, equally beautiful … polished beamed ceilings throughout, fabulously paved floors, immaculately restored stone walls and large windows to embrace the stunning scenery all around. Yet, at the same time, each apartment is quite unique. It would be impossible to choose between them, in terms of their aesthetic value.

The grounds of the house open directly onto the common area of the private mountain, offering miles and miles of stunning walks.

APT HI has a private, shaded verandah that seats 8 and which has spectacular views overlooking the pool, the countryside and the mountains beyond.

APT LO has a private patio area directly outside its front door. And, it has a side entrance that opens onto another exclusive sitting area and gardens that are on the opposite side of the house to the stairs leading up to APT HI. The design of the house ensures maximum privacy for all the occupants of the house. Even the guests staying together in the one apartment are ensured privacy because the choice of entrances and exits allows anyone to come and go as they please without disturbing anyone.

Just a few metres in front of the house is a fresh-water pool that is fed by the mountain streams.

Please note that for anyone with mobility problems, the terrain, immediate to the house, is very easy walking territory.

See more photos : http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/index.php?cats=155&id=71