Strettura Castle/from 531 euros/wk. Sleeps 2/20

APT ZODIAC – TO INCLUDE 4/5 PERSONS MAX.

2 double bedrooms, both ensuite

1 separate cloakroom/WC
1 very large sitting/dining room with large flat screen TV/DVD
1 study 
1 conservatory with stunning views all around
Amazing panoramic mountain views from all windows.

APT DUCAL - TO INCLUDE 4 PERSONS MAX.

1 double + 1 triple bedroom (optional double or twins), both ensuite
1 very large sitting/dining room with large flat screen TV/DVD
Amazing panoramic mountain views from all windows.

APT-TORRE VERDE, TO INCLUDE 2 PERSONS MAX

1 double bedroom
1 sitting/dining room with large flat screen TV/DVD
1 large sheltered terrace
Amazing panoramic mountain views from all windows + terrace.

APT-TORRE AZZURRO - TO INCLUDE 2 PERSONS MAX.

1 double bedroom
1 sitting/dining room with large flat screen TV/DVD
1 large terrace

Amazing panoramic mountain views from all windows + terrace.

APT-MANSARDA - TO INCLUDE 6 PERSONS MAX.

Consists of 2 self contained, self catering apartments with adjoining door in the middle:

On ground floor :

1 large bed-sitting room with single bed, 1 bathroom, dining room with kitchenette.
1 large bed-sitting room with small double bed, 1 bathroom with full size tub, dining area + separate fully fitted kitchen.

2 mezzanine sitting rooms, each with sofa beds, one of which leads directly onto private terrace with specatacular views.

1 double/private loft bedroom (with twin beds or double bed, by request) on 1st floor.

Amazing panoramic views from all windows.

BY CAR : Spoleto/15 mins - Rome/1 hr
Flexible arrival and departure days.... 

WiFi available in all public areas....

Perched on a hill, this splendid, walled, 12C fairy-tale castle, overlooks the beautiful Valnerina, mountains and valleys all about. Its restoration, its landscaped gardens and its contemporary and original make-over allows Strettura Castle to stand supreme in the world of Italian castles. Consisting of 8 beautiful apartments, each with hand-crafted tiled bathrooms + kitchens with hand-crafted crockery, unusual décor and unique furnishings, its best apartments are :

MANSARDA/SLEEPS 6 - ZODIACO/SLEEPS 5 - DUCALE/SLEEPS 4 - AZZURA/SLEEPS 2 - VERDE/SLEEPS 2 (the other 3 apartments are bedsitters, best used for overspill) 

There is 24 hour porterage, a pottery, a small beauty farm that includes a range of therapies, including Hammam massage, a trattoria that specialises in local fresh produce, a beer-making facility, a residents' bar and a large, outdoor, salt water pool, (slightly heated), hewn out of the rocks.

We also offer the following courses : ceramics, cooking, beer-making and weaving.

The atmosphere is magically mystical. Aesthetes and those seeking a retreat from ordinary life will love being enveloped in the dreamiest of settings.

Bursting with character and original features, this is really the place to stay if you have never stayed in a castle before. Explore the castle, lounge around the pool and/or enrol on a course. Stroll to the Castle restaurant, drop by the bar, mix with local Italians and dine finely on local produce at extremely competitive rates. Meander down the hill to the tiny, thriving, but, sleepy, Strettura village, where there is a butcher, a baker, a grocery store, a chemist, a post office and 2 trattorias. 

Once upon a time, there was a thriving 12C castle set in the beautiful Apennines. Over the years, the castle expanded into a village, with tiny abodes dotted around it. But, as time passed, the village started 'sliding' down the hill, as the villagers moved to the banks of the River Nero, and, onto the main route, the Valnerina, linking Spoleto to Rome. The Valnerina main road, from where you can get to practically anywhere in Italy, is conveniently parallel to the village of Strettura.

Meanwhile, the abandoned Strettura Castle drifted into disrepair and remained as such for several centuries. Then, Paulo, an artist, architect and master builder, embarked on the mammoth task of imaginatively converting the derelict Strettura castle into 'a boutique hotel'. And, what a feat ! Packed with hand-crafted tiles, ceramics, artefacts and original features, each self-catering apt is a work of Art. 

Located on the edge of Strettura village, endless walks in beautiful country, there easy access to the train stations - about 15 mins by car.

Set amidst the rolling Apennine mountains, the 12C Strettura Castle is a traditional Italian castle. Turrets + towers, rather than balconies + terraces, its architecture was determined by days of yore. Designed as a refuge and to protect its aristocratic inhabitants, not a party place for frolicking on the battlements, where you risked being speared by an arrow ! So, while we offer terraces for most of the apartments, neither Zodiaco nor Ducale has one.

However, both Zodiaco and Ducale make up for this lack by being super-large and really wonderful :

Ducale, with its amazing sitting/dining room and its large stone fire-place, especially wonderful for the cooler evenings, overlooks the castle courtyard and the mountains beyond. A very private apartment.

Zodiaco, with its smaller stone fire-place and its amazing conservatory, overlooks the hills and valleys.

These 2 apartments are the most special of all of the apartments.

And, there are many outside communal terraces, in the castle courtyard and by the pool, where you can eat al fresco.

The outdoor ornamental pool is a leisure pool, ideal for relaxation and meditation. It is not suitable for lap swimming because of its irregular shape. Around it are many sunbathing areas, overlooking the stunning mountains all around.

A truly magical apartment that sleeps 4 persons, hugely spacious, with a large stone fireplace, really cosy in the winter, overlooking the castle's courtyard.

You enter Ducale up a flight of steps, from the castle courtyard. You step into a huge sitting/dining room with a fitted kitchen and a huge stone fire-place. Here, there is a beautiful, 3 seater, leather sofa that has an extended leg area for ultimate lounging.

At the far end of the sitting/dining room, a door opens onto a huge bed-sitting room that is divided, decoratively, into a twin bedroom (beds can be joined, by request), and a study/lounge area, where there is a writing desk and a sofa with an extended leg area, where you can spread out ! This area is ensuite.

On one side of the bed-sitting room is a door that is up 3 steps. Opening the door, you find a 2nd double bedroom (the beds can be separated, by request). This bedroom is also ensuite.

The windows have views of either the castle courtyard or the hills and mountains around you.

A large and lavishly furnished apartment that sleeps 5 persons, it has a kitchen/diner, separated by an ornamental divide from the sitting room, a studio, 2 large double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with WC and a separate WC.

You reach Zodiaco via the reception area, at the top of 2 flights of steps.

At the end of a corridor is your conservatory, with its spectacular views.

Opposite the conservatory is the entrance to a huge living/dining room, which is divided, decoratively, into the living area and the dining area :  

the dining area contains a stone fire-place, a fully fitted kitchen and a table that seats 6 persons;
the living area contains an L shaped cosy sofa.

From the living area, you enter a triple bedroom (beds can be joined or separated, by request) that is ensuite.

From the dining area, you enter a study with a cloakroom/WC, that leads into a 2nd double bedroom (bed can be divided into twins, by request) that is also ensuite.

This amazingly beautiful apartment will transport you into another world, such is its dreamy atmosphere and its comfortable furniture.  

The windows have views of either the castle courtyard or the hills and mountains around you.

In the castle tower, Azzurro is a very attractive 1 bedroom apartment with a large private terrace (seats 6), open all round with spectacular views.

Azzuro is the top apartment in the tower. You enter Azzurro from the castle courtyard, up 3 flights of steps. You step into a beautiful sitting/dining room, off of which is a fully fitted galley kitchen.

Exquisitely furnished and decorated, this romantic apartment will set your soul soaring.

If you want comfort in a mediaeval setting, to enjoy splendour, to be immersed in beauty, from the amazing landscape of the Apennines, seen from the balcony and all windows, to the artistic décor of this beautiful apartment, with its hand-crafted tiles, its contemporary presentation, look no further.

If it is a romantic adventure you are seeking, this is it !

In the castle tower, Verde is a very attractive 1 bedroom apartment with a large private, walled terrace (seats 6), with spectacular views from one side.

Verde is the 2nd from the top apartment in the tower, underneath Azzurro. You enter Verde from the castle courtyard, up 2 flights of steps. You step into a beautiful sitting/dining room with a sectioned off fully fitted kitchen.

Exquisitely furnished and decorated, this romantic apartment will unleash the most sensuous of your emotions.

If you want to relax in a mediaeval setting, to enjoy splendour, to be immersed in beauty, from the sensational landscape of the Apennines, seen from one side of the balcony and all windows, to the artistic décor of this beautiful apartment, with its hand-crafted tiles, its contemporary presentation, look no further.

If it is a romantic adventure you are seeking, this is it !

Situated at the top of the castle, Mansarda is a budget apartment for larger parties. It is at the opposite end of the corridor from Zodiaco. Therefore, for larger parties of up to 11 persons, Mansarda would be  perfect to simultaneous book with Zodiaco since such a booking would effectively privatise the whole of the top floor of the castle. It would all belong to you !

Mansardo consists of 2 self-contained apartments with a connecting door :

Attico Est is the 1st apartment you enter. You step into a sitting/dining room (seats up to 8 persons) that also contains a large single bed that can be used as a sofa. There is a separate, fully fitted kitchen and a beautiful bathroom/WC. Above the sitting/dining room, on a mezzanine floor, is a relaxation area, with a sofa-bed, that leads onto a large terrace, that seats 8 persons, with spectacular, panoramic views.

Then, through an adjoining door, you enter Attico Est. Here there is a large double bed, a table (seats 4) and a kitchenette. On each side of this bed-sitting room is a staircase, both of which lead up to mezzanine floors. At the top of one staircase is a relaxation area, with a sofa-bed. At the top of the other staircase is a double bedroom.

Perfect for larger parties with children !

The castle consists of a central core, inside of which is a court-yard.

To one side of the courtyard is a tower that contains 3 apartments.

At the top of the tower, is Torre Azzuro (1 bedroom with large terrace/views all round).

In the middle of the tower is Torre Verde (1 bedroom with large, walled terrace/views from one side).

And, there is a bed-sitting apartment on the ground floor of the tower, used for overspill, (not shown here).

Within the main body of the castle is a large reception area with 24 hour porterage.

Zodiaco, (with conservatory + 2 bedrooms + study), is at the top of the west wing of the castle.

APT Mansarda (with 4 bedrooms + terrace) is the next apartment to Zodiaco, at the other end of a corridor. These 2 apartments can be booked together to sleep up to 11 persons and, then, to occupy the entire west wing of the castle. 

Ducale is at the top of the main body of the castle – very private.

Leading from the courtyard, there are tiny lanes that meander to the beauty farm, the pottery, the beer-making unit, the restaurant, the several common terrace areas and the pool.

Nearest Airport : Rome 60 Kilometres

Nearest Train : Spoleto 10 Kilometres

Nearest Motorway : Orte 40 Kilometres or Perugia 20 Kilometres

Nearest Beach : Bolsena 60 Kilometres

Nearest Barpub : at Strettura Castle or Strettura village 0.25 Kilometres

Nearest Golf : Perugia at 40 Kilometres

Nearest Restaurant : at Strettura Castle or Strettura village 0.25 Kilometres

Car: necessary

Brief description of Spoleto, to wet your appetite !

Spoleto is akin to a giant, fairy-tale castle. Sprinkled with bars, restaurants and shops, peppered with piazzas, Spoleto sits magestically amidst a maze of tunnelled, cobbled lanes and alley-ways, all leading skywards to the famous Rocca, the aquaduct and, some of the best views in the world. A surreal setting, a stage-set in the making, fringed by mountains, olive groves, vineyards, mediaeval monasteries, towns, cities and tiny hill-top villages - all beckoning a visit, Spoleto is truly a temptress. Succumb to her beauty and you must use all your will-power to leave. Quite simply, Spoleto is the most captivating city in Italy, never mind Umbria, Venice and Florence, being on a par.

Venice has the water. Florence has the Uffici.  Spoleto has the mountains. All three have a history to be reckoned with. All three bedazzle us with their rich cultures, their European, aristocratic connections and their sheer beauty. But, Spoleto has the upper hand for the world traveller. It resists tourism with its associated inflated rates and tacky goods on sale ! You are invited to visit Spoleto, but, not as a tourist. You will be welcomed like a long lost member of the family ! Treated like a king. And, you will pay the same rates as all the locals, especially when you pay attention to all our recommended restaurants, bars and gelaterias.

Subsequently, Spoleto is in demand with those in search of "the authentic Italian" experience, love beauty and who wish to base themselves in the centre of Italy because, from Spoleto, you can get to practically anywhere else in Italy easily and cheaply within minutes to a few hours.

Read more about Spoleto :
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14 miles away at Villa Marianna, one of our country villas, we offer speciality lunches.....truffle, pasta and pizza dishes, made from our fresh, home-grown produce, subject to demand.

And, every Wed, we offer a tiny farmer's market, where our home-grown produce will be on sale...or, you can pick your own from the fields, subject to availability !

A short trip to Villa Marianna will enable you to see some of Umbria's most sensational countryside, evidenced by the fact that the main road from Spoleto to Villa Marianna was used for the famous Giro D'Italia bicycle race, chosen for its beauty and tranquility.

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Please note that this offer might be discontinued at any time........