Festa d'Autunno, Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, 14-16 Oct

Castle at Monte Santa Maria Tiberina

The Festa D'Autunno or Autumn Festival takes place very year in the tiny mountaintop hamlet of Monte Santa Maria Tiberina.

The Monte is the highest peak for miles around - wherever you go in the area you can always get your bearings from the castle (see the photo) which you can see silhouetted against the skyline!

The Festival runs from the 14th to 16th October with lots of events taking place.  There are stalls selling local produce and crafts, flagthrowers, medieval processions and traditional Italian music as well as a dinner in the Castle itself (still owned and recently restored by the Bourbons of the Monte) at 9pm on the first evening with original recipes from the 1600s...!!!

It's a great chance to join with the locals and really get a feel of how they still celebrate and maintain their ancient traditions and customs today.

The lovely apartment at Villa Bastiola is just 20 minutes drive away and makes a great base for exploring the area.  Find full details and info on www.villabastiola.com

Truffle Fair, Citerna, 8 - 9 October 2011

Delicious black truffles (tartufo nero)

La Bisaccia del Tartufaro (or the Truffle Hunters' Satchel)

The tiny medieval hilltop village of Citerna (just over the border in Tuscany)  is host to the annual truffle fair this coming weekend on the 8th and 9th of October.

The streets are lined with stands from local suppliers selling everything woodlandy from truffles and porcini mushrooms to honey, chestnuts, homemade jams, and vin santo.

All the suppliers are based in the north of Umbria and it is a wonderful chance to taste the delicious goodies that the Upper Tiber Valley has to offer.

October is a fantastic month to see Umbria, with the autumn colours just setting in and lots of festivals taking place, including Eurochocolate in Perugia! The apartment at Villa Bastiola offers a great base to stay while visiting the area and enjoying the different festivals.

Tripadvisor Slideshow for Villa Bastiola

Welcome to the Villa Bastiola. by Sally Ann Marconi in Umbertide, Umbria. Brought to you by TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals, powered by TripWow!™

Coloriamo i cieli - Lake Trasimeno May 2011

Let's colour the skies! From 29 Apr to 2nd May the skies at Castiglione del Lago at Lake Trasimeno will be full of kites of more different shapes, sizes and colours than you can imagine!

“In the kite I have always seen freedom and joy, a message of peace carried on by a wind knowing no bounds”.

This sentence by Jane Parker is the “manifesto” of the Coloriamo i cieli founders. It still represents the meaning of this 20th edition of the festival, fusing the themes of peace and protection of the environment.

It's a great day out for all the family with bouncy castles and ball pits for kids and loads of stands selling the latest in kite flying gear plus lots of places to get a bit to eat (this is Italy after all!).

Check out the weblink for the latest news: Coloriamo i Cieli, Lake Trasimeno

For a place to stay: www.villabastiola.com

Weekend in Umbria

We had some friends over visiting from the UK this weekend, so finally took some time out to do some sightseeing and remembered just what is so special about this part of Italy and Umbria. It's always interesting seeing it through the eyes of others, like seeing it for the first time again. We didn't do anything particularly special, but the whole area is just so beautiful that even driving around is a treat in itself.

First off, we went down to Perugia and parked so that we came up into the old medieval town centre which belonged to the Baglioni family. It was filled in and vaulted over in the Papal salt wars with the Rocca Paolina built on top just to remind the Perugians who was boss.

Painstakingly excavated you can now walk up through the old medieval streets, and into the houses and imagine just what it might have been like in those times. Strolling down the Corso Vannucci from the Brufani Hotel, the architecture changes from Rennaisance (the Rocca Paolina was destroyed in 1860 with the Perugians stating their claim to their own city) to 12century by the Fountain, the Town Hall, the National Museum of Art and Collegio del Cambio and is totally breathtaking. Great to see the locals buzzing around just doing their thing too!

We did a small round trip the following day to Cortona (OK, it's just over the border in Tuscany!) which although is very touristy, still has so much charm and history and incredible views. We had a wonderful lunch in FuFluns (very reasonable, home cooked Tuscan food with a twist) and then drove through beautiful countryside down to Lake Trasimeno for a stroll and an ice cream at Passignano.

It was very relaxed and lazy! There was so much more we could have stopped and investigated, like the Etruscan tombs just outside Cortona or the site of the incredible battle between Hannibal and the Romans at Tuoro (by the Lake).

My friends were overwhelmed by the beauty and living history of this part of Italy and, I have to say, I was too! Don't take my word for it though, come and see for yourself!

We have special discounts on our lovely self catering holiday apartment for bookings made by Easter 2011! Look at http://www.villabastiola.com/ for more details or email me at info@villabastiola.com.

Alistair Sawday's Special Places to Stay

The lovely self catering holiday apartment at Villa Bastiola has been chosen as a Special Place to Stay by Alistair Sawday!

We are over the moon about this as there is a very tough selection process to get through. First you have to submit on line with a detailed brief about what makes your holiday home so special.

Then they send an inspector to visit! We had our visit at the beginning of March, which isn't the best time of year as it can look quite bleak here, but luckily the inspector can see beyond the winter and imagine how it will be during the season for our guests!

The inspector then submits a report to head office who make the final decision on selection. We are just waiting to hear the details to set up our page on their website and from next year we will be in the new 2012 guide book for Italy!

PS The photo is of one of our early summer visitors! Can't wait to see them again!!!

Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy

Città di Castello's skyline is an iconic symbol of this lovely Umbrian market town with its charming historic medieval centre. Cobbled streets wind their way to the main square where there are restaurants, shops and cafès.

At dusk, the pedestrianised Corso (High Street) comes alive as the locals walk up and down for their daily passegiata, meeting friends and family. Famous artists Raffaello and Signorellil worked here and some of Raffaello's graffiti can still be seen on some of the towns palaces!

We had a small (tiny actually! - 36m2) apartment right in the centre of Castello where we lived for over a year and we thoroughly enjoyed being part of this busy town. Just a short drive from our villa (15 mins), we often go for aperitivo, meeting friends for dinner or for shopping. The indoor market has some fantastic produce too and we really like the market on Thursday and Saturday mornings.

The best thing about Castello is that it still feels very "Italian" - it's not commercialised for tourists. It's all about Italians living their lives and you can feel very much a part of this when you visit.

Want to know more? Email me, Sally Ann, at info@villabastiola.com .

Luxury self catering apartment for rent, Umbria

We have been renting the beautiful self catering holiday apartment on the first floor of our 200 year old stone farmhouse for over four years now! It doesn't seem possible!

All of our guests have been truly lovely and we are still in touch with many of them, thanks to social network sites like twitter and facebook and of course, email.

We are looking forward to welcoming new visitors here this summer and renewing friendships with previous guests too.

The apartment is beautifully furnished - our beds have been voted the most comfortable in Italy!! - with two double bedrooms, both en-suite, a large living room (wi-fi internet free, Sky TV and a huge book library!) and a fully fitted kitchen. Guests are free to use the garden as their own, enjoy lazing days away looking at the amazing view over the mountains towards Tuscany from the sun terrace or in the shade of the olive grove.

We look forward to hearing from you soon! Email us now at info@villabastiola.com for availability and rates.