ITALIARENTALS

 

Spring is a wonderful time to visit Italy….it is not too hot and there are less crowds and Easter is a special time to visit and experience Pasqua traditions, which are many and varied from region to region but all begin the week leading up to Easter.  Many town and villages prepare regional specialty dishes for the lead up to Venerdi Santi - Good Friday.  There are many beautiful religious traditios which take place.

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An organised trip for a girls’ long weekend in the Umbrian countryside

Escape with the girls for a long weekend to the green heart of Italy, and enjoy a slice of La Dolce Vita in the beautiful Umbrian countryside.  Our tailor-made tour takes you on a cultural, culinary and sartorial trip where you can learn to make pasta like mama, savour the regional treats of truffles, pecorino and grechetto, possibly take in the designer outlets on the Prada strada, and ponder your purchases with a spa treatment and a poolside dip amidst the Umbrian hills.   

You will stay in a traditional farmhouse, Casa Ilci, just 15 minutes from the beautiful city of Todi, and well placed for your road to the designer outlets just south of Florence.  The house itself oozes character and rustic charm, and has plenty of space to accommodate up to 6 people, with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large lounge, 2 kitchens and a glorious garden full of pine trees.  The terrace is the perfect place to sip an Aperol spritzer and take in the panoramic views across the Umbrian countryside.   Our typical itinerary includes the following, but can be adjusted according to your travel times and specific requirements and of course, season.:

Thursday – Arrive to Perugia on the morning Ryanair flight from Stansted, and collect the rental car from the small and perfectly formed airport, just a 25 minute drive from Casa Ilci.  Upon arrival to the house, enjoy a refreshing, post-flight drink and typical Italian nibbles on the terrace before an alfresco lunch in the nearby city of Todi.  Cooking with nonna begins in the late afternoon, where you will learn to make pasta and a traditional Umbrian dessert at a local agriturismo.  Pay attention, as you will be sampling the fruits of your labour, with a glass (or two) of home grown wine from the local vineyard.  

Friday – Set out early on the road to Prada, the retail outlet in Montevarchi, just a 90 minute drive from the house (directions provided).  Grab your ticket from the Prada machine, and then enjoy a café latte and delicious pastry from the Prada café whilst discussing tactics (we will offer up some secrets to securing the best deals!).  If your shopping fix is not exhausted at Prada, grab a quick salami baguette, and head to The Mall, just a 25 minute journey away, which has many more designer shops, including Gucci, Marni, Tods….and even Prada (but the first is the biggest and the best!).  Head back to Casa Ilci after the Euros are spent up for a wonderful dinner under the stars at one of Todi’s best restaurants, followed by gelato in the piazza if you have the energy!

Saturday – Time to relax with a spa treatment at a local hotel followed by a dip in the pool and, weather permitting, a spot of sunbathing with magnificent views across the grape vines towards Todi.  Lunch is served at their elegant restaurant, renowned for its wonderful, crisp white wine.  Relax in the sun for the afternoon.  Or perhaps take a cultural walking tour of Todi with our local agent, who will fascinate with Etruscan-Roman and Medieval tales of this beautiful walled city, with its incredible architecture and picturesque piazza.

Sunday –Spend your last few hours soaking up the last of La Dolce Vita, and perhaps a quick dash to the local supermercato to stock up on Baci chocolate and jars of Tartufo for the folks back home (or just for yourself…you deserve it!).  Take the Ryanair flight back and be home by tea time, ready to enjoy a bowl of hot truffle pasta and a glass of vino whilst strategizing your next girls’ holiday!    

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Exciting news for anyone due to complete the purchase of an Italian property in the near future or thinking of investing in the Italian property market this year
If you are buying a property in Italy in 2014, due to a restructure in Land Registry charges, house prices will decrease. Italy is one of the only countries in Europe that can boast lower rather than higher charges, the majority of countries are increasing their charges…
If you purchase from a private individual as a first or main home you will save €1,260 in every €100,000, again another 1% decrease.
So, if your Italian property is €300,000 you will save the sum of €3,780 on a first home and €2,700 on a second home.
In these times when just about every which way you turn you are paying more, this is an unexpected surprise. It is also the time when property prices are still at their lowest but are starting to show signs of rising in the more popular areas, so now is a perfect time to buy a property.
Luxury Italian real estate is showing signs of increasing, another very positive factor when you are considering buying your property in Italy is the absence of inheritance tax as long as you leave the property to a close relation.
Finally, if you do not sell the property for 5 years capital gains tax in Italy is not payable.

See on Scoop.it - Living In Italy

The truly great thing about living in Italy, besides its wonderful  architecture, art and culture, food and wine, awe inspiring landscapes and selling

Situated in the green heart of Umbria, and 10 minutes drive to Roman-medieval Todi, there is an exquisite ex 11 century Benedictine Monastery complex waiting for you to discover and enjoy. This exclusive apartment residence  is situated in stunning grounds with a beautiful pool, a wonderfully large terrace, a lovely shaded pergola when the heat hits  and awe inspiring views over the Umbrian varied landscape and medieval towns in the distance.  Guests can be assured a beautiful and relaxing experience in stunning surroundings and comfort

The beautiful unique exterior of the residence is unparalleled charm  and its characteristic spacious interior.  It is finely furnished and with a mix of traditional and all the modern comforts to make your stay memorable and unforgettable.   Both bedrooms share a wonderful  balcony with stunning views over the panorama and a beautiful sunrise.

As the complex are wine producers and olive oil specialists, guests can visit the winery and have tastings of the excellent wines produced and the fantastic extra virgin olive oil, which surrounds the country estate as far as the eye can see.

The residence consists of

1 double bedroom
1  bedroom with twin beds
1 spacious living room with feature fireplace
1  fully fitted kitchen with gas hob/electric fan oven and fridge-freezer
1 large bathroom with wash basin, bidet, toilet and large shower unit
Flat screen LED TV
telephone
internet connection / wifi

Excellent rates - please get in touch for details.

Situated minutes away from the beautiful Roman-medieval hill town of Todi in the Umbrian countryside and surrounded by fields of sunflowers, olive groves,

After a very busy 2013 which included visits to several new wine producers in Italy, as well as arranging many tours, workshops and tastings at winerys in Le Marche and Umbria, we at Vinitours decided it was time to update our increasingly popular website, this would allow us to introduce many new features, including several new wine tours to our existing clients and also new visitors.
The original Vinitours website was created in 2010 to cater for the growing demand for specialist tours to small bespoke wine and olive oil producers in Italy, so by late 2013 as we had a large selection of these tours and workshops in place we decided that we needed to expand and improve our website and other promotional materials.
Our new Vinitours website now allows us to give a detailed description of the wines produced by these small  artisan wine producers and also full details with prices of the tours available from us in 2014. This now allows us to also update our Olivaverde website which concentrates on Italian and Mediterranean olive oils so we are now moving the olive oil producers with the tours to a new section on the Olivaverde site in February 2014

Dopo un 2013 davvero pieno con visite a moltissimi produttori in Italia, la realizzazione di tour, seminari e degustazioni in cantine marchigiane e umbre, Vinitours ha deciso che è tempo di rinnovare il prorpio sito web sempre più visitato, permettendo così a noi di introdurre molti nuovi produttori e tour in pregiate cantine Italiane a beneficio dei nostri clienti sia vecchi che nuovi.
Il sito originale di Vinitours è stato creato nel 2010 per far fronte alla crescente domanda di tour su misura e specializzati in piccoli produttori artigianali di vino ed olio. A fine 2013 il sito presentava un'ampia selezione di tour e seminari ed abbiamo deciso che era il momento adatto per espandere e migliorare il nostro sito web.
Il nostro nuovo sito di Vinitours ci permette ora di avere una dettagliata spiegazione per ogni tipologia di vino prodotta dai vignaioli con cui collaboriamo ed una completa lista di tour disponibili per il 2014. Ciò ci ha anche permesso di aggiornare il nostro sito di Olivaverde, spostandovi tutti i produttori di olio da Vinitorus, e concentrandoci su produttori di tutta la zona del Mediterraneo, creando una nuove sezione sul sito di Olivaverde che sarà disponibile dal prossimo mese.

Nel corso della manifestazione sarà presentato Terred’Olio 2014, il libro-guida curato da Fausto Borella ed edito da Cinquesensi e saranno assegnati il riconoscimento Luigi Veronelli e le Corone Maestrod’olio alle etichette che in questa annata, grazie alla cura e alla sapienza dei produttori, accanto alla benevolenza climatica, sapranno esprimere la migliore interpretazione dei territori che li generano.

Mountain Biking from Ussita up to the Fargno Pass - downhill to the Valle di Panico in the Sibillini National Park.

See on Scoop.it - Living In Italy

The city of Sant'Eraclio, Umbria in central Italy is located some 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of the regional capital, Perugia. Its Carnevale was or.