Villa Gioianna is a love story about a house under the Tuscan sun, with faded blue shutters and a white façade. Approached from a cypress-lined avenue, the Villa and its surroundings will immediately charm you: its organic form of architecture, hillside location overlooking the lake, vineyards, sunflowers and olive groves, a sense of tradition, history and family memories contained within its walls. Rustic in the sense that it is deeply attached and rooted in the earth and traditions of generations, but elegant and graceful in a way no country house could be, it will capture your heart and you will not be able to resist.
The house itself is beautiful, but its crowning glory are the views. On the one hand, Trasimeno Lake with magical reflections of the sun and moon on the shimmering water surface. On the other side there is a picture-perfect panorama of vineyards, hills, villages and mountains, that will make you wonder if this is an idealized painted background for a movie about Tuscan life in paradise.
We hope you will appreciate what we value the most here: privacy, peace and quiet, meals prepared by an Italian nonna, local wine, lazy days in the garden and swimming pool, and adventures in Umbria. We cordially invite you to enjoy La Bella Vita.
Villa Gioianna, is an historic country residence which sits on a small working estate composed of gardens, an olive grove, a fruit orchard, woods, and herb and kitchen gardens upon a hill above Lake Trasimeno with a view of Tuscany, Umbria and the Lake. Step inside on the terracotta and hand-painted ceramic floors, take in the elegance of the whitewashed walls, walnut doors and wood-beamed brick ceilings. The interior is decorated with antiques, luxurious textiles, oriental rugs, comfortable beds and unique lamps and lighting.
When furnishing the house, we focused on comfort as well as beauty. The beds are always dressed with high-thread-count Egyptian cotton bedding but, upon request (and for slightly extra), you can choose to have your bed made up with antique, trousseau-quality, embroidered French linen sheets from my private collection. To sleep on freshly ironed, fragrant air-dried linen sheets is heaven!
We rent the Villa as a whole, not by individual rooms. The Villa will accommodate up to 16 guests in eight rooms containing ten beds. Pending availability, the Villa can be rented as a four-bedroom home for up to eight guests at a proportional rate. Each one of the eight romantic bedrooms has its own beautifully tiled bathroom. Several of the bathrooms have hand-painted tiles, others are clad in travertine marble bearing the colours of faded frescoes; all but one of them is equipped with a decadent, deep, soaking tub so you can relax after a strenuous day of sitting by the pool and eating fantastic meals.
The floorplan of Villa Gioianna:
Ground floor: grand entrance hallway, living room with fireplace and French Doors opening onto the back terrace, dining room with fireplace, kitchen (with fireplace) and French Doors opening onto back terrace, small bathroom
First floor: large hallway with seating area and French Doors opening to a small balcony, four bedrooms, each with their own large bathroom
Second floor: large hallway with fireplace and seating area, four bedrooms, each with their own large bathroom
All windows have screens and interior and exterior shutters to keep out the light and, in the summer, keep out the hot midday sun.
An essential element of La Dolce Vita is the preparation of delicious food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. In Umbria, we cook with love and passion. At Villa Gioianna, you can be similarly pampered with the lovingly prepared food of an Italian mama: in this case, our favourite nonna. The absolute, non-negotiable basis of this cooking is uncompromisingly high-quality ingredients. We source ours from our fruit orchard and kitchen garden, olive grove and herb garden, chickens and ducks. We rely on local suppliers and the outdoor markets for any vegetables that we don’t grow ourselves, cheese, marvellous fresh yoghurt and ricotta, honey, meat, game, rabbit, truffles, and unique local specialties such as an absolutely divine organic olive oil/pistachio or olive oil/hazelnut and chocolate spread.
If you would like to learn how to cook like an Italian Mama, we would be pleased to recommend cooking lessons, either at the Villa or at a professional cooking school. From a traditional nonna to an enthusiastic "New Italy" chef, we will find the right culinary fit for you. Or, combine a meal with a cooking lesson or a wood-fired pizza lesson. Tempt your children away from their phones for a family pasta-making lesson that you will remember for years. We know the area well: the wineries, sights, restaurants, charming hilltop medieval towns . . . tell us what you’re interested in and we’d be happy to suggest restaurants, foodie visits, all kinds of day trips.
Of course, if you’d like to prepare your own meals, the kitchen is fully equipped with a five-burner gas stove, oven, woodburning oven, fireplace, two refrigerators, dishwasher, four-slice toaster, food processor, Italian and French coffeemakers, mixer, blender and all the glasses, plates, cutlery, pots and pans that any cook would need.
This is definitely not the time to start a diet!
This Italian getaway has the best of both worlds: located in the heart of the countryside with all the benefits of having a lively historical city and charming villages nearby. The medieval town of Castiglione del Lago is the nearest market town (6 km), sitting high on an olive tree-covered promontory jutting into the west side of the lake. The town's magnificent medieval castle and palace dominate one end of the old town, the 19th-century church of Santa Maria Magdalena the other. In between are small shops, restaurants, cafés, bars and bakeries and, on Wednesdays, an outdoor food, crafts, clothing, and sundries market. Below the town are public beaches where you can rent a paddle or rowboat, and nearby there is a pizzeria, gelateria, volleyball and soccer games, tennis courts, cafes and a disco. Or, simply float on your back in the lake, gazing back at the ancient town up above on the hill. For touring, Castiglione del Lago provides easy access to the superstrada linking Perugia and eastern Umbria to Siena, Chianti and western Tuscany, and is the embarkation point for ferries servicing the lake islands.
Within an hour's drive of the Villa, there are many historic Umbrian and Tuscan hill towns such as Assisi, Arezzo, Cortona, Montepulciano, Montefalco, Orvieto, Pienza, Perugia, Deruta, Spello and Montalcino, as well as other less well-known, but perhaps more charming, smaller villages, each with its own art and out-of-the-way restaurants and cafes waiting for you to discover. Many of central Italy's other leading historical and cultural centres (Rome, Florence, Todi, Siena, Spoleto, Gubbio, Montalcino, and Urbino) can be reached in less than two hours.
A few suggestions on how to spend your time with us:
~Relax by the pool, practise yoga, paint, sketch or read on the yoga platform or in the Lotus tent
~Taste Umbrian's excellent wines. To start, walk next door! We are bordered on one side by the vineyards of a world-class, family-run winery. Enjoy either an informal short tasting or a long, sit-down informative one, and then return home with a table wine (vino sfuso) tucked under your arm, or some bottles of one of the best reds, whites or Rosato to be had in Italy.
~Do as the ancient Romans and bathe in the warm, healing Tuscan hot springs. Rich in minerals, the waters are naturally heated and relaxing. Your skin will feel so soft afterwards.
~Visit and shop in the walled medieval villages of Deruta, famous for beautifully painted ceramics since the Renaissance, and Montefalco, the centre of traditional Umbrian textiles. Or in an ancient village reinvented as the production centre and outlet store of one of the most luxurious cashmere designer labels in the world. Or hunt for treasures at one of the tempting outdoor antique markets.
~Explore the olive groves, vineyards and woods of the hills around Lake Trasimeno on hiking, mountain biking or horse-back riding excursions. Sail, windsurf, swim, kitesurf, paddle, row, on the lake. Climb mountains, spelunk underground, navigate whitewater rivers.
What’s there for children?
First and foremost, children can enjoy nature, fresh air and exercise at the Villa. The property is fenced and there is plenty of room for children to play in the woods, field, and olive grove. We do not provide play equipment and toys specifically for children; our experience is that they are highly creative and inventive in making their own fun with what they find in nature. Children (and adults!) are welcome to use the sports equipment (balls, badminton set, croquet set) and, for rainy days, there are books (Italian and English), indoor board games and jigsaw puzzles. There are also plenty of things to do in the area that children will love and we'd be happy to share our tried-and-true attractions with you!
