There is the thousand-year-old village hillside, reborn thanks to a couple of Roman entrepreneurs and transformed into a destination of great beauty. There is the repopulated farmhouse from an Emilian family dedicated to good food and authentic relaxation in the country side. And there it is Largest spa resort in Umbriamade such by a family of tobacco farmers who have never forgotten the connection with their land, so much so that they use them as suppliers 70 small local artisansfrom the cheese producer to the mill.
Artisans of taste and small and large family epics that intertwine their stories against a unique background, that of the hills and medieval villages in the shadow of the best-known cities of art, such as Assisi, Perugia, Foligno and Montefalco.
The Umbrian landscape
Gualdo Cattaneo, the reborn village
“I arrived here in November. It was all dark, the old tavern from 40 years ago was closed, let alone the grocery store. There was only one black cat. But the village was waiting for me.” Giorgiana Guidiarrived in Gualdo Cattaneo with her husband Raffaele Tomaino four years ago, it rolled up its sleeves and restarted the clock of this small village with noble origins (the foundation date is set at 975, when Emperor Otto III of Saxony he gave it as a fief to the German count Edoardo Cattaneo) perched on a hill surrounded by olive groves and vineyards at 446 above sea level. Today the Grottino Hosteria and Residence it is a model of widespread hospitality: the warm and intimate restaurant with an exposed brazier, which has earned a recommendation on the Michelin guide thanks to the happy union between revisited traditional dishes and top quality products, it was created in the old parish priest’s rectory, while the rooms were created above overlooking the sunset beyond the silent square. A few steps away, in another ancient building, there is the bistrothe heart of the village’s activities organized by the volcanic landlady, from music to walks, from picnics to trekking, up to muscle toning in the vineyards, which recall the shade of the ancient fortress visited Also by Galileo Galilei (who stayed there in 1624 during a visit to Perugia) tourists and young people from the nearby villages.
“Every year we open a business. For the summer we will also have a Spa for a maximum of 6 people and small suites”, continues Giorgiana, who in recent years has revived the village, bringing work and friends, who have purchased the old houses, putting them back in place. “We are a widespread condominium,” she likes to say.
Il Grottino Hosteria and Residence
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An apartment building that looks like a movie set, with the Rock Sonora to dominate the scene, with three churches as backdrops: Sant’Andrea, Sant’Agostino and Santi Antonio e Antonino, all dated between 1100 and 1200. Gualdo Cattaneo in fact played an important role in the past due to its strategic position which allowed check the Tiber valley and the Spoleto valley, and was therefore disputed for centuries between Foligno and Spoleto. It also passed through here the old Via Flaminia and here in the fifteenth century, on the ashes of a previous building, the fortress was built, the last of a more complex system of fortifications. Restored under the aegis of Pro Loco and Fai, it is called Sonora because it tells the visitor through a journey of sounds, voices and suggestions.
Borgobrufa, the Spa with Umbria around it
To reach the most famous spa resort in the region you cross the Sculpture Park, an evocative journey between nature and art created in 1987, inviting one artist per year to exhibit their works in the streets overlooking the vineyards and small squares of the village and acquiring a work created specifically for the town. Brufa, nestled on the hills of prestigious vineyards Torgianese wine production, dominates the Tiber plain and the Assisi plain up to Foligno. And the landscape is the true protagonist of every corner of this resort, from the large hot water tub of the Spa to the window of the restaurant Four Sensesoverlooking the hills dominated by Perugia and Assisi.
Borgobrufa Spa
Borgobrufa Spa Resort was born from the vision of Andrea and Ivana Sfascia40 years of marriage and great agricultural traditions such as tobacco producers. It all started from a small family farmhouse transformed in a few years into a point of reference in central Italy in the luxury Spa Resort sector, with 3000 square meters of tanks, hot waters and steam, latest generation treatments and a cosmetics line made with agricultural products from Borgobrufa’s crops, as well as a panoramic sauna and swimming pool that enchant on one of the most beautiful views in Umbria. A business model strongly linked to the territory, thanks to the choice to use 70 micro suppliers and also transfer those values of “wellbeing” for the territory into the kitchen, with the fine dining proposal of Elements restaurant (which joins the Quattro Sensi), led by chef Andrea Impero and recently awarded the prestigious Michelin star. A star, which in the case of Borgobrufa, is not only haute cuisine but is also synonymous with correct nutrition with menus built in compliance with nutritional balance. “We started in 2019 with the project of 70 local farmers and producers to offer a quality product at the table and enhance this tradition of hard work”, explains chef Impero, who had “his” cheese made, offering it in portions to customers of “Elements”.
Borgobrufa
Glass, nature and Christofer Domiziani’s works of art and design are the protagonists of all the spaces, from the rooms to the relaxation rooms, up to the exclusive Imperial Emotion Suite, one of the most spectacular and largest in Italy: a 480 square meter refuge designed as a small private wellness hotel, with a private entrance hidden from the most prying eyes, check-in directly in the room, room service and extra luxury services to enjoy a personal spa in total privacy.
Assisi, the Cardinal’s inn
Assisi, Basilica of Santa Chiara
In the heart of the city of San Francesco, a few steps from Basilica of Santa Chiara and from the town square, there is a restaurant built on a Roman era settlement. During the renovation works the owner Roberto Damaschi together with expert restorers, brought to light some rooms probably pertaining to the western sector of the Domus Romana Assisiate, dating back to 75 BC. The Palace, in 1549, was the residence of the Cardinal Bartolomeo Roverella, appointed governor of Assisi and Perugia by the Pope. Today here you can dine immersed in the history of art. On the upper floor the rich rooms with sixteenth-century frescoes are dedicated to the events, while below the environment tells of two eras: the medieval one with bricks and vaults and the one revealed under the glass floor, with the mosaics and walls of the ancient domus, between fragments of pottery in the display cases and paintings on the walls.
The Roman room
A place that is not only beautiful and interesting, but also a stop for visits by school groups. A refined paradise for gluttons enhanced in honor of tradition by the menu of the highest quality cured meats, from Pata Negra to Cinta Senese Ham, but also by the new dishes created by the resident chef, Diego Pennacchia, in collaboration with chef Andrea Impero, who brought the star to the Elementi restaurant in Borgobrufa. Sommelier Marco Venarucci, capable of easily navigating among the over one thousand labels in the cellar. Ambitious goals in a region that only has six starred restaurants.
The oil artisans
A visit to award-winning Frantoio Decimiamong the suppliers of Borgobrufa, redefines all the old concepts of tasting. Romina and Graziano DecimiThat support visitors in their experiences “oil tourism”, they define themselves as oil artisans. “We educate those who come to the palate, but above all to the nose and the aromas released by the oil, as is done with wine”, explains Romina. “My husband and I chose this profession first as tasters and then as producers. In 2004 we had 50 plants, today there are 2700. We aim for product quality without compromises”.
Decimi oil mill
And their farm a Bettona, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, in an area known as the Etruscan terrace of Umbria, have also become an experimental center thanks to the use of technology. Respect for the territory, the Martani Hills, is sacred, and the line of quality recognitions is very long, from Gambero Rosso, to Bibenda, up to Slow Food. The latest is from this year: “Emotion” received the award for best blended-intensely fruity extra virgin olive oil in the “The Best 20 Flos Olei 2024” ranking.
La Favorita, a corner of Emilia
The visit to the Frantoio Decimi is one of the many experiences linked to the territory proposed at Badia Umbra from ‘The Favora food & wine resort located in the country house of the White nobles of Perugia, among crops of corn and Chianina stables. A different experience than usual food and wine tourismwhich ranges from mixology to wellness treatments, passing through dairies and microbreweries, harvesting of truffle and transhumance, up to pork butchery and to the chocolate factory, off the beaten track.
La Favorita, food&wine resort
It’s all about the Capedri familyfamous in Sassuolo in the Eighties, those of endless evenings and discos, thanks to “Lambrusco club”, open from 7pm to 7am for the night crowd. Here Cesare Capedriwith father Domenico, king of the vegetable garden, of the vineyard, of memories and of Nocino, and mother Rosy, famous for her tortellini and the fried gnocco, they brought the tradition of Emilian cuisine, merging it with the territory of their new home. A perfect fusion whose symbol is the experience of gastromixology, which reuses kitchen products without creating waste and in an original way, bringing unusual ingredients such as Lambrusco and balsamic vinegar into cocktails. And here, in the shade of the vineyards, you can taste, rest (there are also rooms with small spas) and take a dip in the pool at a very slow pace.
The treasures you don’t expect
It’s a few kilometers away Bevagna, a fortified city on the plain, among the One Hundred Most Beautiful Villages in Italy and among the Orange Flags, where medieval, Romanesque and Gothic come together to testify to its ancient roots. A village still alive thanks to the many events among which the Gaite Marketwhich in the last ten days of June reconstructs the rural and artisanal life of the districts, including ancient crafts, challenges and traditional dishes. To the Tuscan border you encounter the nature of Mount of Santa Maria in Tiberinariot of mushrooms, truffles and bruschettaa beautifully restored village in the presence of the imposing Bourbon Del Monte palaceuntil you dig in province of Arezzo and discover the village of Monterchi for a unique experience: the meeting with the Madonna del Parto by Piero della Francesca. One of the masterpieces of the Renaissance was in fact created here, in the mid-fifteenth century, in Piero’s mother’s town. It was painted for a church, on the border between Monterchi and Citerna, called Santa Maria a Momentana, a place known since ancient times for rituals linked to fertility. The work was moved after some work to the town’s former primary school: the place, transformed into a museum, where it can still be found today, far from the most popular routes, for a one-on-one experience.
