He hasn’t yet found a definition to describe himself Centumbrie, the hospitality and tourism project which tells the excellence and beauty of a small portion of Umbria, the one overlooking the east coast of Lake Trasimeno. A “widespread village”, made up of places that tell a story of the territory: a project that, like everything new, is still waiting for someone to find a way to define it. On the other hand, it is also understandable: how do you name a vision?
The vision is that of the engineer Michele Cinaglia. He, after a successful career, decides to return to his and his wife’s places of origin, and to enhance them by returning them to the community and tourists who pass through these parts (for a long time unfairly considered a sort of “outskirts” of Tuscany) . So, with the help of her children Miriam and Giovanni, Cinaglia started the project CM Centumbrie, financing it entirely with a part of your personal capital. He takes six ancient country houses and renovates them, making them elegant villas harmoniously immersed in the nature and history of these places, thanks to the use of Umbrian terracotta, stone, materials of the past combined with some pieces of contemporary design, which he looks out here and there in the rooms. He takes the Umbrian fields and returns them to their original crops, putting sustainability, high quality, organic and short supply chains at the centre. And then with those products (olives, grains, vegetables, grapes) he starts a kitchen, or rather several kitchens, and chooses to have them managed by one of the best chefs, Gennaro Esposito, who is not Umbrian, but has fallen in love with Umbria.
Yes, it’s actually difficult to narrow down Centumbrie just enough to tell it. The ideal, of course, would be to see it with your own eyes.
The villas (and Luisa Spagnoli’s house)
The renovation was challenging, but engineer Cinaglia had given no room for compromise. The materials, the workmanship, the craftsmanship had to restore these country houses to their ancient beauty, respecting the local tradition and the stories they preserved. Stories like those of Villa La Cotogna, birthplace of Luisa Spagnoli or those of Villa Battisolelocated on a hill overlooking Lake Trasimeno which was overlooked, at the beginning of the 20th century, by the residence of Vittoria Aganoorone of the greatest poets of that period, author of numerous verses dedicated to this sun-kissed hill, and her husband Guido Pompilj, an important political figure who saved the lake from drying up wanted by some speculators.
Therefore, the i.e. were called to refurbish them local master craftsmen, authors of the recovery of furniture and accessories and of the creation from scratch of unique pieces that could refer to the original style, without distorting it while modernizing it. Today those villas can be rented, for a different tourist experience than usual. Villa Battisole, for example, takes you back in time, with its sunsets over the lake, and its outdoor spaces which include a panoramic infinity pool. 820 square meters for sixteen beds, which can be rented at an attractive price (considering the size and beauty of the spaces), although in the luxury category.
The smallest, however, is Villa Bianca La Luna: 170 square meters for three bedrooms with garden and swimming pool, and a panoramic view that embraces the Polvese Island, on Lake Trasimeno.
Agricultural projects
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