“One of the reasons I love traveling to Italy is to experience its depth of history. I’m a bit in awe of it actually,” says American business owner James McIver. On a recent road tour of Umbria, McIver happened upon a holiday rental property known as Fattoria Verde.
Thinking Fattoria Verde to be a quiet, rustic agriturismo destination, McIver was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was all those things—and more. Fattoria Verde’s owners—a very old and important Genoese family who received their first title in 900 after aiding in a crusade—maintain the property, vineyard, farm, and grounds to this day.
“The place was lovely,” says McIver, “and I was quite taken in by it. I stayed in the smaller rental cottage, which was about a mile from the family’s home. After arriving, the family invited me up to their farmhouse for antipasti and wine that they make themselves, right on the property.”
The farmhouse, as McIver calls it, is the family’s ancestral home. It was built in the 1400s as a convent and, over 400 years later in 1815, was purchased by a cardinal and direct descendant of the Spinola family. Since that time, the family has claimed 13 cardinals and a former secret secretary to the Pope.
As McIver and his hosts shared an evening together, the conversation quite naturally led to an informal tour of the home and the family’s numerous relics and antiquities—ranging from ancient Etruscan artifacts to more modern heirlooms like cardinal robes and ledgers.
“One of the most amazing things about this property,” says McIver, “is the chapel, which is just a short walk from the farmhouse. I was charmed, to put it mildly.” This sacred chapel, which was built at about the same time as the original convent, still stands; for the family, maintaining it as best they can is a labor of love and a responsibility they feel to their ancestors. Inside the chapel, the aura of reverence is palpable. Displayed prominently is a marble Paliotto—or intricately decorative panel that adorns the front of the altar—in which a sacred stone from Jerusalem is set.
“This place is a gem,” says McIver. “Sometimes the best parts of a holiday are the things you don’t—or can’t—plan. I’d had no idea when I booked my stay at Fattoria Verde that I’d be stepping 600 years back in time.” From the quiet chapel to the winsome farmhouse, from the rustling vineyards to the peaceful Umbrian hillsides, Fattoria Verde is, indeed, a hidden gem of Umbria.
Fattoria Verde can be booked here.
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