3286 Medieval renovations by private owners

As the senior editor of ItalianVisits, I have spent a lot of time in Umbria, writing about its cities, towns and villages, and moving around the countryside in search of, well, anything and everything really. (Sometimes you don't know what you are looking for until you find it!)

I was in Umbria in February when the weather was wet, cold and miserable, but feeling, as I always do when I go to Umbria, energized and enthusiastic. It is probably my favorite region in all of Italy, due I think to some correlation between the place and my distressed North American soul. During the last days of February, there was a distinct whiff of spring in the air, and the landscape was undergoing its usual transformation, shifting subtly from a wide spectrum of browns into a fabulous palette of greens that will seem explosive in April and May.

Two places I visited astonished me because their owners have done what the government can hardly afford to do, which is to reclaim and restore an array of medieval buildings that would otherwise continue their steady decline.

The first of these was at Le Torre di Bagnara, overlooking the north Tiber Valley just south of Umbertide. The other was Le Terre del Verde, a few kilometers west of Gualdo Tadino. To get to the latter, we drove up the gorgeous valley north of Valfabrica, a drive I will take many more times in the future.

Le Torre di Bagnara is owned by a family who trace their ancestral roots back to Napoleon. The sloping property now an "agriturismo" (lord, I hate that word!), consists of a 13th century tower built during the times of Frederic II, a small church, a small castle and various other buildings that were more or less a pile of rubble when they took on the restoration work.

Le Terre del Verde sits on 460 hectares of hilly land through which flows a small river. A small cluster of medieval buildings - a church (built in 1006), a guard tower, a barn etc - have now become a small borgo hotel, but again, the restoration work has been meticulous. In the hills behind the hamlet the owners are hard at work restoring another small castle, the Castello Frecco, and a tiny gem of a church that dates to the 11th century or so. The land has also been put back into production: there are cows, sheep and goats, and two "laboratories" where the owners produce cheeses, sausages and other products which make their way to the tables of the restaurant, located in what used to be a medieval cow barn.

These are but two examples of restorations that have been undertaken by private owners. I suppose we could cavil that they have done this for venal reasons - to make money - but I for one do not mind this in the least because the work is being done, AND...the facilities are accessible to the public.

I'd love to hear of more such places. Contact me directly if you wish: [email]vian.andrews@italianvisits.com[/email]

Very best to all
Vian