Umbria boasts an array of lakes, spectacular views from hilltop Etruscan towns, like Orvieto and still has affordable country homes with land
As a former resident of Umbria, I was mesmerized at first sight. We were traveling back from the Bologna auto show and stopped in the hilltop Etruscan town of Orvieto for a stroll followed by dinner. It was a crisp fall afternoon and Orvieto had an almost magical quality with the smell of burning firewood in the air and large plates of wild boar and porcini mushroom pasta in front of us; accompanied by a chilled Orvieto Classico wine (ok their wine is not my favorite, but when in Orvieto … ).
One thing led to another and soon we owned an apartment on the hill with a large plant filled terrace and a fountain visible from the funicolare ride which takes you from the train station up to the historic center. Occasionally, when feeling energetic, I would walk through the farmer’s olive groves up the hill instead of taking the funicolare.
We lived in Orvieto for about six years and loved to explore the region which includes medieval cities like Assisi, Gubbio, Perugia, Todi and Norcia. In fact, if you fancy a walk, you can follow in the footsteps of St. Francis throughout the region, staying in monasteries and church owned property along the way. The region is also filled with curvy, winding roads and hills making for challenging cycling, and adventurous sports car driving. And, it has numerous wooded areas where truffle hunting is common, but watch for the wild boar which also like to forage in the woods.
Orvieto, where we chose to live is on the A1 a major highway which runs from Milano to Napoli, also linking Florence and Bologna along the way. But, if you don’t care for racing with crazed Italian drivers on the autostrada, you can also take the train. Orvieto is exactly 55 minutes from Rome on the Inter-City train which I took daily for work. Caveat emptor, at least once per year, the railway employees who are government workers tend to strike which would force me to work from home. But, all things considered I preferred living in a small town with zero traffic, wide open green spaces, and where the cost of property was (at the time) about 75-80% less than Rome. At the time we purchased our apartment in Orvieto, our rent for a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Rome of approximately 40 sq. meters had just increased to 1.250 Euro. This was in 2007. At the time, purchasing a decent sized apartment in Rome; 2 bedroom and 80 sq. meters or more would have cost close to 500,000 in our area of town which was located about 500 meters from the Colosseum and called Monti.
Umbria is a beautiful and economic choice; the region is centrally located and sandwiched between Toscana to the North, Lazio to the South and its Eastern neighbor Le Marche, and you can choose to fly into Rome’s Fiumicino airport or Florence just to the North.
200 sq. m casale for sale in Orvieto
Umbria was a happy, affordable solution for us at the time, and it may still be for those of you too who are looking for a dream home in the green heart of Italy.
If Umbria were a US state, it’d be comparable to a warmer Wisconsin or Minnesota, but with volcanic as opposed to glacier formed lakes
If you are interested to know more about available property in Umbria please contact 1LoveItalia for a free consultation.
