Casa Cielo, Tuscany/Umbria |
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Price List
The kitchens in the houses are set up for serious cooking, attracting gourmet cooks and gourmet eaters from all over. One of the best ways to experience the local cuisine is to have Melchiorre, a close Italian friend of ours, come to the houses to prepare a custom meal, including such dishes as suckling pig roasted slowly in the old outdoor brick oven at La Pietra, grilled lamb spitted over the large open fireplaces, or handmade pastas, bread and fresh ricotta made from the milk of his family's sheep. For more details, Click on Amore Sapore.
SPECIAL FEATURES
SIZE: 2 floors, 4 double bedrooms, 1 single bedroom, 3 bathrooms. BEDS: Sleeps 10 people. Top Floor. 2 queens, 2 singles.
Ground Floor. 1 double, 2 singles
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Walking
distance from the Alta Bella Houses, Casa Cielo is perched on a
high vantage point overlooking the Tuscan and Umbrian hills, rolling
farmland and two castles. Its spectacular location suggests that
the house - classic stone "casa colonica" built around
a three story tower - played a strategic role in relation to the
two medieval castles that it overlooks.
One can imagine a very colorful history for Casa Cielo, which must
have been a silent observer of Medici led incursions, papal armies
and the generations of peasants that worked the castle lands that
supported the gentry. Today, it offers a serene country retreat
and a perfect base from which to view the infinitely rich hill towns
of Tuscany and Umbria, many of which are within 45 minutes. Closer
by, the Etruscan era town of Cortona and the Roman playground of
Lake Trasimeno lie 25 minutes to the West. All shopping and basic
services are within 8 kilometers of the house. 
The
house which has been divided into two separate floors, each with
country kitchen, outdoor eating terrace and living room with open
fireplacecan sleep up to 10 people. On the ground floor there are
two double bedrooms with one bathroom, while on the upper floor
there are two double bedrooms (one of which includes a separate
single bed for flexibility in sleeping arrangements), one single
bedroom and two bathrooms. Wrought iron canopy beds in the master
bedrooms and antique furniture throughout the house give a sense
of luxury, while also displaying the high quality of local craftsmen.
The romantic master bedroom on the upper floor is located one level
up in the third floor tower, with windows on two sides, offering
a magnificent private retreat from which to view the undulating
countryside and shifting light effects from dawn to dusk. 
Restoration
of this house was done using the traditional materials, including
large oak beams, terra cotta floors, and hand painted Italian tiles
in the kitchens and bathrooms. While the house provides a lovely
recreation of a classic Italian farm house, it also offers such
modern comforts as dishwashers, high quality cooking appliances,
and washing machine.
In
several of the rooms, imaginative use of plaster and paint recreates
the pastel colors used by the peasants to brighten the harshness
of their lives. And everywhere there are windows and french doors,
creating luminous interiors, and making the natural landscape the
house's most dramatic element. 
Out
of doors, there are eating and lounging terraces with spectacular
views, and a separate barbecue area. Winding stone path ways lead
to the private swimming pool, located just above the house and which
provides a truly panoramic perspective from which to relax and recreate
in the midst of your peregrinations through the artistic and cultural
riches of Umbria and Tuscany.
Amore Sapore: Catered Vacation and/or Italian Cooking Classes
at Home 
