Situated in the heart of Umbria, just outside the city of Perugia and high above the village, surrounded and protected by its own grounds.
The property is strategically located: it is close to the renowned artistic and religious centres of Assisi, Spoleto and Siena, enjoys easy access to Rome and Florence and is served by an international airport.
The main building of the Villa was constructed around a 15th Century watchtower by the Marquis Monaldi, who erected a large house surrounded by gardens.
In the 20th century it passed to the Bertocci Family and afterwards to the “Congregazione di Carità di Perugia”.
In 1930, Count Francesco Maria Guardabassi bought the property and engaged the famous Roman architect Ugo Tarchi to refurbish the property which became renowned for its luxurious appointments and natural beauty. Formal Italianate gardens were designed including a large pond where swans could nest. Winding pathways were laid in the park-like grounds and through the adjacent woods, and a large swimming pool was added, as well as a Tuscan style farmhouse, greenhouses – one of them a “limonaia”– and various useful outbuildings including a cowshed, stables and a pigsty. The area of farmland was also increased. A 2½ mile (4km) aqueduct was put in to guarantee the water supply that such a large house and extensive gardens would require. As was customary in grand homes, a hunting reserve was created, stocked with pheasants and hares.
At the beginning of WWII, the villa was rented to the Bulgari family, the famous jewellers of Rome. Because of the villa’s importance, along with its central strategic location, for a time during the war it became the headquarters of the German Army, and later of the Allied Forces. During these two occupations the villa was stripped of most of its household furnishings and abandoned, as happened to many such properties across Italy.
In 1989 the property was bought by its current owner who has spent years returning the villa to its original splendour.
The villa is once again surrounded by formal Italianate gardens, a park with many fountains, a swimming pool, a pond with swans, a gazebo, a small amphitheatre, a well and a large cistern serving the aqueduct.
The grounds boast a rich variety of evergreen and deciduous trees, including box, privet, laurel and lilac, maritime pines, bamboos, yews, cedars of Lebanon, palm trees, orange and lemon trees, magnolias, etc….. The blossom and scent of these trees spreads all over the property, mingling with those of the olive trees, the vines and the hazelnut trees in the surrounding farmland.
The interior of the Villa has been carefully restored with particular attention to architectural detail, yet at the same time it is a warm and comfortable home. There are numerous ground floor rooms with frescoed walls and ceilings with medieval and classical scenes and a panelled library that is simply exquisite. 17th Century hand-painted French doors enclose the main sitting room. Almost every room in the house has an imposing marble fireplace. The large conservatory is paved with hand-painted Deruta majolica and brickwork.
Division of the property (Note: these measurements are approximate)
Grounds:
Hectares (ha) 35 – divided as follows:
Ha 5 – park and gardens
ha 2 – recently planted vineyards
ha 28 – arable farmland.
Buildings:
sqm 2450 – main villa with 12 bedrooms & 12 bathrooms
sqm 721 – refurbished farmhouse consisting of 2 apartments, each with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms
sqm 1378 – old farmhouses
sqm 500 – outbuildings.
