San Gregorio - Solfagnano - Province of Perugia

A tarmac lane, lined with ancient umbrella pines, leads you up to San Gregorio, a quiet country house just over 10 miles north of Perugia and only a couple of miles from the main north-south highway. The original chestnut ceiling beams and the authentic doors and windows, with ingenious old catches, discreetly make the point that this is the genuine article. There are cool terracotta tiles underfoot as you step out of bed and wander into the big farmhouse kitchen for a reviving espresso.

You enter the ground floor of the house by either the huge sitting room, with lots of inviting sofas, an Italian billiard table and a telescope for scanning the skies, or via a small but well-equipped kitchen. This conveniently opens straight onto the splendid shady dining terrace - one of a plethora of pleasant outdoor sitting areas. There’s also a handsome double bedroom, with views across to hilltop Civitella, and a refurbished bathroom on this floor.

Outside, brick steps lead to an airy loggia on the upper floor, where you enter the original farmhouse kitchen with its old dining table, open fireplace and authentic atmosphere of times past (plus all the modern gadgets every cook could wish for). The pretty sitting room on this floor has glorious views from its deep windows. There's another double bedroom and a third bedroom with two single beds on this floor too, each with en suite bathrooms. All three bedrooms have air conditioning.

A vineyard and olive trees cover much of the 2½ acre grounds, while around the house there’s a beautiful well-established flower garden. An old arched barn provides shaded parking and there's even a fridge by the pool to ensure well chilled bubbly is always to hand.