garden view of Civita di Bagnoregio

Overlooking Civita di Bagnoregio and close to Lake Bolsena and Orvieto, Lubriano is a small and pretty town in the beautiful countryside where Alto Lazio meets Umbria and Toscana. History, wine, olives, a volcanic lake and rolling countryside. Perched on a ridge overlooking the Valley of the Calanchi and Civita di Bagnoregio (the ethereal 'dying town') our place is a restored old stone house, that is flanked on either side by other houses but has its own garden that takes in - that view. The house has traditional terra-cotta floors, exposed beams in some rooms and a very simple country eat-in kitchen with an open fire place. There are three bedrooms, the largest with own small bathroom (WC and shower) and a large bathroom with washing machine. The smallest bedroom has a french size double bed (140cm) and the third room is for the kids with one bunk and a kids single. No TV here! But lots of books and a portable computer for DVD viewing if anyone (i.e. kids) gets desperate and we also provide wireless for guests. All year round there is a limited shuttle service that links Lubriano with Bagnoregio (for the must do walk to Civita) and the lake foreshore at Bolsena. This means that in Summer you can stay in Lubriano and go down to the lake to swim and relax for the afternoon, all details of this shuttle and connections with Orvieto and Viterbo can be found in the house manual. For enthusiastic walkers you can also walk directly from Lubriano to Civita (about 3 hrs return). Ask me for more information about wine tasting or archeological visits in the area. Our garden has a vine covered pergola (with grapes late summer!), gas BBQ, cubby house and a vegetable patch with summer tomatoes and more. Our prized fruit trees are a young plum and a hazelnut. Guests have access to the entire house and garden. As we are in the middle of the old town we ask that guests respect the neighbors. In high summer we ask guests to water the garden, in return for being able to pick from our garden beds! Lubriano is a town of just 900 inhabitants and as the house is in the town you can go out for supplies on foot, visiting one of Lubriano's two superb local butchers, the fornaio, fruit and wine vendors or the mini market. Fresh farm laid eggs are usually available from the fruit shop and minimarket. Lubriano has a lot of restaurants for a small town, the best being 'Il Vecchio Mulino' which is in the Slow Food guide and one of the reasons I discovered the town. Book the terrace and have lunch overlooking - that view. In summertime the Palazzo Monaldeschi takes bookings for it's beautiful swimming pool (no kids) and there are a host of local festivals like the Chianina Beef festival (early July) and the Festa della Torrre and local wine cantinas (late July). In early summer there are apricots by the stone museum house in the valley, in late summer early autumn figs and grapes can be foraged along the track past the cemetry, and in mid autumn there are persimmons and chesnuts start falling in the valley under the town. Lubriano is very convenient for visitors because you can park in the old centre. In busy periods the main piazza carpark by San Giovanni Battista (100m from house) is sometimes full but there are more spots by the Theatre and towards the cemetry (200m).