Villa Aureli - Historical country villa - 4 apts. in Perugia

Villa Aureli
In the heart of Umbria, near the beautiful ancient city of Perugia,
Villa Aureli stands like a jewel in a peaceful and hilly
countryside, where lines of cyprus and pine trees mark the horizon.
The Villa dates back to the middle of the 18th century, when a
Perugian nobleman, the Count Sperello Aureli, transformed a 16th
century tower into his country residence, adorning it with frescoes,
prints, stuccowork and furniture, which can still be admired today.
Among the many wonders of the Villa are the Vietri (Naples) ceramic
floors, designed room by room according with the decorations of the
walls and ceilings, the bright first floor gallery, the elegant
ornamental walls of the garden and the quatrefoil-shaped fountain
facing the orangerie.
The present owner, the Count Sperello di Serego Alighieri, is an
astrophysicist working at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory in
Florence. Following a tradition of hospitality started by his father
Leonardo, he offers two beautiful apartments in the Villa, where the
guests enjoy the rare atmosphere of the house and the privacy of the
large terrace garden "all'italiana", with its big potted lemon
trees.
Each apartment in the Villa has a separate access from the garden. The two units
can be rented jointly. Simply unlocking a door they can host a large group (up to 14
guests).
The house of Adolfo
During world war II Villa Aureli was used as headquarters by the german first and then by
the allied troops.
Adolfo Guelfi was the faithful gardener who saved all the furniture and precious objects
contained in the villa by walling them up in a hidden room. His house was built in the
eighteenth century and is adjacent to the orangerie; it has been recently restored
respecting the original features. It has air conditioning and modern facilities, and original
furniture from the villa. Direct access to the garden and to the swimming pool, and
private spaces for open-air dining.
The swimming pool
The swimming pool (12x3m), once an ancient water cistern, is set in
a sheltered and fenced area of the park, with southern exposure and a beautiful
view on the hills.
Services
On demand, we'll be happy to provide meals prepared with the
products of our farm, following the local ancient recepies,
accompanied by our red and white wines and by our "limoncello" made
out of lemons from the garden trees.
Free wireless Internet connection is available.
The guests of each apartment of the Villa and of Adolfo's House have a private entrance
and private spaces in the large garden, to relax and to enjoy dinner outside by
candlelight.
They all have access to the swimming pool, made out the ancient water cistern of the
vegetable garden. The internet point is situated under an old linden tree in the main
courtyard: it is actually an internet tree!
The small dog Pepe looks after the guests, and the cats Cactus and Coco are often around
in the garden. Our sheeps and chickens have a peaceful life in the fields down the park.
Environment
At Villa Aureli we care for environment issues and we try to offer our guests a stay
consistent with the ecosystem. When the Villa and the garden were made some centuries
ago, there where no electricity nor gas, and chemical fertilizers did not exist. Both were
therefore built in order to minimize energy needs.
The thick walls isolate efficiently the rooms from cold in winter and from heat in summer.
The system of water pipes collecting rain from the roofs and leading it to the orangerie,
to the fountain and to the water tank of the vegetable garden - now transformed into a
swimming pool - used to provide water for the garden without energy consumption.
In order to face modern life's extra energy needs we installed a system of photovoltaic
solar panels that covers the needs of all the apartments, including air conditioning in
Adolfo's House, where the walls are not as thick as in the Villa.
In the bathrooms the guests will find nice olive oil bars of soap.
We offer our guests meals cooked with the products of our farm, containing no
preservatives nor chemical products, prepared following the tradition of Umbrian
cookery. Some of these products, like wine, oil, vin santo, limoncello, bitter orange
marmalade and honey are available for sale to our guests.
We provide our guests different garbage cans for selective collection of waste, that we
take care to dispose of.
First floor apartment
suitable for 5-6
This spacious apartment (200 sqm), has original 18th century
furniture and decorations. It has ten windows providing a fine view
to the garden and a confortable drawing room with an open fireplace
and a piano. It has independent access from the garden via an ancient
tower.
Accomodations:
two drawing rooms, double bedroom with ensuite bathroom, twin
bedroom, second bathroom, bed in the studio and sofa-bed in the
large drawing room, dining room, small but fully equipped kitchen.
TV, dishwasher, washing machine.
Second floor apartment
suitable for 4-8
This apartment (200 sqm) is sunny and bright, with it's
four balconies and fourteen windows overlooking the garden.
It still has the original colorful 18th century decorations and
furniture. Rare sets of ancient prints decorate the drawing room and
the gallery. The main stairway of the villa provides independent
access from the garden.
Accomodations:
large drawing room, gallery, double bedroom, twin bedroom, dining
room, fully equipped kitchen, large bathroom, ground foor WC,
central heating. TV, DVD player, dishwasher, washing machine.
On demand, two adjacent double bedrooms and one bathroom (70 sqm)
can be added to the apartment, with a 35% addition to the basic
price.
Suitable for 4 in the standard version, or 8 in the enlarged version.
Adolfo West
5 guests
Beautiful apartment recently open to guests, in the "House of Adolfo", the lovely house of
the former Gardener Adolfo.
Two bedrooms, one double bed + one single bed, one double bed, large bathroom, one
smaller bathroom with shower, living room with fully equipped Kitchen, TV, air
conditioning, barbecue, access to the Villa garden and swimming pool, private courtyard,
dishwasher, laundry, beautiful furniture and paintings.
Free baby bed and chair available.
Adolfo East
4 guests
In the same house of the Gardener, suitable for four, 2 bedrooms, one large bed, two
single beds, one large bathroom with shower and tub, living room with fully equipped
kitchen, TV, air conditioning, private courtyard for outside dinner, dishwasher, laundry,
direct access to the Villa gardens and swimming pool, lovely ancient furniture.
Free baby bed and chair available for all the apartments, pets very welcome.
Please, always check availability with the owners

Surroundings:
Villa Aureli is situated in the heart of Umbria in a hilly, sweet
countryside, next to the village of Castel del Piano, which has
supermarket, chemist, shops and dining facilities.
The etruscan city of Perugia with its monuments, museums, theaters,
restaurants and boutiques is only 10 km away. Villa Aureli is a
perfect starting point for siteseeing to many other
charming ancient cities of Umbria (Assisi, Todi, Gubbio, Orvieto,
Spoleto), Tuscany (Siena, Cortona, Arezzo) and Marche (Urbino, Iesi).
The Trasimeno lake with its beautiful islands is very close (12 km).
Also within reach are the wonderful Val d'Orcia and the Mounts Sibillini.
Firenze and Roma can be reached in about two hours, by car or train.

Local activities and sports:
Visiting the most beautiful cities of central Italy and the great umbrian wine cellars,
cycling (bikes available), horse riding, swimming, thermal baths (30km), sailing on the
Trasimeno lake, tennis, walks in the nature.
Two golf courses nearby:
Golf Club Perugia, 2 km. away, 18 holes
Comune: Perugia PG
Località: Ellera Umbra
Frazione: Loc. Santa Sabina
Golf Club Antognolla, 30 km. away,
Str. San Giovanni del Pantano 06070
Comune: Perugia PG
Località: Antognolla
Altitudine: mt.420 s.l.m.
Very fine restaurants and wine cellars in the area.

Weekly rates
The weekly rates in euro are: 1.500, 1.200, 920 in the high season, 1.280, 1.000, 800 in
the middle season, and 1.000, 850, 700 in the low season, for every apartment in the
Villa, for the Adolfo West apartment and for the Adolfo East apartment, respectively.
The high season is July and August.
The middle season is May, June, Sept., Oct., Easter, Christmas/NewYear.
The low season is in all other periods.
Second floor enlarged version (8 persons): please add 35% to the weekly rate.
Linen, towels, swimming pool towels, weekly cleaning, all charges included.
Heating (second floor apartment and Adolfo's House only) not included.
Please note: always check availability with the owner.