Here in the hills of rural Umbria you will both be "in the country", with tranquil lanes for walking or jogging, and also within easy reach of many of central Italy's most famous and wonderful destinations.

In addition to Orvieto and Todi, our two closest medieval jewels (see the "Where It Is" section), you can, in under an hour, be in Assisi with it's unforgettable Cathedral of St. Francis with its important early Renaissance Giotto frescos; in Spoleto where the world-famous Spoleto Festival is held each summer; and magnificent Perugia with it's famous foreign language program and its perhaps even more famous Perugia chocolate. Tours of their factory can be scheduled. Also, Perugia is home to the summer festival of Umbrian Jazz.

Less known but well worth a visit are the cities of Gubbio and Spello. Deruta is half an hour away and is a major pottery and majolica center where shopping is irresistible, but where it's also possible to study ceramics.

These are just the high spots. Dotted throughout the area are an almost endless number of small and mid-size villages and towns waiting to be explored. One of them that's not far from Todi is Montecastello di Vibio, a picture perfect hill town that is also the home of the Concordia Theater, better known as "The Smallest Theater in the World." It's a delight to see, and frequently has performances of various kinds -- a great treat if you can arrange tickets.

There is also a world-class spa about 15 minutes away that welcomes day visitors.

As well as the delights of Umbria, there are, of course Tuscany's wonders, and they include Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, and, a little further away, Lucca with it's massive ancient wall. These can be reached by car or train for day or overnight trips.

Rome, the Eternal City, is just two hours away by car or one hour by train from Orvieto.