Price	Starting from € 4750 per week (more information)	Price on request.
Sleeps	10
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	5
Accessibility	The house is not specifically suited to guests with reduced mobility, although there are two double en-suite bedrooms on the ground floor with access to the garden.
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Ponte Rio

An ancient rural setting and original architectural features blend seamlessly with contemporary interiors, a glorious pool and modern art

Ponte Rio is a traditional stone farmhouse that has been transformed into the perfect modern country house. Hugging the contours of the Umbrian hills, the property offers quintessential views over olive groves, woodlands and meadows that have changed little in generations. Guests can enjoy all the privileges of being immersed in this rural idyll, and yet the centre of Perugia is only a few kilometres away.

Bought by two local architects, the house and grounds were sensitively and expertly restored in 2018. Enhancing what was already there, their extraordinary eye for detail and love of modern interiors and art is evident at every turn. In 2023, they decided to add two further bedrooms and another living room (plus a study, laundry room, gym and wine cellar) on the lower ground floor, with doors to the garden, taking the guest count, and the comfort levels, to ten.

Inside the house, the original features are the stars of the show. Stone walls have been sandblasted and wooden beams limewashed, while a pale resin floor flatters the details of these traditional materials at the same time as being lovely to walk on. Staircases seem to float, boosted by clever lighting, and windows and doorways capture the light and the scenery perfectly. Furniture is understated with a modern Scandi aesthetic and discreet flashes of neon lift the natural materials and colour palette. The house flexes with the seasons, remaining cool in summer and warm in winter, thanks in part to the impressive stone fireplace in the upper living room.

Outside, there are various spaces for dining and lounging, that use the house’s orientation to catch the best of the sun and shade at different times of the day. The large dining terrace is perfect for cool lunches and long dinners, while the impressive pool is perfectly placed to make the most of the ravishing location.

Ponte Rio is special and you could easily spend your entire holiday enjoying its charms, reading by the pool, eating delicious local food and gazing at the starlit night sky. For those who can tear themselves away, the old town of Perugia with its stunning galleries, wonderful restaurants and artistic energy is on the doorstep, along with a host of other Umbrian towns and villages in the movie-set landscape of this green heartland.

Rooms description

Bedrooms

There are five spacious en-suite double bedrooms: three upstairs and two on the lower ground floor with direct access to the garden. Exceptional attention to detail includes fabulously comfortable mattresses, beautiful linens, large windows with discreet yet efficient blinds, thoughtfully placed shelves and tables, and designer lighting, against a simple backdrop of old stone and pale wood. In one of the upstairs bedrooms the bed is on a mezzanine (with a clear glass balustrade) while below is a sofa bed that can accommodate another guest on request.

Bathrooms

Each bedroom has its own en-suite shower room that is thoughtfully designed with high-performance fixtures and fittings and little pops of colour. There is a guest toilet on the lower-ground floor.

Kitchen

The attention to detail found throughout the property has also been lavished on the kitchen where there are top-of-the-range appliances and everything that guests could need to do culinary justice to the profusion of local produce. If you’d rather be cooked for, Special Umbria can arrange a private chef. A door from the kitchen leads to the big, covered dining terrace with a seating area that’s perfect for aperitivi and views over the trees and hills beyond.

Living rooms

The double-height living room is on the middle floor of the property and is a celebration of the house’s original stone walls and exposed ceiling beams. Light and spacious, the room is at the heart of Ponte Rio and includes a large and comfy sofa in front of the old fireplace - the perfect place to relax. A modern metal staircase seems to float up one wall and a Knoll dining table with local, handcrafted dining chairs, provides a beautiful space to eat inside. New for 2024 is a lower-ground floor that includes another sitting room and a study, making the house ideal for different generations to enjoy.

Other rooms

The lower-ground floor has a wine cellar, a gym, a laundry room and a guest toilet.

Facilities

Cleaning

The property is fully cleaned once a week, on Saturdays, which includes a change of linens and towels. A cleaner will also pop in during the week. Further cleaning is available on request at extra cost.

Amenities

private pool, pool heating, air conditioning, dogs allowed, hob/stove, oven, fridge, fridge with freezer, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, iron+board, satellite TV, television, wifi, central heating, cot, high chair, barbeque

Accessibility

The house is not specifically suited to guests with reduced mobility, although there are two double en-suite bedrooms on the ground floor with access to the garden.

Outside

The outside spaces at Ponte Rio have been just as carefully planned as the property’s interior and include a rich choice of places to sit, to relax and to eat, all with a stunning, verdant backdrop. The heated pool (14m x 4m) is the perfect distance from the house and includes a deck for sunloungers, and a terrace and dining table under the shade of a large tree. Guests can help themselves from the vegetable garden nearby. Wander the olive groves, drink your coffee à deux near the entrance to the house while admiring the sculptures or float in the pool and figure out a permanent move to this glorious part of Italy.

Notes

The owners live in Perugia but have a summer house next to the villa and might be there during your stay. Your privacy is, however, guaranteed, as their pool and outside areas are on the other side of the premises. Please note that Ponte Rio will be available to rent again from April 2024. The owners are currently renovating the lower-ground floor, which includes adding two more double en-suite bedrooms to take the guest capacity to ten. This increase in size will be reflected in the price.

Availability & Pricing

weekly prices

from 21 December 2023 to 11 May 2024	€ 4750
from 11 May 2024 to 15 June 2024	€ 5500
from 15 June 2024 to 7 September 2024	€ 6000
from 7 September 2024 to 5 October 2024	€ 5500
from 5 October 2024 to 21 December 2024	€ 4750
from 21 December 2024 to 4 January 2025	€ 5500

Cleaning & linen: EUR 250 per week
Pool heating: EUR 250 per week
Sofa bed: EUR 100 per week
Dog fee: EUR 100 per week
Cot and high chair: EUR 100 each week

Security deposit: EUR 750 to be paid to SU before arrival as specified in the booking confirmation.
30% deposit upon booking; balance 30 working days prior to arrival.

Arrival & Departure

Saturdays (depending on other bookings) arrival from 4 PM and departure latest 10 AM. Other arrival and departures days upon request.

Leisure & Activities

Activities

There are lovely walks directly from the property and the area is excellent for mountain biking. Beach and water-sport facilities are available at Lake Trasimeno (45km) and Castiglione del Lago, Tuoro sul Trasimeno and Passignano sul Trasimeno are all pretty towns near the lake that are worth a visit. For golfers there is an 18-hole course at Golf Club Perugia in Ellera Umbra, 20 minutes’ drive away, and Antognolla Golf Club - one of the best courses in Italy - is 23km from the villa. The coastal beaches near Ancona are two hours away.

Specials

Special Umbria is happy to tailor-make itineraries for our guests, including guided tours of national parks or city culture tours. Please contact us directly for rates and availability. We can also organise cooking lessons for you at the villa or if you prefer to leave it to the experts, we can book you a private chef.

Happenings

The world-famous annual Umbria Jazz Festival takes place in the first two weeks of July. Previous artists include Diana Krall, John Legend and Lady Gaga. The Eurochocolate festival takes place in Perugia in October. Please ask us for more details.

Surroundings

Location

Click map for detailed location

Surroundings

The property is just 5km from the centre of Perugia, Umbria’s regional capital and a university town with a busy events calendar. The main street, Corso Vanucci, and the main square, Piazza IV Novembre, are buzzing with people and history. Ponte Felcino is five minutes from the property, where you can buy basic supplies of bread, meat, fruit and veg etc. As you leave the motorway on the way to the villa there are two good supermarkets where you can buy everything you need for your stay.

Travel

Air The nearest airports are: Perugia [PEG] (13km) with direct flights via Ryanair from London Stansted, Brussels and Frankfurt; Florence [FLR] (167km); Rome Ciampino [CIA] (192km); and Rome Fiumicino [FCO] (200km). Train The train station in Perugia [7km] has good connections, including a 3-hour service to Milan. There is car rental available at the station. Road The E45 motorway exit closest to the property is at Ponte Felcino.

Distances

The most important cities in Umbria and The property is close to several towns and cities in both Umbria and Tuscany, including: Perugia (5km); Assisi (25km); Spello (30km); Gubbio (33km); Foligno (35km); Montefalco/Bevagna (40km); Cortona (50km); Todi (50km); Castiglione del Lago (60km); Spoleto (62km); Montepulciano, which is famed for its wine (70km); Siena (122km); Florence (163km); and Rome (177km).

Your villa and Covid-19

To prevent any possible spread of Covid-19 and to enable you to enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday, all our villas are cleaned to the highest standard possible, and according to the latest Italian health and safety regulations.

Perfect hygiene: to ensure an exceptional level of hygiene in all our villas, we’ve worked with our owners to create a Covid-19 villa management protocol. Based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation, and in compliance with current Italian national law, this protocol goes above and beyond our usual rigorous cleaning standards.

Prior to arrival, your villa will have been fully sanitised, including all surfaces, objects, kitchen items, curtains, sofas, throws, pillows, toys, and in and around the pool. You are welcome to ask for a detailed list of the entire cleaning procedure we do after each departure and before welcoming new guests to the property.

The owner of this house has complied with the following standards:

To ensure the necessary information concerning social distancing and the use of masks is available to all guests
To guarantee availability of and accessibility to hand hygiene systems with hydro-alcoholic solutions and soaps in all inside areas of, and pertaining to, the villa
To guarantee cleaning and disinfection of all areas according to national authority guidelines. Further information is available on request
For the swimming pool: to guarantee the efficacy of the water treatments, while respecting legal limits (the parameter for free active chlorine in the pool is between 1.0 – 1.5 mg/l; combined chlorine ≤ 0.40 mg/l; pH 6.5 – 7.5 or equivalent oxygen)
For air conditioning systems: to guarantee the air re-circulation function is switched off and, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with the plant in off-mode, to clean the air filters of the heating/cooling plants that use heat pumps, fan coils and convectors, at the end of each stay