Villa Specialumbria

Our desire for Umbria, for having our own 'casale' there, dates back to 2001. Through a very close friend, an Italian lady who lives in The Hague, responsible for our first steps on the long road of learning the Italian language (and cucina!), we discovered Città della Pieve and its surroundings. We got to know the agriturismo 'Antica Frateria Poggio al Piano', the great place where we spent our first days in the area in September 2001.

In Spring 2006 we came across a beautifully located plot of buildable land. Although we hadn’t planned to buy a property to build, we were able to get all the guarantees we needed and decided to take the challenge.

Initial construction work started at the end of the winter period, in February 2007. By then, we had marked the position of the house on the plot.

Meanwhile, we made an extensive plan on furnishing and decorating the house as well as on how we wanted to create the garden. With so called 'mood boards' we were able to discuss with our family and friends the right atmosphere and combination of furniture, fabrics and colours. Fortunately, there was more than enough time to get these things organised: we chose new fabrics for some beautiful old chairs we found in the Netherlands and in Italy and we discussed with local craftsmen in Umbria how we wanted the antique dressers, tables and chairs to be restored. In the end our home became a mix off all kind of styles, continously in development as around every project we come accross things we like ourselves as well. It became a bit an addiction, but we love it.