Events
Shopping and Markets
Towns and Cities
Kids,Sport and Leisure
The Piero della
Francesca Trail
Local and Italian Wines
Kids,
Sport and Leisure
There are lots of sporting and other fun activities to do in the area. Gorgacce Rentals offer a popular tour of our local vineyard, followed by an evening of winetasting. Walking, tennis, horseriding, golf, cycling, windsurfing and kitesurfing are all available locally. It’s possible to make a day trip to an excellent amusement park on the Adriatic coast or simply spend a day at the seaside. Nearby there are trampolines and other amusements for children at Lake Trasimeno.
Sport and Leisure | Family Activities| Wine Tasting
Sport and Leisure
Walking
This region offers some fantastic walking. Until recently it has been hard to find information on walking routes. This problem has been solved with the publication of a waking book by Martin Daykin. The book, Circular Walks on the Tuscany Umbria Border, and several pdfs of new walks are available from this link:
http://www.tuscanyumbriawalks.com/buy-walking-book.html.
Riding
We are pleased to recommend the Centro Ippico in San Pietro a Monte for horse riding. The centre is near to most of our properties and English is spoken by the owner’s daughter, Francesca. With a day or two’s notice, it’s possible to arrange excursions in the local countryside, even for inexperienced riders.
Blog - Horse Riding on Tuscany Umbria Border
Golf
There are four golf courses within easy reach:
Antognolla - 18 holes, close to Umbertide.
Perugia - 18 holes, on the outskirts of Perugia.
Caldese - 9 holes, close to Città di Castello
Lamborghini - 9 holes, near Panicarola, just to the south of Lake Trasimeno.
Blog-Golf at Antongolla
Tennis
There are tennis courts open to the public in Umbertide, Niccone (free), Mercatale and Cortona.
Cycling
Bikes and motorscooters can be hired in Tuoro. For serious cyclists, the professional cycling shop, Cicll Valentini, just outside Castiglione del Lago, is probably a better bet.
Windsurfing and Kitesurfing
Available on Lake Trasimeno at the beach below Tuoro.
Whitewater Rafting
Available in Southern Umbria on the Nera River. Read about Whitewater Rafting, Umbria
Family
Mirabilandia Amusement Park
The biggest amusement park in Italy, Mirabilandia is near Ravenna on the Adriatic coast. It takes around 2 hours to get there from most of our properties, so it’s suitable for a day trip. There are rides and shows for all ages (check out the diving and cops and robbers shows) and other than the self-contained water park, everything is included in the entrance fee. |
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Lake Trasimeno
There is a small beach below Tuoro on the North shore of the Lake. The nearby bars and cafes have trampolines and other amusements for children.
Ferry Ride
Take a ferry from Tuoro or Passignano to the Isola Maggiore for a relaxed lunch and a stroll around the island. From San Feliciano on the East shore of the Lake you can reach the Isola Polvese, good for a picnic lunch and the beach. |
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Funivia Ride, Gubbio
The exciting ride up the mountain behind Gubbio is great fun for all the family. At the top there’s further fascination for children in the Basilica di Sant’Ubaldo. You can see his blackened body on prominent display in a glass case. |
Cascata del Marmore
These impressive waterfalls were created by the Romans when they diverted a river to drain a marsh. The total drop is 165 metres and you can walk all the up to the top. The water is now used to power a hydroelectric plant that supplies the steel works in Terni. As a result the waterfalls are “switched on” only at certain times. a good place to visit on a hot summer’s day, you are likely to get wet! |
Local Wine and Olive Oil Tastings in the Niccone Valley
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Gorgacce Rentals are proud to host wine and olive oil tastings at I Girasole di Sant' Andrea, the only commercial vineyard in the Niccone Valley. This is accompanied by a four course meal. The tour and meal cost €25 per head, children €7/€10.
We will send you an invitation a few weeks before you come out to Italy.
The Tastes of Umbria Experience includes:
• welcome drink of the vineyard's white wine (grechetto)
• visit to a vineyard where cultivation methods will be explained and discussed
• tour of the Cantina (apart from harvest time September/October
• tasting of 4 wines, from the vineyard
• tasting of olive oil produced by the vineyard
• tasting of other local Umbrian products including : truffle products, pecorino cheese, meats |
Weather permitting, our wine tastings take place outside on the lawn of the winery where there are swings, see-saws, a slide, and other children's playground equipment. Children welcome. |
The whole experience will be led by Martin Daykin.
Successful wine producers in Sicily. The Gritti family moved to Umbria in the 1970's buying a small vineyard along with their house. Their first vintage was in 2000. Now their ever growing vineyard covers over 40 hectares. The main grape variety is the red grape, Sangiovese. |
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View photo gallery of wine tour
The Piero della
Francesca Trail
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Tuscany and Umbria were at the centre of the Renaissance. The Renaissance, or re-birth, looked back to the knowledge and art of the Roman and Greek civilisations. The stylised art of the so called Dark Ages and medieval period were superseded by a more realistic representation of the world around us.
Piero della Francesca, born in San Sepolcro in 1410, was one of the great Renaissance painters (and also a mathematician), renowned for his ability to paint in perfect perspective. Five of his great achievements can be seen in day trips from all the places we rent (or, if you are keen enough, in one day of cultural excess). In fact, until the American art critic Berenson “discovered” him, Piero della Francesca had been largely overlooked because most of his works were in smaller towns. |
In Arezzo, in the church of San Francesco, are the frescoes that make up the "The Story of the True Cross" - a truly remarkable feat on a grand scale (seen in "The English Patient" film). Telephone ahead and book a place as numbers are strictly limited. The Duomo in Arezzo also has a small fresco of Mary Magdalene on the far left wall.
Going east from Arezzo is Monterchi where the well known "La Madonna del Parto" ("the Madonna in Labour") is now part of an exhibition of Piero's life and work.
Moving a bit further east to his birthplace of San Sepolcro, the gallery there has the much parodied but unsurpassed "Resurrection", possibly the first painting to deliberately have been painted from two view points, as well as the more traditional “Madonna della Misericordia”.
East of San Sepolcro, over the "mountains of the moon" lies the jewel of a perfect city in Urbino. The paintings of Frederico, Duke of Urbino, and his wife Batista are now in the Uffizi galleries in Florence but the Flagellation of Christ, the "greatest small picture ever painted" is the star attraction in the elegant, Renaissance Ducal Palace. You can also see another Piero painting here, the unusual Madonna of Senigallia.
Arezzo is probably best visited as a day trip because it has many attractions both in its history and art and in its shopping potential. With an early start the other three places can all be seen on a one day driving trip. Note, if you are just going to Urbino for a day trip, then it’s quicker to go past Gubbio from most of our properties.
The National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia contains a Piero altarpiece with an incredible Annuciation and several other Renaissance masterpieces.
A recent visit to Sansepolcro, Monterchi, and Arezzo, Tuscany.
The Madonna del Parto, Monterchi, Tuscany: the restoration of a masterpiece. |