GORGACCE VACATION RENTALS

Tuscany villa rentals. Umbria villa rentals. Tuscany and Umbria Accommodation. Umbria and Tuscany villas, cottages and apartments

The majority of our houses and apartments have Gorgacce Rentals Information booklets, updated annually. Information particular to each house is included as well as restaurant and sight seeing suggestions and most of the information below.

Events
Towns and Cities
Kids,Sport and Leisure
The Tastes of Umbria Experience - Wine and Olive Oil Tasting
The Piero della Francesca Trail

Kids, Sport and Leisure

Lake Trasimeno. Ferry trips to two of the islands from Passignano and Tuoro. Tuoro Beach has trampolines and a few other amusements for small children.

Tennis
Public courts available in most towns including Cortona, Umbertide, Niccone and Mercatale.

Walking
Look out for the CAI tracks marked with red and white stripes. Buy local walk books available from this link daykin@netemedia.net

Swimming Pools
Public baths open air in Umbertide (open July and August). Swimming pool with flumes in Camucia (summer only).

Theme Park - Mirabilandia
North of Ravenna (2 hours from most of our houses). A relatively inexpensive, state of the art adventure park great fun for all ages

There are several golf courses in the nearby area. To check golf fees and club hire please look at the following sites:

www.golfclubperugia.it

www.abbadiagolf.com/

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Local Wine and Olive Oil Tastings in the Niccone Valley

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 followed by a supper of locally produced steak, salad and bread for those who wish to stay.
We will send you an invitation a few weeks before you come out to Italy.

For a price of £8 or €12.50 a head for the tasting and tour/tasting/dinner €25/head. 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 3 wines, 2 from the vineyard and a guest wine.
tasting of olive oil produced by the vineyard
tasting of other local Umbrian products including : truffle products, pecorino cheese, meats
Tour, tasting and barbeque: 25 euros. Children under 16: 6euros.
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 Sangiovese, this is flanked by Montepulciano, Colorino and a little Merlot.

Demonstration of Truffle Hunting
We are happy to arrange for you a demonstration of truffle hunting with dogs at I Girasole di Sant' Andrea for a price of £10/head. To include truffle tastings

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Apartments in historic towns

The Piero della Francesca Trail
Piero della Francesca, born in San Sepolcro in 1410, is a master of the Renaissance renowned for his re-invention of perspective as well as his other painterly attributes. 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 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).

Fresco of the story of the True Crosstrueoss

Going east from Arezzo is Monterchi where the well known "La Madonna del Parto" ("the pregnant madonna") 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" as well as other Piero paintings and frescoes.

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 "best, small picture ever painted" is the star attraction in the elegant, renaissance Ducal Palace.

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.
The National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia contains a further work and other renaissance masterpieces.