The Il Nido apartment is cozy and beautiful. It was a perfect launching point for us to visit Orvieto and Montalcino, and tour Assisi. The hosts are gracious and quite helpful—even setting us up with an ecotour at a nearby winery! The unique apartment is part of a renovation of an antique glass factory and its history makes its current condition a perfect home for travelers to the region. Highly recommend staying here if you plan to visit Umbria.
We stayed for 3 weeks in this magical villa! The planning of our stay was so easy with help from Colleen and Tom. We were there to celebrate our 50 years of marriage. Colleen and Tom helped us arrange everything from cooking lessons to a chef catered party and a professional photographer! The small hill town of Piegaro was perfect for our grandchildren big and small to be able to wander freely and experience life in Italy. I’ve only been back home a few hours and am already missing my life in Italy!
I can't say enough about what a wonderful experience our family of 5 (2 adults, 3 teens) had during our time at L'Antica Vetreria this Spring/Summer. The lodging, the town, the people were all so welcoming and comfortable. The rooms are extremely well appointed, everything you could possibly need to relax, cook, BBQ and entertain and can accommodate everything from couples to large groups. Tom and Colleen were so warm and kind along with being a wealth of information about the surrounding area. The location is perfect with countless options for local day trips. If you are looking for a home during your time in Umbria just book this now you won't be disappointed. We are already plotting our return and bringing friends!
It is now November and here in the Pacific Northwest the cold, wet weather has set in. I'm finally writing this belated review as I reminisce about my family's wonderful, sunny trip to Italy this past summer. A highlight of that trip was the week we spent at L'Antica Vetreria in the picturesque hill town of Piegaro. Colleen and Tom are two North American expats who have created their own "Under the Tuscan Sun" experience, only across the provincial border in Umbria. They found an old derelict medieval glass factory and converted it into four fabulous apartments for rent one week at a time. The location is ideal for day trips with our rental car to locations such as Orvieto, Perugia, Lago Trasimeno, and Assisi in Umbria. It is near the border with Tuscany, so Siena, Montepulciano, Pienza, and Montalcino are also easy day trips. Tom and Colleen are a wealth of local knowledge with tips for local trips to the weekly market in Tavernelle and more formally, a weekly trip for their guests to the marvelous organic and carbon neutral winery, Castello Monte Vibiano. When we arrived, Tom gave us a tour of the village and later Colleen gave us a tour of the glass museum. Piegaro was a perfect place for our family to spend a week off the main tourist track. It has only one hotel in addition to L'Antica Vetreria and a small handful of expats living there. In one week we came to recognize our neighbors, were known on sight at the small bodega, butcher shop, cafe, and restaurant, and felt there was an attitude that we foreigners were guests in the village rather than invading tourists. Our charming apartment was on two levels, a living room and well-equipped kitchen downstairs and upstairs two bedrooms with comfortable beds and a clean bathroom. The swimming pool overlooking the countryside was an added bonus providing relief from the summer heat. Some nights we took home the bounty from the local markets and cooked, eating alfresco at sunset on the flower filled terrace, and enjoying the company of fellow guests in other apartments. We recommend this place without reservation.…
I can't say enough good things about the setting, comfort, people of Piegaro, and cooking possibilities of the L'Antica Vetreria! Six friends, five bedrooms, and our delightful hosts rigged an extra bed for the spacious upstair living space so we all had room to roam and relax. If you want to include a little cooking (or a lot), the kitchen has ample dishes, cookware, and supplies, including excellent local olive oil, vinegars, and spices. Our hosts, Colleen and Tom, made it clear from the start that all was at our disposal, including the fresh herb garden by the pool. Built inward from the 1300s wall, the villa had both ancient roots and superb modern comfort and convenience, as well as knockout valley views from the windows. The charming restaurant and bar just up the street also offered the opportunity to meet the locals and learn a little Italian along the way.…
This is my second visit to this stunning, serene, historic L’Antica Vertreria. So touched was I on my last visit, that I dreamed of bringing my women’s group of 46 years here. This year it happened in celebration of our entry into our 70th decade (although we self-identify as in our 50’s). Colleen and Tom knocked themselves out to make our week utterly magical from the scrumptious dinner at the local restaurant on arrival , glass museum, carbon neutral vineyard, hot springs spa (where we may have irritated others with our attempts at Happy Birthday water ballet), to the visit to Cartona. They are both great story tellers and super fluent in European history. Don’t miss bringing those you love to this utterly awesome place!
I’m trying to find words to describe the incredibly unique experience of my stay with dear women friends in the precious little town of Piegaro last month, with hosts who have taken this village into their hearts and lives, restoring a 12th century glass factory into an absolutely lovely place to stay, all in the heart of magical Umbria. In this world of such density and rapid change, I highly recommend this lovely travel experience…one that felt as if time was reversing itself, allowing us to experience life in the slow lane, and to not only witness but be a part of a very dear, close-knit culture and community. A truly heart-warming and nourishing experience, made all the better by the generosity of our hosts, Tom and Colleen, who made sure we were able to have all of the available experiences that mattered to us (culinary, winery, touring, glass museum, and more). This offering is deeply rooted in heart and love for a place and its people. Watch out: you might fall in love and stay.…
There were 18 of us!!! Colleen and Tom made it possible. The setting is perfect. Remote enough, but ammenities at your doorstep. We took up the Villa and two adjoining apartments. Each offered its own unique and beautiful accommodations, all surrounding a pool with a marvellous view of the Umbrian Valley. There were cafe's, a wonderful restaurant, and a butcher shop steps from our door. We spent two weeks and would have stayed longer. Colleen and Tom were always there when we needed them. They even spent 6 hours with one of our group who had car trouble. They accompanied them to the mechanic and drove them back to the Villa. Wow. The location was perfect for day trips. We even spent a spectacular night in a neighboring town for the Umbria Jazz Festival. Colleen and Tom were always there to offer advise, but they also left you to do your own thing. We felt truly at home and cared for. The setting and the hosts made this vacation more than than we could have asked for.…
My husband and I had a magical time at this very special property in the charming hilltop village of Piegaro! Colleen and Tom are true visionaries to have brought this beautiful medieval glassworks back to life as vacation villas. (Disclaimer: I know Colleen personally, but had not seen her in years before we rented this Villa. I came away utterly impressed by her vision, passion, and hard work to make this a special experience for her guests!) Getting to participate in the rhythms of the town (population: 300) was fun and a privilege, from morning espresso and cornetti at the local bar to Aperol spritzes before dinner and gelato during the evening passeggiata, and retreating to our lovely rustic villa for an afternoon siesta or late-day swim was wonderfully relaxing. Colleen and Tom are exceptional hosts, who share their passion for the area and its history and give plenty of tips on places to go and things to do nearby. With their guidance, we enjoyed excursions to a few of the many alluring towns and attractions within an hour or two's drive from Piegaro, including Pienza, La Foce, Orvieto, Todi, and Panicale. We were also lucky enough to be in town for the Corpus Domini festival, when villagers gather flowers from the neighboring hillsides then decorate the stone streets of the town with floral "tapestries"! We timed our trip to coincide with another family we're friends with, and we all had a great time exploring during the day and dining (and sometimes cooking) together alfresco at night. We even shared wine and tapas and became friends with another couple who return to Antica Vetreria annually! I will say we were in Umbria during a heat wave and were a little concerned, but the thick stone walls and electric fans kept the villa nice and cool, especially if we followed our hosts' advice and kept the shutters closed during the day.…
A beautiful conversion of an old glass foundry, right in the centre of a super little hilltop village with shops and bars. Unique experience in a medieval village in Umbria. Lots to do in the area and the knowledgeable hosts enthusiastically organise a tour of the local glass making museum (which has historic connections to the holiday property) and a really interesting vineyard tour in golf buggies plus pretty much anything else you want to do. Plenty of space for 2 or three families in the main villa where we stayed. Great cooking facilities in the villa with a grand table to eat at, although the restaurant and pizzeria (Echoes) a one minute walk away are superb, so hardly worth cooking - probably the best and certainly the cheapest pizzas we have ever had. Nice wine for 10 Euro (2019). Bedrooms are all ensuite, very nicely finished and there is plenty of space to spread out. There is a plentiful supply of reading material and guide books, both published and written by the hosts.…
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