In Torgiano, Italy, in the heart of Umbria, my wife, Rosalie, and I spent a few days at the wonderful, unique, 5-star Le Tre Vaselle (Via Garibaldi 48 06089 Torgiano, Perugia, Italy; phone 075 9880447, fax 9880214) in June ’11. This beautiful hotel, complete with a swimming pool and spa, was converted from a 17th-century mansion.
Our room was large, bright and air-conditioned, with a king-sized bed. We paid €199 (near $286) per night, a special promotion price which included a bottle of wine, two drinks at the bar and, on one night, a 5-course dinner with wine in the hotel’s restaurant. The meal was superb. (There were packages for a weekend’s stay for two, with a cooking class, for €580.)
Included in the room price, their breakfast buffet was excellent and one of the largest I’ve seen.
Torgiano is a sleepy, medieval, hilltop town with magnificent views of the valley below. The town, itself, is not very interesting except for two museums, MUVIT, aka Museo del Vino or the Wine Museum (Corso V. Emmanuele 31; phone 075 9880200), and MOO, aka Museo dell’ Olivo e dell’ Olio or the Olive Oil Museum (Via G. Garibaldi 10; phone 075 9880300). (Both museums are open 10-1 and 3-5, Monday-Sunday, October-March; 10-1 and 3-6, April-June, and 10-6, July-September. €4.50 each or a combined ticket for €7.)
Torgiano was convenient for visiting the Umbrian towns of Assisi, Gubbio, Todi, Perugia, Spoletto, Deruta (famous for ceramics), Cortona and, on Lake Trasimeno, Castiglione del Lago.
GERALD BITMAN
Lake Worth, FL