Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Vannucci, Citta della Pieve
Facts in brief
Official star rating 4
Location In the centre of Città della Pieve, within walking distance of the town's key sights.
Annual opening 20th March to 7th January
Closest airport Perugia San Egidio
Distance from airport 1 hour by car
Closest railway station Chiusi-Chianciano Terme
Distance from railway station 10 minutes by car
Hotel facilities and services
Ristorante Zafferano, La Pergola (outdoor summer dining), pool bar, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, sauna, Jacuzzi, solarium, private walled garden, wine cellar, wine tastings, cooking classes, library, terrace, 24hr front desk, laundry service, lift, luggage storage, and free public parking nearby.
Complimentary
Wi-Fi
Out and about nearby
Città della Pieve itself rewards thorough exploration — built in distinctive pink-red brick and sitting at 508m above sea level, the town holds several works by its most celebrated resident, the Renaissance painter Pietro Vannucci (Il Perugino), all within minutes of the hotel: the large fresco Adoration of the Magi in the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi, two further frescoes in the Cathedral of Santi Gervasio e Protasio, and the Deposition from the Cross in the Museo Civico Diocesano. Lake Trasimeno lies around 20km away, where the mediaeval lakeside town of Castiglione del Lago offers ferry crossings to the lake's islands, cycling routes, and water sports. San Casciano dei Bagni, just 14km from the hotel, is known for its 40+ natural hot springs, including free open-air Roman-era thermal pools and the Fonteverde spa. Montepulciano and Pienza are both within 35km, the latter a UNESCO-listed Renaissance planned town and a producer of Pecorino cheese, with both towns offering access to the Val d'Orcia landscape. Orvieto, around 45km away, is well worth the drive for its Gothic cathedral, the Orvieto Underground cave network, and the Pozzo di San Patrizio — a 62m-deep well with a distinctive double-helix staircase.
Sports nearby
Horse riding, cycling, hiking, golf, and water sports at Lake Trasimeno.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code EXH4675
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Vannucci, Citta della Pieve
Hotel Vannucci, originally the Villa Mirafiori, dates to the 1880s, when Vittoria Spinola commissioned a pair of villas and landscaped gardens in Città della Pieve to accommodate wealthy Roman visitors. Inaugurated as a hotel in 1903, the property changed hands across the 20th century before being acquired by the owners of the Hassler Roma — who undertook a full two-year renovation before reopening in 2020. The hotel takes its name from Pietro Vannucci, the Renaissance painter known as Il Perugino, who was born in this town and whose works can be found in several of its churches and galleries. Ornate iron gates open onto private landscaped gardens, with views across mediaeval rooftops and the Umbrian countryside below. All 30 rooms were crafted by local artisans using regional timber, wrought iron, and handmade furniture, with historic paintings and pieces selected by Astrid Wirth giving the interiors a layered, considered character. The décor throughout celebrates Umbria's craft traditions, and the careful use of locally sourced materials ensures that the renovation feels rooted in its surroundings rather than imposed upon them. Ristorante Zafferano — named after saffron, Città della Pieve's most celebrated local product — draws on Umbrian and Tuscan seasonal produce, with homemade pici all'aglione and pappardelle alongside truffle dishes, wood-fired meats, and a well-stocked regional wine list featuring bottles from Montalcino, Montepulciano, and beyond. In warmer months, La Pergola opens for outdoor dining and aperitifs by the pool, extending the restaurant's offer into the hotel's private walled garden. The wine cellar hosts tastings for guests, and cooking classes with the resident chef — available for groups of up to ten — offer a hands-on way to engage with the region's culinary traditions.
Room descriptions
Hotel Vannucci has 30 rooms, each with Wi-Fi, air conditioning, flat-screen satellite TV, telephone, slippers, hairdryer, minibar, electric kettle, safe, desk, and daily housekeeping.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code EXH4675
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Vannucci, Citta della Pieve
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to Hotel Vannucci, fly to Perugia San Egidio airport and collect a hire car. Alternatively, if you are exploring Italy by rail, arrive at Chiusi-Chianciano Terme, and we can arrange transfers from the station. However, a hire car is recommended for making the most of the surrounding countryside, wine estates, and hilltop towns.
Additional information
Children: Hotel Vannucci welcomes families, with Family Rooms accommodating between two and six guests. Extra beds and cots are available on request in Deluxe and Family rooms.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code EXH4675
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Vannucci, Citta della Pieve
About Umbria
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to Umbria offers the chance to explore a lesser-known rural area of Italy. Umbria is a gentle, undulating land of hills, river valleys, a patchwork of fields, vines and olives similar in many ways to her better-known neighbour, Tuscany, yet in other ways so very different. Umbria evokes a deeper rusticity, a less ‘polished' feel than Tuscany, the secrecy and mysticism of the Middle Ages and yet because of this holds a charm and fascination for the visitor. The hill towns are superb in their own right; steep, narrow cobbled streets with overhanging arches, the grey stone enlivened here and there by pots of geraniums. Ancient crafts remain very much alive, with ceramics and woodwork in particular. Umbria abounds in Roman architecture with Gubbio and Spoleto being noteworthy and there are Etruscan remains too. The food is hearty and earthy too with truffles and porcini, sausages and salami being regional specialities. Yet Umbria also has some of the most important religious sites in Europe, such as the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi and throughout the region are to be discovered outstanding works of art by Perugino, Giotto, Pinturicchio and Gozzoli. Umbria is an intriguing region that awaits further discovery.
Highlights of Umbria
Shop for ceramics in Gubbio, truffles and cooked meats from Norcia. Dramatic landscapes of the Monte Sibillini and one of Europe's highest waterfalls called the Cascate delle Marmore near Terni. One of Italy's beauty spots is the Fonti del Clitunno south of Trevi. See carpentry and woodworking in Todi. Visit the wine museum in Torgiano. Forests of holm oak near Spoleto. Antique fair in April and a national craft fair in August and September in Todi.
Cultural highlights of Umbria
A mixture of religious and secular art and architecture makes Umbria fascinating. The cities of Perugia and Assisi are great centres but the smaller towns of Gubbio, Todi, Spoleto and Spello are also of outstanding interest. Highlights of the region include the Fontana Maggiore in the Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia. Perugia`s Galleria Nazionale containing works by Perugino and Pinturicchio. Gattapone`s Palazzo dei Consoli in Gubbio and his Ponte delle Torri in Spoleto. The `Adoration of the Magi` by Perugino in the church of the Madonna della Lacrime in Trevi. Frescoes by Matteo da Gualdo in the Pinacoteca of Gualdo Tadino. `San Sebastiano` by Luca Signorelli in the Pinacoteca at Citta di Castello. Frescoes by Giotto and Lorenzetti in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.
Festivals in Umbria
Perugia has a jazz festival in the summer and the Sagra Musicale music festival held in its churches in September. Orvieto holds concerts in August and has a firework display on the 15th. Spoleto`s Festival of the Two Worlds, a world-class cultural event, takes place June and July. Spello holds its Infiorata in June when the streets are decked with flowers. Foligno holds jousting in September during its Giostra della Quintane.
Gastronomy in Umbria
Umbria's gastronomy is very much a product of its earth and waters: Mushrooms and truffles flavour many dishes, Game and wild boar, Trevi produces black celery, olive oil and black truffles, Pecorino cheese from Torgiano, Todi offers Panzanella, dried bread soaked and marinated in sliced tomato, basil, onion and olive oil, Sweet macheroni with walnuts, Salami and sausages are a regional speciality, Trout from the rivers and perch from Lake Trasimeno, Strangozzi and Bici are local pasta, often flavoured with porcini and truffles. Umbria produces some high quality robust red wines near Torgiano (Rubesco produced by Lungarotti for example) and Orvieto is known for its white wine.
