Casa vacanza Ponte Marchetto

In the immediate vicinity you can enjoy fantastic walks and long-distance walks. These paths are accessible directly from the holiday home, from where you can walk to the deep gorges of Fosso Cavaliero and Fosso Marchetto with medieval bridges and continue to the top of Monte Subasio or to ancient sites such as Spello, Armenzano and Assisi. The more active sports are paragliding, horse riding and mountain biking. It is even possible to enter the gorge with a wetsuit, which requires you to keep a close eye on the weather. There is a large network of trails in the Regional Park. There is also a long-distance pilgrimage, the so-called La Via di Francesco, from north to south from Tuscany (Firenze), Emilia Romagna (Rimini) to Lazio (Roma) passing Monte Subasio. This route, which also passes through Assisi, can be completed in stages on foot or by bike.

The flora is very diverse, including primroses, crested hyacinths, Adonis and orchids. The wildlife is also diverse, including wild boar, porcupines, red deer and birds of prey. The colorful Hoopoe can be seen up close and is always audible. Small flocks of fireflies can be seen in the evening and color the evening and night, right by the house. The area is a calcareous hilly landscape with deep gorges and numerous springs where the water rises here and there from Monte Subasio and continues its way via waterfalls.

Medieval places such as Assisi, Perugia, Gubbio, Spoleto, Armenzano etc are nearby and there is a lot of cultural history about the Middle Ages, the Roman period and well before that the Etruscan period. Rome can be reached within two and a half hours and Florence within about two hours. Rome and Florence can also be reached by train from Assisi (Santa Maria Degli Angeli). Assisi is a beautiful medieval town on top of the valley slope with beautiful views. There is a lot to see in Assisi, including of course a lot about St Francis (also the patron saint of World Animal Day October 4), such as the Basilica of St Francis, the Eremo delle Carceri, a hermitage complex in the middle of a beautiful forest on the slopes of Monte Subasio with truly beautiful views.

Around the house:
We bought the house in 2023, it is a converted house at the foot of Monte Subasio, the ground floor of which used to provide stable space for livestock. We live in the downstairs area ourselves and the entire upstairs apartment is for holiday rental. Both are accessible via the ground floor and completely independent. The associated grounds are 3 hectares, including 2 hectares of forest at the transition to the gorges. Our estate is under development. Significant steps have now been taken to restore the existing olive orchard and small vineyard. In addition, a diverse fruit orchard, a vegetable garden and fields of Mediterranean herbs for the production of essential oil are also planned and constructed. Everything is grown organically and in harmony with nature within our capabilities.
The Etruscan culture from long before the common era probably already had an organic and integrated agricultural system. According to tradition, grapes were grown in symbiosis with the Field Maple, whose bacteria living on its roots protect the grapes against certain diseases. That knowledge was already present then. The maple leaf served as cattle feed. The incredible beauty is that this method of grape cultivation is still visible in our small vineyard, because this system was adopted and (partially) integrated by previous residents. We would be happy to show it to you.
Hans continues to experiment with the cultivation of Mediterranean herbs that are suitable for essential oil production. This includes Lavender, Hyssop, Rosemary and Helichrysum (straw flower; in Italy also called Immortelle or immortal). Essential oils have a special effect against many health complaints and diseases. This knowledge was already present around 1100-1200, as evidenced by information from the tradition of Hildegard von Bingen, a very gifted German nun who lived just before the era of Saint Francis.
The intention is to also give workshops on distilling these oils from the herbs. Hans is always willing to show guests around the grounds and explain this special place. We have also walked numerous paths in the hills ourselves and recorded routes in an app and can advise you and provide you with beautiful routes with associated times and distances.