Valliano Chiesa is situated about 10 minutes drive into the hills above Promano, which in turn is about 30 minutes north of Perugia. Location wise it is easiest to think of us on the hill north of Montone. It is now a lovely house, with three double bedrooms but retaining the character of its previous use as a local church with a long history. We also own the second house on the site, which is only used by us privately, on our all too rare visits to Italy.
The property is reached by a private white road about 1/2 kilometer long. That part of the road is unpaved and whilst perfectly passable at all times of the year in our experience I would not recommend taking a low slung sports car up there, as there are loose stones over the white road. It is not necessary to have a four wheel drive.
We know that there has been a church on this site for more than 800 years (below there is an extract of an old church map showing a Valliano church on this site). It was deconsecrated after the steeple fell down. It was used for storing and smoking tobacco leaves picked locally. My elder son upheld the tradition when he stayed in the church in 2017 (but only in the garden).
We first saw it in 2013 and fell in love with the site and its location. It was in need of restoration, as was the house on the same land. The views were already perfect so with a lot of help (and a very understanding project management team -highly recommended if you find your own dream property which requires work to be made habitable) we had both properties restored and renovated. The house next door is not rented out so unless we are in residence (not nearly enough times each year sadly) you will have the site to yourself. And we will tell you before you make a booking if we anticipate being around.
There is a great variety of things to do near to the house but a car is essential. Public transport comes nowhere near us.
There is a plunge pool on the Chiesa property and its own private garden and outdoor space. Guests at the church are welcome to use the large swimming pool on the main property. Children (and well refreshed adults) need to be supervised at all times for the main pool.
There is a white road leading up to the property and this rapidly becomes a track behind the church, going off into the hills. The road has loose stones on it, and so we would not recommend taking a sports car up there, but you do not need a four wheel drive or anything like that. There is very little traffic past us and so it is very quiet. Dog walkers and the occasional hunter mostly. There is ample car parking is on site, behind a locked gate and up a short flight of paved stairs to the church.
Our intention is that the blog page will feature information and share experiences of some of the trips we have done (with more or less willing guests) to walks, museums, art galleries, restaurants etc etc in the neighbourhood. But just to get you started, Montone which is on the neighbouring hill is beautiful and has several lovely restaurants, Umbertide and Citta di Castello are about 20 minutes drive away and have shops, things to see and places to eat. The village of Promano has the closest set of shops (10 minutes drive away).
Valliano Chiesa (real name was originally Chiesa San Michelangelo hence the dragon weather vane we have installed and which you can see in some of the photos) has been fully renovated. Bearing in mind the changes which come with the seasons, there is ample heating, woodburning stoves etc if you are staying in colder times, and air con for the warmer times.
