Tenuta di Murlo

Twenty minutes from Perugia, in the impossibly verdant hills of Umbria, is the secluded Murlo Estate, family-owned for centuries and sprawling over thousands of acres. What was once primarily an agricultural concern is now a first-rate luxury resort, the result of a dedicated effort by Alessio and Carlotta Carabba Tettamanti to restore and adapt a wide variety of historical structures, from farmhouses and a water mill to a 14th-century parish church.

Today it’s a model of high-end slow living, a quiet-luxe experience that’s more closely tied to the land and its history than the typical country luxury hotel. The accommodations range from large and lavish Deluxe rooms to freestanding villas of various sizes with their own gardens, private infinity pools, and outdoor Jacuzzis.

Lavish as they are, the accommodations aren’t the whole story. Il Caldaro, the estate’s restaurant, is a serious farm-to-table affair housed within a restored medieval farmhouse, sourcing ingredients from its own farm and from fine local purveyors. They’ll also send a meal to your villa, if you’d rather dine in, or even a chef for a private culinary experience. Cooking classes, wine tastings, even truffle-hunting expeditions further augment the offerings, and the surrounding region offers no end of attractions: culinary, cultural, and historical.