The cheap way to holiday in Italy is charming and unpretentious
By Chrissie McClatchie
Neat rows of vines cascade down the slope in front of the large swimming pool where my two daughters are splashing about with new friends. Beyond, hills stretch out like gentle waves, the dense cover hiding the first buds of hazelnuts and the promise of the coming truffle season.
Italy’s agriturismos are brimming with charm and regional character.
My husband and I shelter from the sun under a wide, shaded verandah that our one-bedroom apartment opens onto, relaxing into a pair of deep, comfortable lounges overlooking the pool. It’s not quite the feet-in-the-sand, beachfront setting I had been expecting for the week but, as Plan Bs go, our home for the next four nights definitely isn’t bad.
The day before, as we waited at the departure gates to fly to the Greek islands from France for a long-anticipated family holiday, my phone beeped with a text from easyJet. “We’re really sorry that your flight today to Mykonos has been cancelled,” it read. The next direct flight was in five days.
Caught in the airline chaos that was plaguing Europe at the time, we immediately drew a line in the sand. We were not going to Greece — this time at least — but did have a week’s holiday stretching out ahead of us. We hatched a plan even before leaving the airport terminal. If there was availability, we would book a few nights at Casa Wallace, an agriturismo, or farm stay, in the Italian region of Piedmont where we had enjoyed a long weekend the year before. The property was an easy 2 ½ drive away from our home in southern France.
Agriturismos have a homely feel.
“The concept of the agriturismo is very simple,” explains Isabella Mocci of Byways of Italy, Rome-based specialists in unconventional Italian travel, including stays in locally-owned agriturismos. “It’s a farmer who makes a little bit of extra money by letting somebody else stay on their property.” As far as accommodation options go, these farm stays are brimming with charm and regional character. “The intimate setting helps people to have a connection with the land, feel the rhythm of nature, and participate in the life of the products they produce on-site,” Mocci says.
Living just 30 minutes from the Italian border, agriturismos have long been my happy place, where even a snatched weekend in the middle of a busy month at work can refresh and nourish the soul. My first agriturismo experience came not long after moving from Sydney to Nice.
Near the truffle-fragranced town of Alba, Cascina Meriame is a typical two-storey Piemontese farmhouse tinted in peach red, set among the vines of owner-winemaker Paolo Manzone and his wife Luisella. For many years I returned, bringing family, friends and the Irish boyfriend that I married. Paolo and Luisella became friends, and their home my base, to hike up sloped vineyards towards medieval hilltop villages, returning for a crisp glass of Manzone’s Roero Arneis, a local white grape variety with a zesty, citrus profile, for aperitivo by the infinity pool.
Country escape – Fattoria di Monticello.
As we spread our wings to stay elsewhere, I realised this familiar, homely feel was a characteristic all agriturismos share. Surrounded by owner Claudio Cepollina’s biodynamic vineyard, Casa Wallace’s double rooms and apartments are inside a thick, U-shaped stone building. A central courtyard is a social hub where a homemade breakfast is served on long, communal wooden benches decorated with wildflowers plucked from among the vines. At dusk, the scene twinkles with fairy lights.
Free to roam the furthest reaches of the property, the girls play with the family’s kittens or run after Cepollina’s gentle rescue dog from, as it would happen, the Greek islands. Our days are spent by the pool, only moving to search for lunch in a different village.
In the early evening, we join Cepollina for an informal wine tasting — there’s also a fully stocked fridge of the property’s wine operated on an honour system. After dinner, the four of us cut through the vineyards, past hens and horses, to watch the golden sunset from the top of a tall, grassy slope which we then race each other down, laughing and carefree.
In many ways, the agriturismo is the destination itself; you might only pop out for food or to explore a nearby village, returning to read under a shady tree, cool off in the pool or to take part in an activity like cheesemaking, wine tasting or an olive harvest, depending on the region and the season.
Days are spent lounging by the pool.
You’ll find them across the country, from the cliffs of Cinque Terre, to the sun-drenched olive groves of Sicily. Some are down dusty tracks, far removed from civilisation. Others are just at the edge of cities: close enough for day trips, but far enough for peace and calm. Although luxury-style farm stays have made an entrance to the market, an agriturismo in its purest form is casual, rustic and unpretentious.
As a family of four, we’ve never paid more than €200 ($330) a night for bed and breakfast, either a standard room or an apartment with a kitchenette. Some properties have an onsite restaurant; those who don’t usually offer nearby restaurant recommendations alongside a well-equipped communal kitchen.
International travellers are only now awakening to something that Italians have always known. “For us, an agriturismo is a way to disconnect, to rediscover the slower side of Italian life, what has been lost during our daily routine,” Mocci explains. “It feels like stepping back to a time when my nonna is cooking up pasta, pouring me some really good wine and welcoming me home.”
Add in the current appetite for local produce and experiences while travelling, and this is an accommodation sector that is booming. But there’s another reason, Mocci says — a “profound need” to get involved and get our hands dirty. “We don’t do manual work any more, and we don’t have a lot of chances to be in contact with nature. We understand that this is something that we need to value more. The agriturismo is a reflection of this attitude.”
* Casa Wallace is closed for renovation during 2024 and is set to reopen next year. Next door, Casa Margherita is owned by the same family, with doubles starting from $240 a night, breakfast included. See casamargheritaitaly.com
The writer travelled at her own expense.
Four agriturismo stays recommended by Byways of Italy
Agriturismo Follonico
Pool and surrounds at agriturismo Follonico, Tuscany.
At the edge of Montepulciano, halfway between Siena and Orvieto, this Tuscan agriturismo adds a touch of luxury to the category – with prices to match. Each of the six rooms has been meticulously restored in traditional Tuscan style, keeping original touches, such as exposed wooden ceiling beams and cosy fireplaces. Expect to share the lavender-dusted slopes around the infinity pool with resident geese, sheep and ducks. A farm-to-table philosophy takes centre stage, especially at breakfast. Double room, breakfast included, from $373 a night. See follonico.com
Agriturismo Fattoria di Monticello
Breakfast on the terrace at Fattoria di Monticello.
Located on a gently sloped hillside in Umbria, a region known as Italy’s green heart, this vast, 470-hectare estate has been in the same family since the 1940s and is a working farm with cattle, cereal crops, an olive grove and a vineyard. With just five bright and airy rooms inside the farmhouse, the property never feels cramped or busy. Produce grown on-site flavours the traditional Umbrian dishes served up under a leafy pergola by the swimming pool. Guest activities include wine tastings and cooking classes. Double room, breakfast included, from $182 a night. See fattoriadimonticello.it
Country House Erba Regina
A perfumed garden with more than 70 varieties of herbs surrounds this fully restored farmhouse in Lazio, ready to be sold fresh or dried, or as ingredients in jams, cordials, sauces and pates, as well as distilled into essential oils. Close to Rome’s Ciampino airport, the treasures of the capital are less than an hour away. The property proposes experiences such as soap-making workshops and wild herb foraging. The owners work closely with local associations to promote social inclusion and often welcome disadvantaged groups in the community to participate in farm life. Double room, breakfast included, from $162 a night. See erbaregina.it
Bio Agriturismo Olistico Valle dei Calanchi
In a valley in Lazio that bears the rich imprint of Etruscan civilisation, this recently renovated farmhouse has been designed to feng shui principles to encourage personal transformation through contact with nature. Each of the 12 apartments opens onto a private garden and the property itself is surrounded by a 30-hectare organic farm. The zero-waste vegetarian restaurant serves up inventive cuisine using produce grown on-site and wild herbs foraged from the surroundings. A rural setting that is spared light pollution at night, stargazing is another treat. Apartment sleeping four, breakfast included, from $265 a night. See valledeicalanchi.com
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