The morning light in this part of Umbria does something you won't forget. It comes in low from the east, rolling over the valley in long gold sheets, and by the time you're standing at the first-floor kitchen window with an espresso, the hills between Città della Pieve and the Tuscan border are already glowing. No traffic noise. Just wind through the olives, and maybe a distant tractor. This is the pace of life this farmhouse has held for generations — and for the right buyer, it's the foundation of something remarkable.
Situated roughly 9.5 kilometres from the historic walled town of Città della Pieve, the property sits along an unpaved lane that keeps it genuinely private. That 1.5-kilometre approach road is not a drawback — it's a filter. It means your nearest neighbour isn't visible, your garden isn't overlooked, and the only sounds drifting through open windows on a June evening are cicadas. The views face predominantly east-south, sweeping across undulating farmland and wooded ridgelines that have changed very little in two hundred years.
The farmhouse itself is divided across two levels, totalling 117 square metres of residential space. The ground floor holds a generous 67-square-metre storage area — thick stone walls, original structural features, direct connection to the garden — that reads immediately as a future living room, studio, or open-plan kitchen-diner. The kind of space an architect gets excited about. Upstairs, a 50-square-metre apartment is already functioning: two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom. It's simple, honest, nothing fancy — but it works as-is while renovation plans take shape, which matters enormously when you're managing a project from abroad.
The real story, though, is what surrounds the main house. Three agricultural outbuildings add another 160 square metres of covered volume to the equation — one on two levels at roughly 73sqm, a second at 53sqm, and a third single-storey structure of around 34sqm. Together, they offer extraordinary flexibility. Guest annexes. A painting studio or workshop. A small agriturismo with independent units. A wine cellar and tasting room. The stone bones are there; the vision is yours to supply.
The private land extends to approximately 3,000 square metres of open grounds with native vegetation — enough to accommodate a swimming pool in a position that would preserve privacy and sightlines across the valley. And for buyers thinking bigger, there's an option to acquire an additional 9.7 hectares of agricultural land, opening the door to a small-scale farming operation, a vineyard, or an olive grove. A further option exists to purchase the adjoining portion of the farmhouse — an additional 360 square metres of living space plus 2,600 square metres of land — which would allow the creation of a fully independent, larger country estate.
Now for the honest part. This property needs work — full renovation, not cosmetic touches. The load-bearing masonry is solid and has held well, but interiors require a complete overhaul: finishes, systems, the lot. Heating is not currently installed. The electrical system is original and needs updating to modern standards. Water supply connects to the public network. These are not surprises — they're priced in, and at €150,000 for 277 square metres of covered space plus 3,000sqm of land in one of Italy's most coveted rural corridors, the numbers make sense for a patient buyer with a clear plan.
Città della Pieve itself is worth understanding properly. This isn't a tourist-saturated hill town. It's a working Umbrian comune of around 7,500 people, with a medieval centre that earns its reputation quietly — the Palazzo della Corgna, the Duomo di Santi Gervasio e Protasio, and most famously the birthplace of Pietro Vannucci, known to the world as Perugino. His fresco cycle in the Oratorio di Santa Maria dei Bianchi is one of the finest Renaissance works you can stand in front of without queuing behind a tour group. The town's Palio dei Terzieri in August fills the streets with archery competitions, medieval pageantry, and the kind of collective pride that only small Italian towns still maintain at full volume.
The surrounding area sits at the border of Umbria and Tuscany, which means the best of both regions is genuinely close. Cortona is 30 kilometres away. Orvieto, with its extraordinary cathedral facade and underground Etruscan tunnels, is about 40 kilometres south. Perugia — the regional capital, home to the Umbria Jazz Festival every July and one of Italy's great medieval city centres — is an hour by car. The lake? Lago Trasimeno, Italy's fourth-largest lake, is barely 20 kilometres away: fishing villages, boat trips to Isola Maggiore, local carp in umido at the trattorie along the shore.
Food in this corner of Italy deserves its own paragraph. The Val di Chiana and surrounding hills produce some of the best cured meats, pecorino, truffles, and lentils in the country. The black truffles from Norcia are less than 90 minutes away. Local sagre — the seasonal food festivals that punctuate the Umbrian calendar — happen almost every weekend between May and October: wild boar, porcini, chestnuts, new wine. The weekly market in Città della Pieve on Fridays is where you buy your vegetables and learn everyone's name.
For international buyers, the practical framework here is favourable. Italy's flat tax regime for new residents (a fixed €100,000 annual substitute tax on foreign-sourced income) continues to attract significant attention from non-EU buyers looking to relocate or establish a second home base in Europe. Full ownership by a single private individual means a clean acquisition — no fractional interests, no cooperative complications, no ground leases. Due diligence on urban planning and cadastral status is available to serious buyers.
For those considering the renovation as an investment play rather than personal use, the agriturismo and B&B licensing framework in Umbria is well-established, and properties of this typology — farmhouse with outbuildings, rural setting, proximity to cultural centres — continue to perform well in the premium short-term rental market. The combination of Trasimeno, Orvieto, and the Tuscany border gives this address year-round draw, not just a July-August spike.
Getting here is straightforward enough. Perugia's Sant'Egidio Airport operates routes to several European cities, with Rome Fiumicino (FCO) approximately two hours by car for longer-haul connections. The A1 autostrada runs nearby, making Città della Pieve accessible from Florence in around 90 minutes and from Rome in about two hours.
Key features at a glance:
- 2-bedroom farmhouse portion, 117sqm across two levels, good structural condition
- Ground floor 67sqm storage/conversion space with garden access
- First floor 50sqm apartment: kitchen, 2 bedrooms, bathroom — functional as-is
- Attic level with additional potential
- Three agricultural outbuildings totalling 160sqm across separate structures
- Private land of approximately 3,000sqm with open valley views
- East-south panoramic orientation across Umbrian and Tuscan countryside
- Option to acquire 9.7 hectares of additional agricultural land
- Option to purchase adjoining farmhouse portion (360sqm + 2,600sqm land) for a larger estate
- Swimming pool potential within the existing grounds
- Water supply connected to public network; electrical system in place, requires upgrade
- 9.5km from Città della Pieve historic centre; essential services 5 minutes by car
- Full private ownership, single individual — clean title transfer
- €150,000 asking price; renovation project with significant upside potential
If you've been looking for a farmhouse in Umbria that offers genuine scale, genuine privacy, and genuine room to shape something of your own — this is one worth moving quickly on. Contact the Homestra team today to request the full technical due diligence report and arrange a viewing visit. Properties at this price point in this location do not wait.
