Borgo Dei Conti, a New Umbrian Resort in a Hilltop Fort, Is a Celebration of Italian Craftsmanship

Over the previous few years, even probably the most ardent Tuscany fanatic could have felt their enthusiasm dim slightly. Certain, the Italian area greatest referred to as the birthplace of the Renaissance nonetheless boasts the identical wonders it all the time has—treasures of artwork historical past, hearty pasta dinners, wonderful summer time climate, and people iconic streets lined with cypress bushes—however post-pandemic, not solely has “revenge journey” seen the realm near-overwhelmed with vacationers, however resort costs have skyrocketed to eyewatering figures. Slowly however certainly, the extra savvy traveler has begun to show their gaze elsewhere.

For a lot of, that gaze has settled on Tuscany’s neighbor, Umbria. Certain, the area isn’t precisely an unknown amount—many can be conversant in the winding streets and architectural marvels of Perugia, or the bountiful black truffle harvests that arrive each fall—however the place Tuscany has greater than its fair proportion of dazzling five-star retreats, Umbria has taken slightly longer to catch up. The newest arrival to the Umbrian luxurious resort providing? Borgo dei Conti Resort, which opened only a few weeks in the past close to the charming village of Montepetriolo, and appears (and feels) like a medieval Italian village preserved in aspic.

A couple of weeks again, on a baking sizzling summer time afternoon (albeit, mercifully, within the air-conditioned resort shuttle automotive), I pulled as much as the gates of the property, the place the drama begins—courtesy of an imposing gatehouse, full with portcullis, that would have been plucked straight out of one of many early Renaissance panorama work you would possibly discover in Perugia’s Palazzo dei Priori. A winding highway then leads you as much as a pair of monumental Lebanese cedar bushes that shade the facade of the principle constructing: an equally hanging edifice that will initially look like a remarkably well-maintained medieval palace, however was in truth largely constructed within the early twentieth century for the noble Rossi-Scotti household, who needed the texture of a historic citadel however with all the most recent mod-cons. First transformed to a resort within the early 2000s—therefore the absolutely grown-in landscaping—the resort has lain dormant for the previous two years whereas its homeowners, the group behind the Londra Palace in Venice and The Place in Florence, have given it a head-to-toe refurb, halving the room rely to simply 40 generously proportioned rooms and suites.