Green heart of Italy: home buyers choose pretty Umbria for picturesque villages, stone houses and hilltop views

Landlocked Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy for its steep wooded hillsides and wild countryside.

While Tuscany, its immediate neighbour to the west, is manicured and neat, Umbria revels in natural dishevelment, an agricultural landscape little changed for centuries with medieval villages and charming stone houses.

Before 2008 Umbria was a popular, affordable alternative to top-dollar Tuscany. However, prices in both have fallen heavily and remain up to 35 per cent below pre-recession highs, says Nick Ferrand of Savills associates, Abode.

Buyers in Umbria used to want hilltop isolation, says Ferrand, but now “everyone wants a three- to four-bedroom house within walking distance of a trattoria or village, and that’s difficult to find”.

The villages and countryside north of Perugia are the focus for most buyers, away from the more earthquake-prone south, especially within touch of Città di Castello, Cortona and Umbertide.

Underrated towns include beautiful Orvieto with its cathedral and vibrant bars and restaurants.

Buyers like homes that are often up to 500 years old, with original beamed ceilings, large fireplaces, open-air dining areas and rural views.

Many such homes are hidden down rough and often steep tracks, but that doesn’t deter buyers in Umbria, comments Ferrand: “They choose Umbria because they love architecturally interesting homes, ones where the stonework tells how the house has changed over the centuries. The best houses have kept their authenticity but offer 21st-century living.”

Ten minutes and an easy drive above Umbertide, a charming three-bedroom semi-detached cottage is £255,000. The three-storey home is in a hamlet facing a small, well-kept chapel.

The garden has several olive trees and space to add a modest pool subject to permission. Original features include cotta floor tiles, wide arches and fireplaces.

Room sizes are good and the cottage has a strong rental history. With Perugia airport 30 minutes away, it is also an ideal lock-and-leave property for weekends in Umbria.

Also close to Umbertide but higher above the valley stands a handsome three-bedroom house of 2,691sq ft in a 13-acre plot, for £419,000. Pre-recession the price would have been £560,000.

Lovingly restored and owned by two American professors for 25 years, it is on the prized north side of the Niccone Valley — “the Mayfair of the Upper Tiber Valley” says Ferrand — with idyllic rural views.

The interiors are cosy while the grounds are mostly wooded, including olive, pomegranate and fig trees.

With a large range of good-value restored homes on offer and few ruins available, buyers are generally reluctant to do a full renovation.

However, those who are up for the challenge should be careful not to overspecify their project, says Ferrand.

Alternative energy sources such as solar panels are a good idea but underfloor heating is not, as it is costly to run.

Subsidence, interesting wall cracks and ground-floor damp are “part of the joy of life in Umbria” and good insulation is vital.

It is also critical to consider water, an expensive commodity locally. Most houses rely on wells and not all have good capacity in high summer.

While Umbria is on the whole less restrictive in building permissions than Tuscany, always confirm that any changes will be permitted before buying a property.

Nic and Charlotte Eager, a retired architect and a marketing executive from Bath, bought their house in Umbria in 1992 after several family holidays around Umbertide.

Their property search took some time but they fell for Chiesina at first sight.

“We liked the location on Monte Corona, a conservation area, and its proximity to bustling market town Umbertide,” says Charlotte.

“Locals are friendly and welcoming, there is wonderful food at a small organic market on Saturdays and gorgeous hilltop villages nearby such as Montone, with its own open-air film festival.”

Over the years the couple replaced all the windows, installed a staircase and created the hillside garden complete with olive trees.

“We came out for two to three months every summer when our children were young but now we come with family and friends for shorter visits at different seasons, renting the house out for 10-14 weeks each year in between.” Chiesina is for sale for £255,000 with Abode Italy.