Citta Di Castello, inter-gen family occasions, staycations, parking, sustainable

Dating from the 12C, this borgo is perched at 700m looking down into the Niccone Valley and onto Reschio Estate. The main house has 7 double bedrooms, 2 drawing rooms, open fires, a large dining room and fantastic views. The borgo (collection of farmhouses) has a dedicated pool (open from June to Sept), a stand alone - non-consecrated chapel - and an old grotto where Saint Donino is said to have contemplated life. This house has soul, is very old and been renovated to honor its past as well as adding in some of today's comforts - private pool, wifi etc. Close to Citta di Castello, Assisi and other historic towns, it provides a great location with true peacefulness. Great for the summer, but also in spring and autumn - where the colours and light are fantastic.

Significant time has been placed into retrofitting solutions to take the property's carbon emissions to zero and possibly into positive territory, subject one's purity in classifying emissions. Photovoltaic panels (PV) provides electricity (17kW) in the day, with the surplus generated powering a lead acid battery bank - which provides power at night or on cloudy days.

The house has an Electric Vehicle (EV) charger - which comes off the PV panels.

Solar panels (8kW) provides hot water in the sunny months (April - late Oct), then a wood pellet burner takes over. The house also has woodburners for the winter, hence my comment on purity of how one measures emissions, as technically burning wood and wood pellets are seen as a neutral emission.

The house has wooden shutters and rugs over doorways to try and maintain insulation in the winter months.

Water is used from a lake (garden) and from a well (house), and as much minimization procedures have been put in place as possible, so this is not a property of green lawns in the summer.