We have stayed at Monte Petreto, Lago Trasimeno many times. Roberta Ajo Frigiolini, the owner, speaks very good English as well as German and of course her native tongue, Italian. There are many apartments at Monte Petreto namely, Mandorlo (4 persons), Ginestra (4 persons), Tiglio (4 persons), Quercia (3 persons), Olivo (3 persons) and Olmo (6 persons). Most have a view of the lake (Lago Trasimeno) from high up the hill where her home is set (Monte Petreto). The views are spectacular. There are many places to visit from here too e.g. Cortona, Castiglioni de Lago and Perugia. There are very good supermarkets too.

Roberta is extremely friendly and an animal lover which is why we like her so much. She has a beautiful mongrel bitch called Linda and 3 cats (all moggies; 2 black cats (Lorenza and Petra) and one grey (Rosa). In my opinion, if you don’t like animals the creatures would know and would leave you alone.

We have stayed mainly in the apartment which is called Olivo, and this is one of the apartments which has stunning views of the end of Lake Trasimeno. The other end of the lake can be seen at the delightful town of Cortona made famous by Frances Mayes book. There is a small town nearby called San Savino, which stands on another hill across from Monte Petreto and looks delightful from the apartments’ patios especially on misty mornings.

The apartments are simply and sympathetically decorated in accordance with the Umbrian style.

Roberta runs an olive farm and thus is often, in fact most days, seen working the groves on a tractor (which in itself is amazing for a woman in her 60s), up a tree, pruning, cutting grass or picking olives. She also grows other fruit trees and you can buy from her extra virgin olive oil and limoncello. Both are wonderful. She also runs a bed and breakfast from the farm if you prefer this type of holiday. She serves the most wonderful homemade marmalade, which she also sells.

A car is a must if you are going to holiday in Umbria because there is so much to see. In the nearby town of San Feliciano, only a few miles away you can get the best coffee we have ever had. This is at the bar next to the lake (I forget what the bar is called).

The only comment I would make is that the swimming pool was not available during a mid season break that myself and my husband took in April. This was a shame because we like to take our holiday during the wild asparagus picking season and it is nearly always hot then. Thus we would have appreciated a dip in a cool pool but other than that, we have enjoyed our stay here and recommend you do too.