The region is the scene of major cultural events throughout the year (such as the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto and Umbria Jazz) and many other folk events which, especially in summer, enliven small and large centers of the entire territory. The climate is mild with temperatures in winter rarely fall below zero degrees and summer temperatures around 25 degrees. Placed in Central Italy between Rome and Florence, Umbria is a region rich in history and culture, from the hilly landscape with olive groves and vineyards, and dotted with historic villages and artistic cities such as Perugia (important international University Centre), Spoleto, Orvieto, Todi, Assisi, Spello and others.ġ5 minutes from Perugia is located Lake Trasimeno, the largest Italian lake after that of Como. Main centers: Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto, Todi, Orvieto, Gubbio, SpelloĬharacteristics: is the sister of Tuscany region, green and hilly territory with olive groves and vineyards, rich in art cities and quaint towns. Neighboring regions: Toscany, Lazio, Marche Rome (110 km) is an hour and a quarter away, and its airports, Fiumicino (146 km) and Ciampino (128 km) are an hour and a half away, while Perugia airport is 70 km away and can be reached in less than an hour. The highway is just three minutes’ drive away, which allows you to reach Terni in 10 minutes or Spoleto in a quarter of an hour and the Orte motorway junction in half an hour (40 km).

The location is pretty but not isolated: sitting on top of a little mountain, with a beautiful view of the surrounding peaks, with rich woodlands and fields while at the same time only 500 metres away from the nearest town, where you’ll find all the necessary shops for your daily purchases. The castle was eventually abandoned later that century.Situated halfway between Spoleto (14 km) and Terni (12 km), Castello dell’Antica Posta is an attractive building created from the ruins of an old Roman “castrum”, discovered at the end of the Medieval period and built even earlier, with the purpose of controlling and defending part of the Flaminian Way which was often frequented by bandits. The garrison stronghold saw little use, other than as an outpost for government soldiers during the Jacobite risings of 17. The barracks block remains relatively complete, and is today the oldest surviving barracks on the British mainland. The tower house was converted into accommodation for officers, while a barracks housing 200 men was built on the north side of the courtyard. In that year Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, 1st Earl of Breadalbane, retired to his ancestral seat and set about converting it into a garrison stronghold. He was also responsible for relocating the Campbells of Glenorchy from Kilchurn to their new home of Balloch, now Taymouth, in Perthshire before his death in 1583. Colin’s son Duncan, the 2nd Lord, added the laich hall in the courtyard before his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.Ĭolin, the 6th Lord, added the four angle-turrets on the top of the tower house.

It originally consisted of the courtyard and the five-storey tower house, containing a hall, private chambers, a cellar and a prison. The castle’s existence is noted in a charter dated March 1449, entitled ‘apud Castrum de Glenurquhay’ (at the Castle of Glenurquhay). The Glenorchy Campbells at times nearly rivalled even the Clan Campbell’s chiefs, the earls of Argyll, for supremacy. Colin’s father Duncan Campbell, later 1st Lord Campbell, had offered him the land to ensure his loyalty following the sudden death of his elder brother Gillespec.Ĭolin’s descendants, the Campbells of Glenorchy, were the most powerful junior branch of Clan Campbell, and Kilchurn remained their power base for around 150 years. Sir Colin Campbell, 1st Lord of Glenorchy, built Kilchurn Castle at the head of Loch Awe in the mid-1400s.

Abandoned castle courtyard description