A new home for Sawday's Special Self-Catering Places in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Eire, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal

A stylish-rustic haven in the olive groves, on the first floor, with a sunny courtyard and a restaurant close by. Wild Umbria unfurls below

Perhaps you cherish dreams of stumbling across an ancient casa, a pearl in the yawning landscapes of Umbria. Here, among a handful of neighbours, the former farmhouse Villa Bastiola invites you to your own little haven in the olive groves. Outside, stone steps lead to a first-floor apartment: a laid-back living room with an ancient fireplace, giant beams, books and a cream leather sofa to to melt into. By contrast the bright kitchen-diner is in Shaker style with thick marble worktops – whip up a Mediterranean meal to savour on your own private sunspot, or on the panoramic terrace overlooking the Tiber valley. The cosy little double bedrooms are impeccably decked in Busatti bedding and fabrics, as luxuriant as the bathroom's slabs of honey-coloured travertine marble and the thick soft towels; lovely Sally Ann has a flair for the stylish side of rustic. This is an area adored by many, with delights cultural, rural and edible in all directions, layered views of distant hills and an occasional car to remind you of the outside world. And you can walk to a good little restaurant...