Chiesa Amaro

Experience pure countryside delight at this restored church, now a villa in Le Marche. Imagine the warmth of a rustic family home with thick wooden truss beams and a stone fireplace. Church pew seating at the dinner table is a nod to this holiday villa's more sober past life. At the same time, the brightness of an airy manor pervades the gardens. At once cozy and expansive, rustic and refined, you’ll adore each perfect contradiction.

Outdoor living is encouraged here, whether beside the pool on cushioned seats (set dizzyingly on a deck above a hill), or in the lawned garden, where you might anxiously await what’s cooking in the stone oven. There are stables adjoining the property, where a professional instructor stands ready to give you private horseback riding lessons for a quite reasonable fee.

This holiday villa is located in the tiny village of Canapegna, where you’ll experience absolute peace and silence; the only sound? Birdsong. The nearest town of note is Fabriano, 3 km down the road, where restaurants, a cinema, and shops await. Less than an hour's drive will bring you to the Adriatic sea at Ancona, where you could hop a ferry to Croatia. What fun!