Pratale

About us

Pratale is an open house in the foothills of the Appenines between Perugia and Gubbio. The farm consists of 50 acres of woods and hilly pasture in a beautiful green valley. We keep horses, donkeys, milk sheep and poultry.

We have been here since 1975. The old farmhouse was damaged by a major earthquake in 1984, and is now rebuilt for stables, storerooms, workshop, dairy and breadoven. A new wood and stone house was built around a shady courtyard with the help of many friends over the years `85-88.

There a two vegetable gardens, and many fruit trees; also about 100 olive trees and a new vineyard. There are several acres of woods and we try to take care of them. We have a woodstove which heats the house in winter and we try to get as far as we can on prunings/dead trees.

We do without some things: car, phone, TV, freezer, electrical gadges. It is more long-winded to walk, write, wash by hand, make our own entertainments but easier on the mind and conscience and a good meditative way of life. This comes from passionate conviction but we try not to be a bunch of fanatics!

We enjoy having visitors and we no longer frog-march people out to dig. Those who enjoy doing the four-hour stint of farmwork pay L. 12.000/day for food (like us! We do outside work because we`re not completely self-sufficient) and those who want to relax, sleep, think, paint, etc. pay L.20.000/day for food. We all join in with the cooking/cleaning.

Sometimes we are just the family (Etain, Martin, Ben, Camilla and Melissa if she`s over from London University); sometimes there are other people staying for a few days, weeks or months.

You can just turn up with a sleeping bag: we`ll be pleased to see you.