Consider a farming vacation in Italy

When our family needs a vacation, one of our favorite destinations is an agriturismo in Umbria called Maridiana. Our daughters literally spend all day in the barn or in the pastures with the animals and the owner, Gianni Berna. This gives the parents time to relax, a rarity at home, knowing the kids are having the time of their lives spending real one-on-one time with animals and Gianni. The view is beautiful and you can take long walks throughout the 100 acre farm and the century-old olive groves, pastures and wooded land. Best of all, the days seem to stretch on endlessly so just a 4 day visit seems like twice that when we are there.

On our last visit, our children were given the duty of bringing the animals to the barn in the evening, hauling hay, carrying a baby Alpaca to the pastures to her mother and best of all, experiencing the birth of a little lamb. Novembrina, as we named her, was born on November 1st. We noticed her in the fields all alone in the rain one morning. We went with Gianni to pick her up and our children spent a long time drying her off until she could stand up on her own. Her mother had a complication after the birth and was not able to feed her so we rounded up another sheep, and watched as Novembrina tried as hard as she could to get some milk. She was not welcomed by the surrogate mother, so it was a very rough beginning to her little life. My children often hugged her and held her in their arms as she tried to suck on their hair, clothes and fingers. Everything turned out great in the end.

The farm is secluded but only a short drive from many beautiful places (2.5 hrs. to Rome, 2 hrs. to Florence, 40 minutes to Assisi, Perugia and Gubbio). This is the largest Alpaca farm in Italy and one of the first agriturismo to open in Umbria in 1983, after Gianni and his family left Rome for a better life in the country. Gianni has a store on the farm with scarves, gloves and blankets made from the wool of his Alpaca, sheep and Angora goats. Accommodations are rustic, but private and beautiful. If you’re lucky, the sweet resident dog Whiskey will adopt your family and stay at your house

Taking a vacation in Italy at any agriturismo is an economical, stress-free way to visit the countryside and cities, but you will need a car. Normally the farms are certified organic and the owners are passionate, interesting people to get to know and admire.