Tenuta San Masseo

In the Umbrian countryside just outside of Assisi, with a view of the medieval city on the hill in the near distance, Tenuta San Masseo is a classic of a genre at which Italy excels: a farmhouse hotel consisting of just a few rooms — in this case seven — all supplied with every ingredient necessary for living out an absolutely idyllic country-house fantasy.

This means a spa with a sauna, hammam, hydromassage, and halotherapy, as well as a wealth of opportunities for wine tastings and all manner of culinary experiences. Bikes are available to rent, for exploring the nearby trails and roads, and the equestrian center can arrange a private lesson or a horseback tour.

The rooms and suites are decorated in a contemporary style, though they leave intact as much of the old house’s architecture as they can get away with. The result is thoroughly relaxing and more than a little bit luxurious, and the views of the estate’s vast expanse of verdant parkland are among the hotel’s most memorable features — though a candlelit dinner for two, at a private table out in the gardens, with the lights of Assisi as a backdrop, might just take the prize.