Tenuta di Canonica

There are a number of distinct types of classic Italian getaways, perhaps none more famous than the Tuscan villa hotel — but closely related, and perhaps a touch more dramatic, is the Umbrian watchtower hotel. Hotel Tenuta di Canonica stands on a hilltop just across the Tiber river from the old town of Todi, and while the tower itself is of medieval vintage, its foundations are Roman in origin — and the hotel is positively steeped in millennia of history.

The hotel’s 13 rooms are spread among a handful of structures, and while they vary in age, the style of decoration is classic throughout — the older rooms could be straight from the 18th century, were it not for the modern electronics, and the more modern Garden Suites retain the same inspiration if not the same patina.

Speaking of gardens, Tenuta di Canonica is surrounded by acres of them, as well as olive and citrus groves, and beyond that, lush forest. Restaurant La Canonica makes use of the estate’s olive oil, fruit, and vegetables, and there’s a 17th-century water-powered mill on the grounds where the staff makes their own flour for the daily bread and pasta preparations. In summer chef Pasquale Quitadamo serves three meals a day, of a quality that’ll tempt you to cut short your explorations of the Umbrian countryside in order to stay close for dinner.