Umbria is often described as the 'green heart of Italy' and this is well deserved. More lush and less developed than Tuscany, Umbria is not Tuscany's minor sister- it is just as beautiful, but much quieter, more authentic and much cheaper too! Borgo Bastia Creti is situated just 5km from the Tuscan border, so very close to visit, but away from its excess and mass tourism. Umbria doesn't have the bus tourists, the long queues in museums or restaurants that Tuscany is known for. Enjoy the market towns, the small medieval hill top villages, steeped in centuries of fascinating history where you might be the only one wandering the streets or sit in a caffè or in a restaurant with the locals. Enjoy being a visitor and not a tourist.
From the Washington Post travel section:
"...Still, this is no ordinary olive farm, and Umbria - a region in Italy's heartland - is no ordinary place. My little band of agriculturally challenged cohorts and I have come to this estate for a literal taste of "agriturismo," or farm tourism, in a part of Italy that some derisively dub the poor man's Tuscany. And let them keep calling it that. In the meantime, they'll find me enjoying La Dolce Vita country-style at the dining table of an Umbrian vineyard, eating white truffle pasta washed down with a nicely aged Sagrantino for half the price of the same in Florence."