Country House Montali, Dal Moro Gallery, Bellavista Hotel

During our 3-week stay in Italy in October ’06, the most unusual hotel we stayed in was Country House Montali (Via Montali 23, 06068 Tavernelle di Panicale, ITALY; phone +39 075 8350 680, fax 144 or visit www.montalionline.com). I think it might appeal to many ITN readers.

Its exquisite and varied cuisine is vegetarian. The Umbria region of Italy may be a meat eater’s paradise, but even meat eaters like me relish a change. For €80 ($106) per person per day, our half-board included breakfast and dinner — superb cuisine, lovingly served.

Here’s an example of a typical breakfast: freshly baked croissants, homemade bread, cookies, homemade preserves, orange juice, coffee and an entrée like crepes with fruit or semolina porridge with finely diced fruit.

The dinner that blew my mind started with a vegetarian carpaccio consisting of poached baby beet slices topped with walnuts, rocket, two kinds of goat cheese and a lovely dressing.

When our host set the soup dish before us, my husband had to take a picture before we could start. There were two different soups in the bowl swirled in a yin/yang pattern and topped with a cream design. One was sublime vichyssoise and the other, squash soup. We couldn’t decide which we preferred.

The entrée was an eggplant-cheese strudel accompanied by pureéd vegetables and a small salad. All the desserts were divine, our favorite being an eggwhite Grand Marnier soufflé hiding a molten chocolate center. We are not wine drinkers, but we could see that other guests were enjoying the fine wines served with their meals.

During our stay, all the guests were either English or American. The hotel has 10 rooms. Hosts Alberto and Malu Musacchio are fluent in idiomatic English.

The grounds were beautiful and the mountain views, stunning. The beds were comfortable and the rooms, clean albeit small. Our bathroom had a shower.

From this home base we visited Perugia, the Valnerina, Lake Trasimeno, Montepulciano, Pienza, Cortona, Arrezo and many small hill towns nearby.

The only bad news — four kilometers of the 7-kilometer drive up to Montali’s mountaintop site was on somewhat rutty gravel. It took about 23 minutes to drive up and back — gorgeous views, but it’s not for the timid driver.

• On the same trip, three kilometers from Assisi we stayed in the ultramodern Dal Moro Gallery Hotel (Via Beccetti 2, 06088 Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi, Perugia, Italy; phone +39 075 80 43 688, fax 41 666 or visit www.dalmorogalleryhotel. com), half a block from the cathedral in Santa Maria degli Angeli.

We were glad we didn’t stay right in Assisi and have to deal with driving and parking in town. Tip — when taking the bus into Assisi, get off at the second stop. This makes it possible to walk down all the way. You can catch the return bus at Assisi’s cathedral.

This hotel met all our needs, and its helpful staff offered great service.

For €110 ($141) per day we got a room, free parking and an ample breakfast (meats, cheeses, juice, coffee, rolls and pastries). For an additional €50 ($64) for the two of us, we could have had half board. We did not choose that option, though meals were excellent at the hotel.

We stayed a full week at this hotel and never tired of interesting day trips in the area. Breathtaking winding road. Wonderful hill towns.

• The best meal we had was at the Bellavista Hotel (Via Patrono d’Italia 140, 06081 Assisi, Perugia, Italy; phone +39 075 804 1636, fax 2492 or visit www.assisibellavista.it),

halfway to Assisi. For only €42.75 ($55), we feasted on three courses plus coffee and mineral water. This hotel looked as if it would be another good choice as a place to stay.

I’ll be glad to answer specific reader questions; e-mail me c/o ITN.

CAROL VORCHHEIMER

Philadelphia, PA