A seventeenth-century farmhouse in the Umbrian countryside, run by a single family with sibling chefs at its heart, offers an unusually complete kind of retreat.
Few country houses carry their history as naturally as Antico Forziere. The structure, a farmhouse whose origins reach back to the medieval period with parts traceable to the late 1600s, once sheltered up to six households beneath its roof. By the 1950s it was still fully in use, its thick walls and heavy beams bearing quiet witness to centuries of rural Umbrian life. Today, the Rodella family has transformed it into a country house hotel and restaurant without erasing what came before. The exposed brick arches remain. The massive wooden beams still cross the ceilings. And the name itself carries a piece of that past: during renovation, an ancient chest — a forziere — was discovered on the property, filled with old coins. Several of the rooms now take their names from that find.
The property sits in the green countryside surrounding Deruta, the Umbrian town internationally recognised for its ceramic tradition, and within easy reach of Assisi, Perugia, Todi, and Spoleto. It is, in other words, ideally placed for those who want to use it as a base for a longer exploration of the region — though the house itself gives little incentive to leave. Guests staying in one of the two suites have private access directly to the garden, while all guests can make use of the KlaYmai SPA, a facility reserved exclusively for the hotel. The spa includes a spacious Jacuzzi, sauna, Turkish bath, and sensory shower, with massage services available and all amenities provided by the staff. When the mood calls for something quieter, a bright reading room — warmed by a large fireplace — offers another kind of stillness.
The restaurant, I Rodella, sits at the centre of the Antico Forziere experience. Open to hotel guests and outside visitors alike, it occupies the same historic structure as the rooms, with a dining room defined by exposed beams and large stone arches. In summer, the terrace extends the space outward into the landscape. The atmosphere manages to be both rural and genuinely elegant — the kind of setting that works equally well for a candlelit dinner or a business lunch.
The kitchen is led by the brothers Andrea and Stefano Rodella, joined by Stefano’s wife Maria Chiara. The three trained across France and Italy under internationally recognised chefs before returning to take charge of this family table. Their cooking draws from three culinary traditions — Umbrian, Italian, and Venetian, reflecting the family’s own origins — and brings them together through a sensibility shaped by creativity and careful research. Dishes are built around traditional products but distinguished by an attention to the balance of flavours, textures, and colours that speaks to serious professional formation. That commitment was recognised when the restaurant was listed in the Michelin Guide in 2026. The menu offers both a tasting option and an à la carte selection, renewed every two months in step with seasonal availability — a rhythm that keeps even returning guests moving through something new.
Antico Forziere offers seasonal packages designed around specific experiences, whether a short weekend stay or a longer immersion in the surrounding region. What holds it all together is the consistency of the Rodella family’s presence — across the reception, the dining room, and the kitchen — and a building that has been, in one form or another, a place of gathering for several hundred years.
