Before imagining what Borgo Orfeo might become, we want to remember what this place already was.
Every transformation begins with listening.
Listening to the land.
Listening to the buildings.
Listening to the people who came before us.
Maria Grazia Vagnetti grew up in Castelvecchio and carries memories of the village and its community.
Her stories offer us a glimpse into a time when the hamlet was almost self-sufficient and everyday life was deeply connected to the land, the seasons and to one another.
Her memories are part of the foundation from which the next chapter of Castelvecchio can emerge.
Nestled among the rolling hills between Perugia and Umbertide, overlooking Mount Tezio and surrounded by woods, olive groves and cultivated fields, lies the ancient hamlet of Castelvecchio.
It's history stretches back to ancient times. Just a short distance away stands the Etruscan Tomb of Faggeto, one of the area’s most remarkable Etruscan burial monuments. Along the road leading to the hamlet are the remains of the Castellaccio, a medieval fortress of which only the small church dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel survives.
Continuing along the same road, visitors reach Castelvecchio, a small rural hamlet that for centuries served as the heart of the surrounding farming community. A little further on stands the Church of Santa Lucia, documented as early as the fourteenth century and closely linked to the religious history of the area. Nearby is Colle Giardino, now a private villa, built in the seventeenth century on the remains of an ancient monastery of the Olivetan monks.
Until the second half of the twentieth century, Castelvecchio was an almost self-sufficient rural community. It included a village grocery and fabric shop, a primary school, a communal bread oven, a carpenter’s workshop, a blacksmith’s forge, stables, storehouses, vegetable gardens and apiaries. Every building had its own purpose and played an essential role in the daily life of the village.
Among the people who shaped the history of Castelvecchio were Luciano Chiodini and his wife Candida Corneli, who had been raised with the distinguished Buontromboni family of Deruta. Their village shop was far more than a place to buy food, fabrics and household goods: it was the social heart of the hamlet, where neighbours gathered to exchange news, advice and friendship.
Around the village stretched carefully tended orchards and vegetable gardens that followed the rhythm of the seasons. Peach, apple, pear, plum, cherry, fig and walnut trees flourished alongside vineyards and olive groves. The beehives produced excellent honey while helping to pollinate the surrounding countryside. Nothing was wasted: bread was baked in the communal oven, fruit was preserved for the winter and vegetables were grown using traditional methods handed down through generations.
Life revolved around the agricultural calendar. At first the fields were worked by oxen and, later, by the first agricultural machinery. People, animals and nature lived together in remarkable harmony, preserving a way of life that today represents a valuable testimony to the rural traditions of Umbria.
Today, Castelvecchio still retains the quiet charm of an authentic Italian hamlet. Walking among its stone houses, visitors can still discover traces of its past: the old bread oven, the carpenter’s workshop, the ancient cellars, the orchards and the rural buildings all tell the story of a hardworking community that lived in harmony with the land.
These pages are also inspired by the memories of Maria Grazia Vagnetti, one of the last children to grow up in Castelvecchio. Her family memories help preserve and pass on a unique heritage of stories, traditions and everyday life that might otherwise have been lost.
For many years, the Chiodini family played a central role in the life of the hamlet through the management of the village shop, the local school and the surrounding farmland, making a significant contribution to the wellbeing of the community.