Our Story

From a noble country home worn away and forgotten in time to the careful and loving restoration a few hundreds of years later, Villa LeMura shares its story with each visitor and guest who walk through her doors.

Originally the summer residence for a noble family from Perugia, Villa LeMura started out in 1690 as a working farm and over the years was gradually transformed into the stunning villa you can still experience today with many of its original features painstakingly restored.

The surrounding land was used mainly for tobacco, silk ,wine and grain and in the tower of the villa it is still possible to see where the tobacco was dried and where the silk worms hatched. The interior frescoes were painted by Mariano Piervittori who worked on many of the historic buildings all over Umbria and also on the most important residences in Perugia. The current owner discovered this forgotten gem in sad repair 20 years ago and set out to bring it back to its former glory, transforming it back to a place of beauty and comfort, somewhere to experience Italy at its finest.

Emma, the owner and host bought the property in 2000 after falling in love with the villa and the nearby village of Panicale. Originally from the UK, she fell in love with Italy after living for years in Paris, and decided to make the move.

Here with her partner she set out to slowly bring the villa back to its former glory, restoring room by room and decorating each one individually with paintings and furniture sourced out from antique fairs and markets over the years. Her dream being to bring life back to the villa but keeping the feel and style of the home that it had always been since the 18th and 19th century, somewhere to bring up her two children and welcome guests who wished to have the experience of staying in an authentic Italian villa. Over the years it has become the second home to so many of our guests who come time and time again to enjoy the peace, tranquility and beauty of this magical place.