The Lang Family and their life in the Italian Countryside

David and Chrissie Lang moved to Umbria, in central Italy in 2003 in search of the good life.  They found a 16th century farmhouse and outbuildings and set about creating   Casa San Gabriel.  This collection of three self-catering stone farm cottages blends local reclaimed materials with modern amenities and has been a labour of love.  After ten years, they now share this property with their two young daughters, two dogs (one is a truffle dog in training) and small herd of Alpacas.

Their Story 

Chrissie and David Lang have what many many think is the dream Umbria life and they believe their story will encourage other young couples to make the move and to realise that, the dream “Dolce Vita” is possible.  Chrissie and Daivd and their daugthers  Elisabetta and Lucia live in a restored 16th century farmhouse in a stunning Umbrian valley.

The Langs, their dogs and small herd of alpacas welcome guests to their lovingly restored farm buildings, Casa San Gabriel holiday villas.

David hails from a Beeac sheep farm near Colac, Australia. He has since lived in a number of countries working in hospitality, stockbroking, teaching and wine. With the aim of “carving out a life that put family at the centre”, David and Chrissie decided Italy had their heart, while on holiday in South America. They considered Tuscany but Umbria's countryside, people and lifestyle captivated them. Chrissie, originally from Cambridge in the UK, and David both had farming backgrounds and wanted their children to enjoy the benefits of country life. 

Chrissie spent 5 years working in London, as a Chartered Accountant with one of the large firms and then left for Australia where she met David. They decided that the city life was not their dream and decided to start this new life back in 2003.

Getting started was a challenge, from learning Italian, the bureaucracy of visas and planning applications, to securing loans. They found the Italian way required preparation and not taking “no” for an answer. The valley's beauty was protected under Italy's highest level of planning restrictions, so gaining planning permissions was a “nightmare”. They had to be presistent and willing to compromise. “Sometimes getting the wrong response to your question in Italy means you have asked the wrong person or you haven't thought through the best way to present your argument,” he said.

“The loan too was difficult, both to get and in that they would only give us a 10-year mortgage, so we really needed to find guests to help pay the bills.

“At one stage, we called a local real estate agent to see if we were doing the right thing and he said 'corragio' (courage) and promised to send some of his clients in Umbria who were searching for properties to stay with us in the low season. The next week he sent the British Ambassador to stay!”

These days, David and Chrissie speak and read Italian daily. “Our girls are lucky because languages open doors, it has made such a difference to our lives as our Italian has improved. We hope that having two languages will make it easier for them to learn other languages. They can already ring restaurants for guests and book tables for them, and they particularly enjoyed translating for their grandparents when they visited recently.”  

David and Chrissie have learnt to produce olive oil and make Italian wines. Their top quality wine was recently tasted at a one-Michelin-star restaurant in London, which is now keen to add it to their wine list.

David said one of the fundamentals for starting over in a new country was to not only learn the language, but understand the culture and be ready to make mistakes and learn from them.

ABOUT CASA SAN GABRIEL AND THE AREA IN UMBRIA

Casa San Gabriel sleeps between two and four guests in each of the three cottages and is located approximately 20 minutes from Perugia, in one of Italy's most beautiful valleys.  It is a valley steeped in history as Hannibal once camped close by while making his way to Lake Trasimeno to inflict one of the worst defeats of the Roman Empire.  The property is surrounded by ancient  olive groves, four hectares of vines, a truffle wood and enjoys views down the valley towards Assisi and MountSubasio.  It is an area of extraordinary natural beauty and the air is so clean that fireflies light up the evenings in the spring.  The valley boasts an 11th century church and there are no motorways and modern buildings to disturb the feeling of stepping back in time, into an ancient landscape.  Casa San Gabriel is the ideal place to unwind and relax, take advantage of the various walks throughout the valley or just pass the day with a book by the stunning 12.5*4.5m infinity pool. 

It is so easy to pop out in the mornings or afternoons to one of the many famous Umbrian hill towns such as Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio or Spello to shop, grab a gelato or just to watch the elegant Italians saunter the streets.  The more adventurous day trip to Florence, Rome or decide to shop for Vino Nobile or Brunello in Tuscanys famous wine producing regions, Montepulciano and Montalcino whereas many find it almost impossible to drag themselves away from the pool and the view and for good reason. 

Chrissie and David are onsite to provide the inside track on great places to eat and drink, shop for cashmere bargains and ensure that guests get the most out of their time in Umbria.  You are spoilt for choice with Italian festivals such as the Palio in Siena and the Ceri in Gubbio as well as the world famous Umbria Jazz festival in Perugia,  the Montone film festival (chaired by Terry Gillian of Monty Python fame) and Europe's biggest chocolate fair in Perugia,  Eurochocolate.  There is never a shortage of things to do and guests often find that a week is only barely enough to get a taste of Umbria. 

David and Chrissie host weekly pizza nights in their 16th century pizza oven and guests learn the art of making great pizzas in the most relaxing of surroundings.  Or there is the option to take up the offer of being served Umbrian delicacies on your private terrace while watching the sunset.  Each cottage is self-contained, with its own cooking facilities inside and barbeques outside or there is even a larger barbeque in the garden for nights when everyone wants to cook together. 

David and Chrissie enjoy sharing their special part of the world and the vegetables and herbs from the house garden are available if you want to help yourself. David will happily tell you where to get the best porchetta, the Italian equivalent of fast food, sold from food trucks at the daily local food markets which specialise in fantastically fresh and seasonal produce.  This pork, cooked in rosemary, wild fennel and sea salt boasts mouth- watering crackling and is served in a fresh white bread roll and is another must-try on any trip to Umbria. 

Another reason to visit Umbria is to enjoy the fantastic Casa San Gabriel organic extra-virgin olive oil.  Now into their tenth vintage, the quality just keeps getting better and better and the bottle provided in your arrival welcome pack never seem to last long enough.  They make great souvenirs of your time in Umbria and visitors in late October enjoy  joining in with the harvest and the thrill of taking the olives they picked for pressing at the local mill.  Bruschetta made with this spicy, luminously green extra-virgin oil straight from the  press with a pinch of sea salt is one of life's great food experiences. 

Umbria is also famous for its food and in particular its truffles.  If you have ever wanted to try this ridiculously rare funghi, often mentioned in the same breathe as gold, Umbria is the place.   A large percentage of Italy's black truffles are found here and many local restaurants showcase them in their menus.  Guests can also spend a morning by prior appointment with a leading local truffle hunter and his trusted dogs, learning about truffles and experiencing a truffle hunt first hand.  Then enjoy a leisurely truffle degustation lunch in nearby picturesque Montone including such dishes as scrambled organic eggs with black truffle shavings and fresh handmade taglierini pasta with black truffles among others.  It is no wonder that the Slow Food movement calls Italy its home. 

If wine touring is your thing, Umbria was this year named one of the World Top Ten wine touring destinations and so there is no shortage of local wineries to visit.  You can even sample some of the delicious wines produced from the organic vineyards which border Casa San Gabriel.  David and Chrissie will happily recommend local Umbrian wines to try during your stay if needed and the houses all have quality stemware to enjoy these wines from.  The boutique beer movement is alive and well in Umbria too with the “birra flea“from nearby Gualdo Tadino one of the best.  David continues to make a liquer from organic Sicilian oranges and pure alcohol and this unforgettable taste experience is a fitting end to a pizza night under the stars. 

Guests arriving for the first time are often surprised to see a small herd of alpacas watching them unpack their cars.  These animals  originate in South America but seem equally at home in the Umbrian countryside and are particularly fond of children.  They are friendly and inquisitive by nature and are another enjoyable aspect to a stay at Casa San Gabriel.   Each year the alpacas are sheared for their fleece which is made into luxurious scarves but many people settle for a feel of their silky soft wool.  David and Chrissies daughter love taking guests to meet their alpacas.  The girls will delight in explaining their personality habits as well as teaching you new words which are sure fire winners at scrabble like cria – a baby alpaca.

Some people come to Umbria to visit the beautiful churches and admire the frescoes but there are any number of activities in the vicinity of Casa San Gabriel.  The Robert Trent Jones Jnr championship golf course only 5 minutes away is equally enjoyable for a quick nine holes one morning as well as providing a good test for serious golfers.  Italys fourth largest lake,  Lake Trasimeno is twenty minutes away and hiring a small yacht is a great way to explore the Islands or if that seems a bit too adventurous, then ferrys run  regularly for those more interested in a lazy afternoon on the beaches or a long lunch of lake food at the restaurants on the Islands.  There are so many great ways to spend your time in Umbria, the question is not what to do, the question is what are we going to do this time.

The cottages at Casa San Gabriel can be rented from €400 euros per week and a nightly B&B rate of €95 euros per night. .

Visit www.casasangabriel.com or call +39 075 9414219 for further information.