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MD, Oxford

October 2022

Watching the sun rise over the hills this morning, just sitting reading a book and looking over the beauty all around while the rest of the house sleeps, is part of the restorative magic of this place.

This place is truly remarkable: it has all the modern conveniences and indeed luxuries to make living very easy, but retains traditional features that make you feel grounded and relaxed, with a sense of connection to history and local culture. It is remote and private so you feel you have escaped, but nearby towns are very easily accessible and the transport connections with trains, airports etc are straight forward. The beauty of the local countryside with wooded hills, numerous butterflies, darting lizards and bird song create additional magic that made us stop and simply enjoy “being”: I think it's called mindfulness now, but for me it was a sense of immense joy and contentment.

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JN, Oxfordshire

August/September 2022

This was our sixth visit and each time is better than the last. This is in part due to Mark and Jocelyn (previous owners)'s endless improvements and their attention to detail. Thanks to their recommendation of Danielle we all enjoyed endless home cooking and as a highlight she organized a morning's truffle hunting. Highly recommended. We will be back again.

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Dr. M.D. Oxford

August/September 2022

I found the advert in The Guardian purely by chance, and the website showed such an idyllic place that the children all said an immediate yes. Although I admitted I had some doubts: it all felt too good to be true. Could such an amazing place really exist? Well, I found out that heaven could be found on earth.

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Mrs SB, Buckinghamshire

August 2022

Happy days, for the second time, at La Dogana. Everyone says it feels like our home and it does. Thank you for introducing the Barbers to such a magical place in Italy.

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Mrs AM, Northumberland

August 2022

As before, a magical holiday. Particular highlights this year were two sightings of wild boar, on one occasion with their young, and, thrillingly, a porcupine, also with young! The La Dogana magic remains undimmed: view of MSM Tiberina on its hilltop from the small terraces; wonderful civilized interiors, pool area even better than usual; and located at the center of a triangle comprising some of Italy's finest sight-seeing!  

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Mrs NR, Washington D.C.

October 2021

Before I looked through the feedback provided by other La Dogana “returnees”, I thought that since this was our fifth time staying at this magical place that we would be among those with the highest number of times staying there. Oh dear, not at all… in fact our fifth stay made a rather poor showing compared to those who had celebrated their sixth and/or seventh stay there. That being said, I believe we may have been the only people who were able to stay there this summer, and how terribly lucky we were. All the family, as well as several friends, are keeping their fingers crossed that this will not turn out to have been our last stay there. For a couple of friends, it was their first time at La Dogana and they could not get over what an absolutely beautiful place it is - my descriptions really paled into insignificance. It is still the most wonderful place to spend a relaxing and wonderful vacation – we always look forward to seeing what may have been added since our last visit and were delighted to see the pond. The weather was, for the most part, very good and, as usual, we spent many hours idling by the pool - sheer magic; chatting with Carrie and Jim; lunch time on the patio and the occasional dinner around the kitchen table, playing boules, visiting the local restaurants, and especially Oscari's.

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AG (18 year old's second visit), Somerset

 July 2020

Returning to La Dogana a short yet incredibly sweet visit of five days, rekindled within me a fabulous feeling of nostalgia having first stayed here eight years ago. The fragrant smell of wood smoke as you enter the cool open kitchen and living area when we arrived made us

sigh with happiness. Sitting outside at the front in the early morning with a book and a cup of coffee with the most beautiful view, long afternoons by the pool and supper at Oscari's was the most wonderful reprise after four months of shielding.

 

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AJ, Somerset

July 2020

The Dogana is peaceful and perfectly equipped. Glorious garden, charming swimming pool and terrace, numerous shady areas. Accommodates 11 comfortably. So close to Sansepolcro, Anghiari, Monterchi, Citta di Castello & Perugia with all their delights. A great holiday house. We loved it even more second time around.

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Mrs AC, Hampshire

August/September 2019

We loved our 3 week stay at La Dogana. The views were enthralling especially in the evening light. The house has everything you could possibly need. It is rustic, homely, comfortable and cozy and the number of bathrooms was especially appreciated. Jim and his team looked after us wonderfully well and we found it the perfect place to entertain family and friends whether just lolling by the pretty pool, lazing in a hammock or searching out little-known Umbrian hilltop villages._cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_

 

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Mrs ET, Yorkshire

August 2019

Our seventh wonderful stay at La Dogana. Having done plenty of sightseeing on previous visits, we made more use of the pool this year, enjoying novels from the house. We feasted on the view as much as the local food and wine. The kids enjoyed firing up the pizza oven, watching the football at Fiorentina and river-swimming on the way home from stunning Urbino. Altogether heavenly!

 

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Mrs HR, Leeds

August 2019

FIFTH stay. We still love the place, the views, the color of the pool liner, etc, etc.

 

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Mrs SB, Buckinghamshire

July 2019

An Umbrian villa La Dogana e superba, an absolute charmer! Che fantastica aura! We Barbers have found our “nirvana”… heaven… perfection… is La Dogana. Booked again for 2020 and 2021.

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N&J S, London

August 2019

…our fifth visit …another thoroughly enjoyable holiday at La Dogana. It works exceptionally well for our family and we made full use of everything it offers. So thanks you once again. We will definitely want to return at some point.

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Mrs. FW, Dorset

July 2019

La Dogana… HUGE success… want to return next year! The house was perfect… proper home… stunning long walks, long lunches, painting painting painting, snoozing by the pool, cultural/shopping excursions, slept like a log, laughed a lot… sounds like a perfect holiday to me! Booked for 2020.

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Mrs AM, Shropshire

June 2019

…biggest success possible… utterly enchanting… nightingales… magical garden… all adored it.

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Mrs L.S., Surrey

June 2019

…simply wonderful time… beautiful old farmhouse… depths of the countryside with wildflowers covered in butterflies… La Dogana is perfectly appointed and everything seems to have been thought of… intrigued by the different places to sit… we could also find privacy; specially important in a family… fascinated by your garden, the scents were a knock-out… salvias stunning… site on the hillside which gives such beautiful perspective to plants and buildings. Booked for 2021.

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J&S N, Oxfordshire

August 2018

We can't thank you enough for allowing outsiders to invade your home because that is what it is and why we keep returning. We are booked in for our SIXTH visit in 2020! Our guests, old and new, always comment how different La Dogana is to normal rented houses and particularly enjoy Volume 1 and 2 of the history of the house. We were particularly touched by the wine and champagne on arrival.

 

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AJ, Ammerdown

July 2018

La Dogana is mesmerizing: the house flows so well, sitting room, kitchen, study all seamless and so creatively furnished. The bedrooms are many and spacious with several large bathrooms. The upstairs sitting room is a delight leading out onto one of the beautiful shaded terraces. The view from the first terrace is the essence of Umbria, a walled town perched on a hilltop, framed by a flower-covered arch. There are so many shaded areas in the stunning garden, a covered dining area with sofas as well, a pergola by the pool. The garden is a superb combination of wild flower meadow and structured but subtle planting. The pool is elegantly fitted with a black liner which works so well in the high sunlight; loungers + fridge are great additions. We would love to come again/ (Owner's note: booked for 2020, 2019 being fully booked).

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MS, Berlin

July 2018

…idyllic two weeks here; second year running. There have been many high spots, places we have revisited and new discoveries… Trattoria Lea every bit as good as you describe. We'll be back again in 2020. Thanks for your hospitality and Jim's knowledgeable support.