I recently heard about a villa near Perugia that one can rent. We are going to Italy in April (for 1 week) with our two children, ages 15 and 12. Would it be a mistake to spend 3-4 nights there in addition to some time in Rome and Florence? We could do a day trip from there by train to Florence, see some of Tuscany and then spend a couple of nights in Rome. We have 7 nights altogether. Thanks.

There must be 500 places you can rent in Umbria and Tuscany--why Perugia?
I would start at slowtrav.com to find reviews by others.

Most villas -- as opposed to in-city apartments -- rent from Saturday to Saturday. And very often you must have a car. For all the information one could ever want on renting in Italy, go to www.slowtrav.com.

If you only have 7 nights total, in my opinion you are better off staying in Rome those nights and take a day trip to Florence.

Or if you are mad about going to Perugia, make that a day trip instead.

Day tripping from Rome is very easy by train, although I think you will find more than enough to do in Rome for those 6-7 days.

Thanks. The villa is not actually in Perugia, but is very close to Umbertide. It is described as being on the Umbria/Tuscany border. I hear it is beautiful there and know someone who has stayed there. I just thought that it would be a good base for exploring.