Flying

Perugia airport, just a 10-minute drive from Assisi, is connected to London Stansted by Ryanair. Car hire is available at the airport: for Avis (Perugia Airport office) tel. 0039 -075-6929796 or 6929346; for Hertz (Perugia – collection at airport can be arranged) tel. 0039-075-5002439. Use a comparison site like Skyscanner to find best car hire rates.

As an alternative, guests can also take a Ryanair flight to Ancona (1 hr 40 mins by car). Depending on the season and day of the week, flights can cost as little as £80 for a return to this small, bustle-free airport. Like Ancona, Pescara is well connected to the motorway towards Assisi – and on the whole preferable to the large airports in Rome, Pisa, Bologna and Florence.

Easyjet also offers affordable flights to Bologna (North of Florence, and around 2.5 hrs drive from Assisi) as well as Rome (also around 2.5 hrs drive from Assisi).

Rome is served by most major airlines, including British Airways and Alitalia, and most car hire companies have offices in the airports. Rome is approximately 2.5 hrs from Assisi by car.

Pisa has an airport, but the city is not much closer than Rome. Easyjet and Ryanair offer an excellent Gatwick and Stansted – Florence service. You might want to combine your departure or arrival with a visit to Pisa and Florence.

Driving

There is a toll for driving on Italy’s ‘autostrade’ (motorways). Rome is connected with the North by the A1. If you are travelling from Florence, follow the A1 until the Perugia exit, which is not far after the one for Arezzo. From there one follow the E75 past Lake Trasimeno to Perugia, then the signs to Assisi. If you are travelling from Rome, follow the A1 till Orte and then take the exit in direction of Perugia and Terni. Follow the E45 towards Todi, and continue along the E45 until you reach the exit for Assisi. Weekends are a good time to travel on the ‘autostrade’ as lorries cannot circulate on Saturday and Sunday. Bear in mind, however, that roads tend to be especially busy around large cities on Saturdays.

reaching Casa Rosa from Assisi

In Assisi, take the road around the edge of the old town and follow signs for GUALDO TADINO. This will take you through Piazza Matteotti, and you should leave Assisi by an arched stone gateway, Porta Perlici. From Assisi continue on the road for Gualdo Tadino (SS 444). Approximately 4.3 km (or 2.7 miles) after leaving Assisi you should come to PONTE GRANDE, where there are two bars: Giovannino’s on the left and Moro de Ronca on the right. Continue for another 1.5 km (0.9 miles) until you come to a small turning on the right signposted ‘Santuario Madonna dei Tre Fossi’. Here you turn off and follow the small country road. Follow this road for another 2.1 km (1.3 miles) until you come to a fork. Here you turn left up a steep hill. Follow the road around three tight bends until you see a turning on the right marked Casa Rosa. Turn right into this track, and it will take you directly to Casa Rosa.

Sat Nav and GPS coordinates:
43 06′ 56″ N
12 41′ 24″ E