Just as Umbria has gorgeous hand-painted pottery, so it has beautiful linens and none more so than the stunning range in Busatti, master linen makers since 1797. The flagship store is in Anghiari, a beautiful medieval hilltop town, just over the border in Tuscany, about 30 minutes drive from Villa Bastiola.

I first visited the shop in Anghiari just after I moved to Umbria in 2003 and fell in love with the both the town and the gorgeous fabrics in the store.

The owners are part of Tuscan heritage and have carried on the linen tradition since they moved to Anghiari in 1755 with descendants of Niccolò Busatti still continuing the family business. Not many businesses can date their roots back so far and still have such a niche place in the market – Busatti is truly special.

If you are lucky, you can ask to see the looms in action which are in the basement under the store in Anghiari. You can hear them working while you are above in the shop! The photos in this blog are ones that I snapped on my iPhone when I visited, not the best quality but you can see the gorgeous colours they use and know that the items sold in the shops are produced from linen being woven right there.

From table cloths, runners, napkins, tea towels, laundry bags, lavender bags to cushions, bed linen and even sofas there is so much to delight!

I usually buy a tea towel every time I visit – sounds daft I know but when we are in the middle of winter in the UK and I see the tea towel in my kitchen it brings back all those memories and the warmth of the Umbrian sun.

Stay at Villa Bastiola and take a trip to Anghiari & neighbouring Sansepolcro (with its famous painting by Piero della Francesca… but that’s another blog…).