I can hear the echoing laughter of children in the piazza, their shoes making a pitter-patter sound on the cobbles as they run around. Autumn sunlight scatters itself through potted olive trees as indistinct Italian chatter tumbles over the ancient walls.
I’m sat in the new courtyard garden at boutique hotel Rastrello, a small, converted 14th century palazzo, that sits within the medieval hilltop village of Panicale and have fast learnt that a stay here immerses you in the heart of old-time Italy.
