Why Choose Palare?

To visit, or stay with us, is to find yourself in a place of peace and natural beauty with playfulness and adventure at its core.

Your Italian
Retreat

Your Italian
Retreat

EXPERIENCE LUXURY CAMPING CLOSE TO

the medieval town of Montone

At Palare, we believe in curating magical experiences that combine the beauty of the surrounding nature with the treats of luxury to create a truly comfortable stay. Our glamping site is situated in an ancient olive grove, nestled into the Umbrian hillside with views looking out over the medieval village of Montone and along the Tiber valley. With only three tents the glamping site is both intimate for couples and families, or convivial enough for small groups of up to 10 friends. 

Whether you’re seeking adventure, relaxation, or a little bit of both, our glamping site offers the perfect escape. Keen walkers, runners and bikers can immediately access the trails into the hills and woods directly from the farm. Thrill seekers and brave souls can jump on our various ziplines and take a dip in the ice bath before warming up in the sauna.

Glamping Le Palare Montone, camping

With its proximity to Montone, it’s a perfect base for enjoying the many local restaurants after taking an aperitivo in the main square, sampling real Italian living at its finest. Other nights guests might prefer to ‘stay home’, relax as the sun sets over the biolake before cooking together on the wood-burning bbq, finally collapsing under the stars to watch a movie on the outdoor projector. The sky’s the limit guys.

Palare is also a short drive to the celebrated towns of Asissi, Perugia, Gubbio, Cortona, Arezzo and Lake Trasimeno, magnetic places for your fix of Italian culture, and culinary delights.

So pack your bags, bring your sense of adventure, and get ready to discover the art of luxury camping!

PRESENCE, PEACE,
PLAYFULNESS & POSSIBILITY

Our Values

A thank you to Tom Fortes Mayer for his words and guidance.

Pretty early on we decided as a family that having a set of core values would be an invaluable tool for keeping us on our avowed path during the creation and life of our business, the farm and glamping site. Mercifully, with just a dash of healthy debate, we aligned on our four key values: presence, peace, playfulness and possibility. With these in mind, we have been guided in our decision making, given clarity of purpose when we were lost and reminded of our desire not to take life all too seriously. 

Palare: a peaceful place to be where your thoughts can soar, and just maybe everything becomes possible.

To make the most of life we must first become present to each and every moment. With presence we have awareness, we have connection and we have a deeper understanding of who we are, what is being called for and what to do. Presence enables us to receive more deeply, to sense the extraordinary in the ordinary, to find the sacred in the mundane. Through presence we are nourished by all that already exists around us.
From a place of presence we are in a position to seek the peace so many of us desire. And yet peace is not something that can be created or added to you. Peace is what we experience when we finally feel safe. When our primitive survival-based thinking gives way to a deeper sense of being provided for, where everything is taken care of and we don’t need to worry about anything, we can then feel the most exquisite sense of peace. Peace is about perspective. Peace is about choice. We want people to have the chance to find a deep sense of calm during their stay, and when possible, leave with practical tools and ideas which will enable them to enjoy more peace in their lives at home.
When we feel at peace, when we move beyond fear, we naturally become playful. Play is both an outcome of happiness and the path that leads to it. Remembering what is precious in life is done so much more authentically when it is done playfully. We are not here to preach. We are here to turn up as lightly and joyfully as we can to create a place that is warm-hearted so you feel comfortable to have the most fun whilst you are here with us. Roly polys, dad jokes, skipping and general goofiness wherever possible is heartily recommended.
When we live in fear, we hold in place a rigid sense of who we are and a limited sense of what is possible. In a state of peace, with playfulness in our toolkit, we can see and create new possibilities. We are passionate about helping people lovingly stretch outside of their comfort zones to expand their sense of what is possible. To help people get excited about new ways of being that are more self-expressed, confident and courageous. While it may sound lofty, maybe you could leave with a celebratory sense that we can all play an important and beautiful part in making our family, our community and maybe even the world a better place.

ROBERT HARRISON & FRANCESCA SEARS

ROBERT HARRISON
& FRANCESCA SEARS

OUR STORY

Who are we?

We are Fran and Rob with two kids, Maebel and Alfred. Our story goes like this:

Back on Valentine’s Day in 2017 Rob made a ‘romantic’ powerpoint presentation to me about a theoretical life we could live in Italy. I had to take the guy seriously! Living comfortable but frenetic modern lives, we were both ready to see what alternative realities we might lead, for ourselves but also for our children.

In 2018 we upped sticks, left London and moved to Italy in search of adventure, a path less trodden, and a desire to become a bilingual family. We traded all that we knew in England for new unknown horizons in the peaceful and verdant countryside of Umbria. There is lots more to say on this but let’s chat in person, over a glass of something crisp and delicious.

After searching for a year and visiting over 80 possible properties, we finally found our slice of paradise here at Le Palare overlooking the picture postcard village of Montone. Since 2020 we have been falling in love with the area and our neighbours, their traditions and their hospitality. 

On the farm we have slowly made changes to the land, adding sympathetic structures for the glamping site, building a new house, learning to become farmers, permaculturalists, winemakers, donkey owners, beekeepers, and parents to two bilingual young people. While the learning curve has been steep, and we have had many challenging days along the way, the move has honed the people we are today. 

Undoubtedly moving to Italy was the best decision we ever made. We look forward to meeting you and hearing your story.

Robert Harrison and Francesca Sears

Nature pays attention to those who are awake.
– The Vedas