Goodness, I have pupils....

Flattery will get you everywhere, David — except in and out of Panicale without a car. Panicale's a pretty little town, as is Paciano 3 km away; but they're not on a rail line, and rail is the backbone of carfree travel.

There is bus service mind you, with APM. APM's website is a bit difficult to navigate, so here's the map of their bus system; to see detail, follow their instructions and drag the orange rectangle to Panicale (far left of the map, not immediately adjacent to the lake, but somewhat below it). I've been unable to find the actual schedules to Panicale, since Linee Urbane ed Extraurbane sends you to Linee Extraurbane sends you back to the first one: notice there's no link at the operative point, "Consultazione orari on-line". Anyway, there's a bus; and it's probably set up to get the schoolkids to and from Perugia or maybe Città della Pieve in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening.

Bus, however, is usually a poor way of getting around in Umbria, because of very limited schedules, very slow circuitous rides (milk runs to get those kids to all their hamlets), and, often, unreliability. If you can at all do it, revise your stay to put those three months in a place near a train station. Such a place need not be a large town at all: quite a few small places in Umbria have convenient train stations: Acquasparta, S. Gemini, S. Giustino, Bastia Umbra, Spello, Fossato di Vico,  etc. and even a few very small places: Baiano di Spoleto, Fratta Todina, S. Martino in Campo, etc. Several of them are attractive potential bases.

PS: Yes Panicale is on a hill, of course, since wonderful view over the lake, but I can't remember any unusual hill, rather a gradual climb; anyhoo, I'm no spring chicken either, and had no problem with the rise to Panicale. (Now Todi and Trevi are another matter!)

Good for hills, good for painting, and if you don't mind adjusting your forays into the outside world to what will be a limited bus schedule, bravo for Panicale too, I'll agree. There are music festivals, organ concerts, and the countryside, especially south and west, is beautiful.

(Bravo too for New Zealand, said by Jacques Pépin of all people to be home to the best Chardonnay in the world, although I regret he refused to name the vintage on his show, possibly because of a sponsorship conflict.)

I think you guys are even slower travelers than I am. I'm sort of a sheep in slow-traveler clothing: I stay a long time but in fact use Home Base to fan out from, vacuuming up information from all around, sometimes quite far afield: so I need a train station — but you do not, if you mean to take it very slow and paint and bike with only the occasional excursion.

Goodness (bis).

Nobody asked, but, beating the iron while it's hot, let me throw out one more place in Umbria — not to influence David, whose mind is correctly made up — but for lurkers and future travelers, since absolutely no one onboard other'n me has mentioned the place, yet it's a very beautiful little town in wonderful landscape, and after all most of you travel by car, so as a base one place is as good as another: Monteleone di Spoleto. My 3‑day walk from Leonessa to Cerreto di Spoleto last year was one of the great walks of my life, and the area has the additional advantage of not being at all expensive.

Thanks Nancy for another good resource; you're now linked at the bottom of my Panicale page.

B