Palazzo Bandino

Just ten minutes from the autostrada and two miles from the spa town of Chianciano, this gracious 20-acre farm dates back to the 1600s and has been in the Valeriani family for generations. Guests are welcome to pick the seasonal vegetables growing in the garden, participate in the Nov. olive harvest and watch the grapes become wine in the cellars (September and October). On the ground floor of the main building, which once housed a convent, there are several dining rooms and a TV room (with English language channels) warmed by ancient fireplaces. Behind the building is a stunning panoramic swimming pool.

Beautiful restorations have been made to the farmhouses, where guests stay in individual air-conditioned apartments or rooms. Brand new stall showers were installed in early 2008; the ones in Leccio, Colombaio and Caratello are king-sized and all the others are larger than average. Up one flight of stairs are Mandorlo (700 sq.ft.) and Leccio (440 sq.ft.), each featuring a living/dining room, separate eat-in kitchen, bedroom with two twin beds (or one double) and bathroom (the bathroom in Mandorlo has a whirlpool tub and shower); Girasole (485 sq.ft.), which has a living/dining room with kitchenette, two double bedrooms and bathroom; and Mimosa, Ginestra and Quercia, three double bedrooms each with its own private bathroom. Mandorlo and Mimosa are joined by a private foyer, which makes them convertible into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment ideal for two couples.

For large families, Ginestra and Quercia can be joined to Girasole for a total of four bedrooms and three bathrooms (one of these rooms is right across the hall but not actually encompassed in the resulting four-bedroom apartment). On the top floor, benefitting from wonderful views across the vineyards to old Chianciano, are Colombaio (570 sq.ft.; living/dining room, separate kitchen, triple bedroom and bath) and Caratello (440 sq.ft.; living/dining room, separate kitchen, double bedroom and large bathroom). If two couples or a family take these two rooms, they can also benefit from a third private bathroom and shower across the hall.

There are also five smaller houses, located just a few yards from the main house. Olivo (700 sq.ft.) has a living/dining room with fireplace and bachelor's kitchenette, two double bedrooms and two bathrooms. Glicine (540 sq.ft.) and Cipresso (645 sq.ft.) each have a living/dining room with kitchenette, double bedroom and bathroom. Vigneto (645 sq.ft.) has a living/dining room with kitchenette, double bedroom and two bathrooms. Noce is a very romantic little house that comprises a double bedroom under the eaves, and a bathroom with shower (no kitchen).

In all rooms and apartments there is independent central heating, telephone, radio and color TV. Each apartment has a living room with sleep sofa for one adult or two children, plus a modern kitchenette with mini-fridge, aluminum sink, four-burner range and American coffee pot. The bathrooms (all with showers) have also been recently remodeled, and feature great lighting and hair dryers. Heavy wooden antiques, terra cotta tiles, wood-beamed and arched ceilings create a warm, inviting atmosphere throughout.

The closest attraction to Palazzo Bandino are the baths at Chianciano Terme, where you can treat yourself to all sorts of health treatments, world-class beauty treatments and excellent fitness facilities. But this is also a prime location for day trips in Tuscany and Umbria. Choose from Florence (one hour by autostrada), Montepulciano (10 miles), Pienza (20 miles), Siena or Volterra (35 miles), Lake Trasimeno (10 miles), or Arezzo (30 miles). Perugia, Assisi and San Gimignano are just a little farther, and even Rome is only ninety minutes away. Travel by car or take the train: Chiusi-Chianciano is a main stop on the Rome-Florence line. No matter how you plan to spend your time at Palazzo Bandino, your life is bound to be a little bit enriched by a stay in this minuscule magical kingdom, whose residents want you to know that

While the rest of the world experiments with genetically modified organisms,

We still grow farro, a grain beloved several millennia ago by the Etruscans and used today as the base of a delicious, nourishing vegetarian soup you will learn to make

We still spend long hours pruning the sangiovese vines, imitated around the world but first created here on our hillsides, where they still produce wine that we age in small oak barrels

We still wait until Nov. to handpick our olives only when they are ripe on the tree, before they fall to the ground, to make the very best extra-virgin olive oil for your bruschetta

We still raise the exceedingly rare Chianina cattle which spend their lives grazing on our own organically-grown pastures and whose meat is used for the famous bistecca alla fiorentina

While science dreams of creating a bionic man, we concentrate on you, who come from a faraway city and dream of tasting our homegrown produce, breathing our fresh air, and living in a house that was built before cement had been invented. We look forward to sharing our world with you.

Prices include: taxes, services, one set of linens, weekly cleaning and all utilities except telephone and heating.
Breakfast is included for the B&B rates. Otherwise it is available for 8 Euro/person

Heating:

THE FOLLOWING DATES ARE ALREADY BOOKED IN 2008:
Mandorlo: May 17-26, June 8-11, June 23-29, July 1-11, July 14-20, July 26-Aug. 22, Sept. 6-9, Sept. 19-25, Sept. 28-Oct. 3, Oct. 25-28
Leccio: May 10-15, May 22-June 5, June 7-13, July 5-25, Sept. 6-Oct. 3
Caratello: May 24-30, July 5-7, July 12-25, Sept. 20-26
Colombaio: July 5-25, Aug. 9-15, Sept. 20-26
Girasole: July 4-13, July 19-Aug. 1, Aug. 17-23, Sept. 2-8, Sept. 17-19
Mimosa: May 17-28, June 6-8, June 23-29, July 12-14, July 29-Aug. 4, Aug. 16-23, Sept. 6-9, Sept. 19-25, Oct. 25-28
Ginestra: May 6-11, May 16-25, June 3-9, June 14-30, July 9-15, July 28-30
Quercia: May 13-24, May 31-June 1, June 8-11, June 16-19, June 28-30, July 28-30, Sept. 2-8, Sept. 18-24
Olivo: May 1-11, May 20-24, May 31-June 6, June 28-Sept. 6, Sept. 19-24
Glicine: May 23-June 13, June 21-27, July 5-Aug. 8, Aug. 16-23, Aug. 31-Sept. 3, Sept. 27-Oct. 3
Cipresso: May 10-June 20, June 28-Aug. 1, Aug. 30-Sept. 12, Sept. 27-Oct. 3
Vigneto: May 24-June 13, June 21-Aug. 4, Sept. 6-12, Sept. 15-19, Sept. 27-Oct. 3
Noce: May 1-8, May 14-16, May 25-30, June 15-17, June 21-30, July 12-14, July 23-Aug. 4, Aug. 12-14, Sept. 18-24

Your contact person speaks English, French, German and Italian.
Click here for a sample menu from the restaurant.

Once a week, all guests are invited to visit Palazzo Bandino's winery and see how wine is made and bottled. The visit is followed by a wine tasting accompanied with local salamis, sausages, cheeses and breads. Click here for information about half-day cooking lessons, pizza lessons or wine lessons.

Check-in: 2-8pm
Check-out: by 10am
Refundable security deposit: 100 Euro If you'd like to purchase Palazzo Bandino's wine in the USA: Click here or Click here or Click here

Please note that you need a car to stay here.

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