Casetta Toscana

Standalone Villa - Family Lodgings - Green Vacations
     

Character: Charming rustic farmhouse with great amenities on a large Renaissance estate.
Advantages: Close to all the major roads so you can make the most of day trips; friendly owners live across the yard; great atmosphere.
Location: 1.5 km from Lastra a Signa, right off the Florence-Pisa superstrada. Unbeatable location for day trips in Tuscany, 25 minutes from Florence and 45 minutes from Siena. Click here to see the map for Casetta Toscana.
Size: Sleeps 4+2; living room with double sofa, eat-in kitchen and powder room on the ground floor; double bedroom, twin bedroom, and bathroom with shower upstairs
Features: Fireplace, air-conditioned bedrooms, telephone with DSL line, wireless Internet access, TV, hair dryer, stove, washing machine, dishwasher. Very nicely landscaped garden with table and chairs. Swimming pool shared with an apartment next door. Price includes a complimentary Shiatsu massage.
Minimum stay: Saturday-to-Saturday.
Disadvantages: Both bedrooms are upstairs.
Car needed: Yes.

This charming stone farmhouse is on a famous old estate just outside Florence and only 1.5 km from the little town of Lastra a Signa. It lies at the end of a long cypress-flanked lane, about 100 yards from the impressive Renaissance villa where the owners still reside and produce top-quality extra virgin olive oil. Although it began life as a humble abode for farm animals, Casetta (which means "cottage") is probably as close as anyone can come today to embodying what we picture when we say "Tuscan villa." This is thanks to a combination of excellent raw materials - terracotta, chestnut wood beams, stone and whitewashed walls - and the authentic furnishings, fabrics and framed prints your hostess Signora Paola has patiently collected over the years. Even the dishes in the cupboards are representative of those exhibited at the museum in nearby Montelupo.

Your Tuscan hideaway home is surrounded by its own garden and olive grove. Here you will be able to spend long hours reading, chatting or catnapping in the sun, or lingering over a meal in true Italian fashion, late into the night. On warm afternoons, after returning from your day trips to Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, the Chianti, Lucca, Pisa or Cortona, treat yourself to a dip in the in-ground swimming pool (open May 1-September 30).

Like former barns the world over, Casetta is built on two storeys, with wireless Internet access throughout. On the ground floor are the spacious living room, featuring a double sleep sofa, telephone with DSL line and TV, and the eat-in kitchen, which has a second seating area. Both are joined by dramatic archways and open directly onto the garden. There is also a powder room on this floor. The kitchen is well-equipped with a brand new stove, range-top, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher and washing machine. As always in Tuscany, this is the heart of the house, made even more welcoming by the original fireplace, which works like a charm.

The air-conditioned sleeping quarters are upstairs. Here you'll find a spacious double bedroom with big wardrobe, a panoramic twin bedroom with closet and luggage room, and a modern bathroom with walk-in shower. The twin beds can be made up to form a king-sized bed, so that this house is great for a family or for two couples. Both bedrooms face onto the house's private garden and have window screens.

     

2012 Weekly Prices (for the house)
Low Season:
Jan. 7-March 24
Oct. 13-Dec. 15		 1607.00 EURO
Mid Season:
March 24-April 7
April 14-May 12
Sept. 29-Oct. 13		 2021.00 EURO
High Season:
April 7-14
May 12-June 16
Sept. 8-29		 2200.00 EURO
Peak Season:
June 16-Sept. 8 		2384.00 EURO
All rentals are from Saturday-to-Saturday


For this property:
Included in the price: all taxes, services, one set of linens, gas, electricity & water, air conditioning, weekly cleaning.
Not included: metered independent heating; optional extra linens, which cost 12 Euro/set; and optional extra cleaning or laundry, which costs 12 Euro/hour.

Mountain bikes are available on the property, which also has a barbecue and private parking.
Golfers are welcome to use Signora Paola's membership at the prestigious Le Pavoniere and Ugolino Golf Clubs, which are nearby.
There is a restaurant 350 yards from the house (closed on Wednesdays).
A bank, drug store, food shops, supermarket and post office are all 1.5 km from the property.

Check-in: 4-7pm
Check-out: 9:30am
Refundable security deposit: 250 Euro in travelers checks or cash

Click here for information about private transfers to the property.

Please note that you need a car to stay here.

It is not possible to guarantee Internet access at any property, because the property does not generate the service, it merely provides access from a server. If the server experiences any kind of problem at all, the property regrets it cannot be responsible for any inconvenience caused by subsequent lack of service.