Archive for 'Villas and Farmhouses'

In several previous posts we have talked about villas in San Gimignano, as well as the Towers of San Gimignano. Today in our Villa Spotlight we are taking a look at a one of a kind place to stay: a vacation rental that IS one of the towers of San Gimignano! Torre di San Gimignano is a renovated tower located right in the main square of town, and luckily you have plenty of stairs to work off all that Italian food and wine.

While there are 14 of the medieval towers left standing in San Gimignano, Torre di San Gimignano is the only one of them that is habitable.  This 48 meter (157ft) tall tower was built in the 13th century by a local family, the Salvucci's, and is now the tallest private tower in San Gimignano.  The tower spans 10 floors as well as a gorgeous terrace with about 160 stairs in all.

Many of our Villa Spotlight articles have focused on the big and beautiful villas in our collection, fit more for large groups or events.  Today we are focusing on a small, lovely and affordable villa that is a perfect fit for a couple traveling through Tuscany.  Poggetto di Montese is just outside of San Gimignano, in fact from the gardens you can see the towers that helped make the city so famous!

Poggetto di Montese, like some of our other villas, is surrounded by expansive olive groves and vineyards. 

The grounds around the house have a gorgeous and well kept garden that provides a pleasant place to spend your evenings, sitting on the patio under the pergola sipping wine.  The house itself is a typical country house made of stone, and restored for modern luxuries.

"The location is wonderful, centrally located for Sienna, Florence, the Chianti region, etc, and only minutes away from San Gimignano. The view from the property's garden of the latter and the surrounding countryside is unbeatable. The family who own it are friendly (even their dog) and give their guests as much privacy as needed."
-Jon from Quebec

Today we will look at Villa Olimpia in our Villa Spotlight.  Villa Olimpia is a perfect place for a large group or family reunion that wants to have space to themselves, but still have large common areas to enjoy each others company in as well. 

This massive villa sleeps up to 17 people in 9 bedrooms. Set in picturesque olive groves near the border of the Chianti Classico region, you may not want to leave the villa once you arrive!

Tuscany Travel Tips began more than a year ago, and we've had plenty of our signature Villa Spotlight articles in that time.  With so many it may be hard for our new readers to go through and find the best villa for them, so we have decided to compile a short list of our most popular villa spotlight articles!

Last week I wrote “Experience the Real Tuscany”, describing types of vacation rentals and areas where you might want to stay. This week’s blog is “finding your perfect vacation rental” and this is where the fun starts – reading vacation rental descriptions!