Rusticana Sonata

Out here in the Tuscan countryside, you can live the rustic idyll where days are spent reading a book in the shade of an olive tree or dining as a group outside in the shade of a pergola. Add a private hot tub and a newly built swimming pool into the mix and you’re got the perfect rural get-away. The verdant green garden is enclosed by an old stone wall and within the grounds, you’ll find a shaded olive grove and an orchard furnished with hanging chairs and bistro tables to seclude yourself away. We love the barbecue area where an old well has been turned into an innovative grill, there’s a cast-iron bread oven and plenty of prep space for the chef of the group to tinker away.

The highlight inside has to be the farmhouse-style kitchen with its electric oven that looks like the bread ovens of old and marble-topped counters against exposed stone walls. The barrel-vaulted dining room harks back to days gone by and throughout you’ll find wooden ceilings and terracotta floors. The living room is a surprisingly sleek and modern space, but the bedrooms – with wrought-iron frames against crisp white walls – are back to Tuscan rusticana.

You’re out in the rolling hills of southern Tuscany here, but it’s a short hop in the car to Pomarance where you’ll find supermarkets for supplies, and a healthy handful of pizzerias, local bars and coffee shops.

Home truths:
*A few steps lead to the main entrance on the ground floor so this place may not be suitable for those with very limited mobility
*At capacity, two guests will be on a sofa bed in the second living room
*Three of the double ensuite bedrooms have separate entrances from the garden
*The swimming pool has only recently been completed so has not been photographed and is open from the last Saturday in April until the first Saturday in October
*Your host can provide a cot for infants on request
*In a remote location, having a car is recommended and there is private parking