VILLA BARBACCIA Arezzo & Cortona

Description

At 450 meters above sea level, Villa Barbaccia offers its inhabitants stunning views up the Arno valley towards Florence. Nestled high in the hills between the Chiana and Arno valleys, the estate has been painstakingly restored to its authentic, original beauty. Once home to about thirty farmers, the entire property can comfortably accommodate up to sixteen guests in eight bedrooms.

Private but not remote, Barbaccia sits in the middle of over one thousand acres of vineyards, olive groves and farmland. As the Villa also lies within a thousand acre game reserve, you may catch a glimpse of pheasants, hares, deer, woodpeckers and perhaps even the reclusive wild boar, all of which abound nearby. During the summer, the beautifully cultivated gardens are colourful and fragrant---a lovely place to pass a balmy afternoon.

Accommodation

GROUND FLOOR - Just beside the entrance in building's left wing are the kitchen and TV room. The TV room features satellite television with VHS/DVD player, CD player, fireplace and a large farm table. The kitchen is professionally equipped with everything the serious chef needs to prepare wonderful feasts: two cooking stations, commercial high-speed dishwasher, stainless refrigerator/freezer, double pastry refrigerator, five-burner gas stove with electric oven and built-in pasta boiler, four-burner gas stove, electric oven, stainless and marble work surfaces, microwave oven and toaster oven. Adjacent to the entrance in the right wing are the living room, dining room, staff kitchen, one small study and one bedroom.

The spacious living room has two large, comfortable sitting areas, card table and CD player. The focal point of the room is the carved stone pillar supporting four original brick arches. The dining room comfortably seats sixteen. The small study features an electronic piano, writing desk and comfortable chair with ottoman---a quite place to read, write or play music. The ground floor bedroom is decked out with king-size bed, chaise lounge and en suite bath with shower. This room also has a semi-private terrace with direct access to garden.

FIRST FLOOR - On the first floor are seven bedrooms and two additional living rooms, one with a large fireplace and the other furnished with plush, down-filled armchairs, a double partners' desk and a skilfully reproduced 18th-century Italian house organ.

This floor contains two bedrooms with queen-size beds, one with en suite bathroom and one with standing shower facilities in an adjoining room. Additionally, there are two bedrooms with two twin beds (can be pushed together to form a king size bed) and en suite bath. One bedroom has two extra-long twin beds or king size bed and full en suite bathroom. Finally, two more twin/king bedrooms share a spacious bathroom with tub and shower, plus a smaller half bath.

OUTDOOR FACILITIES
Six carefully landscaped acres of private property, 8x16 meter swimming pool, children's wading pool, pool house with shower, toilets and changing room, wood burning pizza oven and patios for al fresco dining.

Services included

Included in the weekly rental charge is a team of two housekeepers who, along with general cleaning duties, cater an Italian breakfast each morning and provide meal service for either lunch or dinner.

A local concierge is available on site and lives nearby.

A gardener looks after the grounds and the swimming pool.

Services not included

TUSCAN COOKING SCHOOL: Lunchtime or evening cooking lessons with our professional Italian chef can be pre-booked at Villa Barbaccia for up to 6 students.

LINEN: We are pleased to offer a midweek linen change.

Distances

• Groceries and other essentials are a ten minutes' drive away.
• Arezzo: 15 minutes away
• Siena: 45 minutes away
• Rome and Pisa: 2 hours away
• Florence: 1 hour away
• Chianti: 30 minutes away
• San Gimignano: 1 hour and half away