| Reference | tus119 |
|---|---|
| Sleeps | Up to 4 |
| Bedrooms | 2 Bedroom Apartment (1 with external entrance) |
| Pool | 16 metres by 8 metres |
| Beach | a short drive |
Just seven individual apartments and houses stand in private grounds owned by a well known sculptor of international fame, a very friendly and interesting person who lives in the '500 Florentine'-style master villa. The garden, where his workshop is also located, is a true open-air museum.
The pleasant position at the gates of the small town of Monteverdi Marittima, means that it is only a short stroll away.
Each apartment has been renovated through the eyes of the sculptor, using local materials. Simple, essential furnishings, as is the artist's style, with a few Tuscan country pieces.
Fontane is an independent apartment with open plan living room with double sofa bed. The kitchen with open dining area is well equipped. There is the double bedroom and a bathroom with shower. The second small bedroom has a double bed with en suite bathroom with shower. This has an external entrance. 20m away is a pretty and private terrace and stands above the 'open-air' museum with wood-burning oven/barbecue.
Faciliites for guests on site include a huge shared swimming pool (8m x 16m, max depth 1,40m; open from 01/06-30/10), large 'garden museum' and woods. A second covered swimming pool covered (3m x 9m, depth 1.40m, open 01/05 - 30/09). Sculpting lessons can be arranged locally.
There may be local charges for some facilities. There is also a refundable security deposit that needs to be paid on arrival of €300 which will be returned on departure. Some areas are also subject to a small tourist tax which will be paid locally.
It is only a short drive to the coast of Tuscany, Sassetta is only 4 km away. Florence is about 1 1/2 hours drive.
It's just not possible to divorce Tuscany from our preconceptions. A row of cypress trees breaking the blue sky on a hilltop. Olive groves and grapevines marching tidily down the side of a slope. Little medieval hill towns gazing down upon a country that has been carefully developed since the Roman times. It has been said , that rather than take a photo of the modern landscape, you can gaze into a painting by Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael or Piero della Francesca. Much of the scenery is simply unchanged in 500 years.
We have the 'art cities' of Florence, Pisa and Siena - the galleries and museums, devotional buildings and architecture of Florence (Firenze) alone could swallow your entire holiday in Tuscany. Another week would just about deal with Pisa and its Campo dei Miracoli around the Leaning Tower and Baptistery. Then there is lesser known Lucca, a perfect medieval city within its unbreakable medieval walls. But let's take a few other highlights without which no tour of Tuscany is complete.
Siena is a superb medieval city, which depopulated a few hundred years ago due to the Black Death and never quite filled up again. Indeed parts of this opulent and stylish town, around the stunning black-and-white marble Duomo, retain a semi-rural air. Cobbled streets spiral toward the central 'Campo' site of the twice yearly Palio horse race. There are dozens of little hill towns south and west of Siena, with San Gimignano (the city of towers) being best known. Montepulciano, Cortona and Pienza are joys, but also see lesser-explored Pitigliano, Massa Marittima and Volterra.
Between Florence and Siena we have Chianti, superb wine country of course and a popular retreat for British and American expats. The main towns of 'Chiantishire' are Greve in Chianti and Radda in Chianti. See too the medieval cloth town of Prato, with the Castello Imperator and a fine Pisan-Romanesque Duomo. Another undiscovered gem is Pistoia, with a well preserved medieval core. Heading towards the coast we have Pisa, Lucca and then the coastline of the Versilian Riviera. The most famous of the resorts is Viareggio, a fashionable resort in Victorian times, and still a fun seaside town, with great gelaterie, restaurants, beaches and the huge February carnival. Livorno is often dismissed as a bombed and uninspiringly rebuilt port town, but there is a lovely old town of canals and humpback bridges, a 'little Venice' indeed. Offshore we have the isle of Elba, once home to a defeated Napoleon.
The southern Tuscan coast becomes the Maremma, once a malaria-ridden backwater but now home to the famed Maremma cattle and the 'butteri', cowboys who tend them. The countryside rises to the hills of Monte Argentario and the rather lovely and very ancient town of Orbetello. South of Siena we come to the remarkable San Gimignano, a little town that became a powerful republic, albeit briefly. The soaring towers are monuments to the pride and hubris of the warring families of the town. Volterra is something quite other - built remote and striking on a high plateau, DH Lawrence wrote that it 'gets all the wind and sees all the world ... an inland island'. Thence on to Massa Marittima, an important mining town since pre-Roman (Etruscan) times. And south of Siena spreads the countryside of the Crete Senese ... which is probably that Tuscan countryside that most of us first-time visitors picture in our minds.
We can't leave southern Tuscany without visiting the Abbazia dei San Galgano, one of Italy's most stunning Gothic buildings, and the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore, with its superb Renaissance frescoes. On to Montepulciano, at 600 metres above the sea it's the highest hill town in Tuscany. Then to Pienza, a Renaissance new town created from scratch by Pius II in 1459. Another lovely hill town nearby is Montalcino - wine buffs will know the name.
Eastern Tuscany's main towns are Arezzo - a beautiful Etruscan, Roman and medieval city, and the home and inspiration of movie clown Roberto Benigni (much of 'La Vita e Bella' was filmed here). Finally on to Cortona, from whose heights you gaze down upon Lake Trasimeno. The town has the Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca, a fine Duomo and the Museo Diocesano.
Vivid Italy is your perfect choice for a holiday in Tuscany. In Tuscany we have villas, apartments and hotels ideal for your holiday.
There are direct flights to Florence and Pisa from several airports in the UK.
You can fly from Gatwick to Florence on most days with Meridiana.
From Bristol, Gatwick and Luton you can take an Easyjet flight to Pisa on most days including weekends. Gatwick also has a British Airways flight to Pisa on the weekends.
From Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, East Midlands and Birmingham you can take a Ryanair flight to Pisa. Their flights from Stansted, Liverpool and Dublin leave Monday-Sunday.
With Jet2 you can fly from Leeds/Bradford, Belfast, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester to Pisa.
You can book accommodation only, or we can help you package flights, car hire or private transfers. You can find all this information on the website or call us on 0844 811 9720 to discuss all your requirements.
Our website carries comprehensive details for each property and its location. Our team visit each property, so can provide any other information you might need. Call us on 0844 811 9720 to talk through your holiday requirements.
There is a panel at the top right of this page where you can enter your holiday requirements. This will then display a calendar showing when the property is available. Now click on a GREEN day to get the price. The price displayed is the total price for the property, not per person.
If you need to hold a property while you talk to other people or book flights, you can put a 24 hour reservation on it with no commitment. The reserve button is displayed with the price of the property (see above section).
You can book and pay for Fontane online, you be given the chance to include car hire or transfers during the booking process. Alternatively call us on 0844 811 9720 and we will process your booking over the telephone - there is no extra charge for personal service!
