Casale Classico

Tradition's comfort

Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, Casale Classico is perfect for five couples or an extended family, and the location couldn't be better! Located in the heart of Tuscany's Chianti Classico region and set on an idyllic hillside just 15 minutes from Florence (18 km) and less than an hour from Siena, the villa is within an hour's drive of Lucca, and all of the beautiful hill towns of Chianti are within easy reach. The closest village, Mercatale Val di Pesa, with shops and restaurants, is just 5 minutes away (2 km), and facilities for horseback riding are available nearby (3 km).

Casale Classico has five bedrooms with five en suite bathrooms. Upon request and for an additional fee, four additional beds can be added bringing the total capacity of the villa to 14 guests.

This beautiful, spacious villa was totally restored in 2006. The property includes the house (530 sqm) and an amazing swimming pool (15 x 7 metres) with separate circular Jacuzzi tub and furnished stone solarium. There is a also a separate dependence (40 sqm) on the property, where the owner's belongings are stored (a double bed is located in a loft and a sitting area with fireplace and a bathroom with shower are located on the ground floor). In special situations, the owner may be willing to open it for larger groups at an additional cost. (The opening of the dependance must be requested when booking).

An unpaved road (1200 metres) leads to the villa, which dates back a thousand years; it was once a small monastery and later became a country house. 10.000 square metres of private land surround the house.

The manicured lawn is bordered with roses and olive trees, and a shaded stone patio overlooks the pool and is furnished with a long table, comfortable chairs, and a BBQ for al fresco dining watching the sunset. A few steps away is the beautiful fresh-water pool with Jacuzzi, surrounded by lounge chairs, tables and umbrellas, with a panoramic view of the Chianti hills. Some steps away there is a pool house with changing room and bathroom with shower. Inside, Casale Classico has beautiful terracotta tile floors and beamed ceilings. It is divided into two floors.

Ground floor:
1 entry hall
1 dining area with table for 12
1 sitting area with sofa bed for 2 people and small bathroom (with basin, WC and shower), this room has SKY TV SAT, DVD and CD-player.
1 fully equipped kitchen
1 smaller breakfast kitchen
1 TV room with satellite TV
1 studio with sofa bed for 2 people
1 double bedroom (the bed cannot be set as twins) accessed by 5 steps and with small bathroom (with basin, WC and shower), this bedroom is provided with fan and screens on the window.

Upper floor:
1 spacious central living room with three sofas, fireplace, TV and PC with printer
2 double bedrooms (the double beds cannot be set as twins), each with en suite bathroom (with shower)
1 twin bedroom (the beds can be pushed together) with en suite bathroom (with bathtub with hydro massage)
1 master bedroom with a double bed, a decorative fireplace and en suite bathroom (with Jacuzzi tub)
1 guest toilet on the corridor
All of the upstairs bedrooms and the living room are air conditioned.
All bedrooms have the possibility to connect a TV.

Dependance (at axtra charge to be requested when booking):
On the ground floor there is a cosy living room with kitchenette and a bathroom (with shower). Upstairs there is a double bedroom in an open gallery. (The Dependence cannot be rented seperately). The Dependance is air conditioned.

Staff
Daily maid service for three hours a day from Monday to Saturday is included in the rental price. Bed linens are changed each Wednesday and Saturday and bath linens are changed each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Other services are available on request.

Please note: Due to the stone steps connecting the two floors, Casale Classico is not suitable for people with walking difficulties. The small dependance as well is not suitable for children and people with walking difficulties.

The Chianti area
The hills of Chianti, criss-crossed with vines and crested with cypress trees have become the hallmark of Tuscany, the beauty of the landscape married to a quality of life which would be rare anywhere in the world. Chiantishire, as the English call it, has an infinite variety of hilltop villages where you can sip a cappuccino in one of the outdoor cafe's in the medieval squares, of cellars where you can sample the local wines from the barrels, of little trattorias serving robustly satisfying Tuscan food with its hams and salamis and delicious pastas and wild boar stew with white beans and salads growing wild in the hedgerows. The back roads wind uphill and down, between old stone walls crested with pale violet irises past Romanesque cloisters, sandstone farmhouses and shepherds with their flocks of sheep producing the famed 'pecorino' cheese.

Sightseeing
You are in the heart of Tuscany and the list of excursions half or a whole day away is long: Florence, famous for its fine Renaissance art, the walled city of Lucca with its 99 churches, the leaning tower of Pisa, the Val d'Orcia with the Renaissance town of Pienza and the wine-making meccas of Montepulciano and Montalcino and the awe-inspiring abbey of Sant'Antimo are just a few...

Distances
Florence is 15 to 20 minutes away, Greve in Chianti 25 minutes, San Gimignano 30 minutes, while Siena can be reached in 50 minutes. Montalcino and Pienza are a one and a half hour's drive, while the Thyrrenian sea is one hour away. Pisa and Lucca are one hour by car while the jet-set sea resort of Porto Ercole can be reached in approx. one and a half hours.

Airports and transport
The Florence airport is 30 kilometres away and Pisa is at 118 kilometres, while the airport in Rome is less than three hours away and approx. 290 kilometres further south. The nearest railway station with most travel options is Florence.