Il Poggio

Protected by a hill

The house of Il Poggio is surrounded by 7 hectares of land. The actual property owner was moved to buy the property in 1973. The architectural quality of the house as well as the unique location - the building lies tucked against the wooded hills and commands a full view over the Orcia valley - proved to be more convincing than reason at a time when most people were still looking to sell their houses in this area. Who could have known that only 25 years later the Orcia Valley would have grown into one of the most sought after locations in Italy, where artists, industrialists, politicians and exclusive wine growers would meet?

As has often happened in rural Tuscany, the house had been abandoned after World War II. The restoration, which begun in 1999, became a case of 'architectural salvation'. A deep sensitivity for the barren valley as well as a profound knowledge of the local style and materials were need to create a house which responds to modern needs for space and comfort, while respecting its past. Now that the project has come to an end with the help of an architect friend and expert local craftsmen, the property owner considers the house 'un vero gioello' - a jewel.

Il Poggio is protected by a hill where an old chestnut grove produces the best chestnuts of the region. Terraced orchards and fields slope down towards the old road. On one of the terraces lies the swimming-pool, out of view of the house but only a couple of minutes' walk away. A parking lot is placed below the house, so that cars should not be an eyesore; however, easy car access to the house itself is provided.

The house has been decorated with the original colours of the Sienese farms: pale yellows, pinks and blues, with borders in a burnt terracotta colour known as 'terra-di-Siena'. The furniture is local, simple and attractive, with a few choice antiques. Kitchen and bathrooms are provided with every facility, including of course a dishwasher. A separate laundry is equipped with washing-machine, ironing board and iron. Meals can be taken in the large country kitchen, but on warmer days you might prefer to loggia with its barbecue and traditional wood-burning pizza oven, or again you might wish to sit under the pergola along the front of the house, looking over the valley. The pergola covered with vines is running along the entire length of the house.

The property's location makes excursions to Siena, Assisi, Orvieto, Perugia, Arezzo and Florence an easy day trip. But the area below Siena, stretching from the monastery of Monte Oliveto to Montalcino and Montepulciano offers some rewarding sites that are well worth a visit.

In San Quirico d?Orcia make sure you see the Horti Leonini, an early Renaissance garden, as well as the western door in the city wall and the Collegiata (main church).

Montalcino is beautifully situated on a hill inhabited since Etruscan times, swathed in vineyards and olive groves. It is a quiet, affluent, attractive town with pretty buildings and flower-filled squares, and many shops selling the Brunello di Montalcino.

Montepulcino is a graceful Tuscan hill town, best known for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which was being praised by connoisseurs over 200 years ago and can certainly contend with Italy's best today.

Pienza, the unfinished 'utopian' city, was commissioned by Pope Pius II in 1459.

Chiusi is one of our favourites because of its unpretentious liveliness. Compared to Montepulciano it is uncontaminated by tourism. Chiusi has a railway station - from here it is a quick ride to the city center of Rome.

Monticchiello is a pleasant walled village, whose crooked watch-tower is visible from afar. Next to the church is a small shop which sells local linens (towels, bedspreads) and materials in pure linen. They use traditional methods and patterns and the results are extremely attractive.

Visit the abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and the semi-derelict monastery of Sant'Anna in Camprena - a very romantic setting which served as location for the film The English Patient.

Sant'Antimo is surely one of the loveliest Romanesque buildings in all of Italy. It is hard to imagine a more sympathetic combination of architectural grace and natural setting.

Sarteano fits our picture of an unspoilt Italian village. The main square has a nice bar where you can sit outside. On the square below, in the afternoon a different bar serves excellent take away pizza.

And last but not least the landscape in this region of Tuscany is spectacular: The Crete Senesi are the eroded clay hills in the Orcia valley. These strange, pale, barren looking slopes, with their bare cliffs, broken gullies and white Jurassic limestone, look altogehter more lunar than terrestial.

Pool in winter?

Tuscany is famous for its Hot springs, belonging to a geothermical system that more or less encircles Monte Amiata, the most spectacular being Saturnia in the south west of the region. Steaming water collects in a number of white limestone basins - a rare natural spectacle and great fun to bathe in! Swimming possible both in the natural basins and in smart thermal baths. Saturnia offers a wide range of comforts and even a sauna.

Close to the property is Bagno Vignoni which has been popular since Etruscan times. St. Catherine of Siena is said to have appreciated its thearpeutic qualities, as is Lorenzo the Magnificent, whose family built the splendid arcaded pool - a kind of flooded, bubbling piazza, famously used by Tarkowsky for some of the more surreal passages of his film Nolstalgia. Not far from this antique piazza there is a hotel with a lovely open air swimming pool, fed from hot springs. This is also available to external guests.

Bagni San Filippo may go into the books as the world's smallest thermal spa - a telephone booth, a few old houses, outdoor spring in the middle of the woods with glistening limestone formations and one small hotel with a public pool.

The Montepulciano thermal springs can also be enjoyed in an indoor thermal swimming pool.

Just 10 km from the property you will find the thermal spa Terme di Chianciano with a highly modern health and thermal centre. Those wanting to combine holidays with a wellness break can enjoy fango baths, cosmetic and therapeutic treatments, solarium, massages and hydromassages. Have yourself thoroughly pampered! Just relax here!