Monteori

Built around a courtyard

Monteori lies on its own in the midst of olive trees and mediterranean macchia (scrub) and offers a spectacular view of the surrounding Tuscan countryside.

A jewel of local Tuscan architecture, it is built in the traditional local stone around an enclosed courtyard.

The natural sense of proportion and space which was developed by the rural builders over the centuries comes into its own at Monteori.

A judicious restoration turned the ground floor - originally taken up by the stables and storage rooms - into a spacious kitchen and several bedrooms which open up onto a pretty inner courtyard with rambling roses, lavender and rosemary bushes.

This is an ideal spot for al fresco dining during the summer months.

The house used to be lived in by the owners themselves and therefore lives up to the standard of an elegant private mansion with all the modern commodities we have become accustomed to. Precious antiques, books, local pottery, terracotta flooring, exposed beams and ancient stone fireplaces create a welcoming atmosphere.

Special care has been given to outdoor life. The garden was designed to offer many different spaces for different moments of the day. You will find two outside dining areas, a pergola covered in wysteria and a terrace with comfortable chairs, ideal for drinks at sunset.

The open plan kitchen is the main room of the ground floor. During the summer meals are served outside, either in the courtyard or under the shady wysteria pergola. All rooms on the ground floor have doors leading into the garden, giving Monteori the easy mediterranean way of life where indoors and outdoors seem to melt into each other. On the first floor the living room opens onto a small loggia with steps leading down to the gareden.

The pool is a short walk from the house (250 m), set in the midst of broom, lavender and cypress trees, overlooking the hilly Tuscan countryside. The surroundings of Monteori are untouched by modern civilisation, being mainly woods and farm land. In spring and autumn one can go for long walks, and light a blazing fire in the kitchen and living room upon one's return.

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!