Description
Nestled on the top of a scenic Valdichiana hillock, not far from Foiano and Lucignano, 9.1-ha estate with villa and roccolo for sale. The property consists of several buildings with a total of 5 bedrooms and is surrounded by a forest that ensures privacy and confidentiality. The quiet nature of the area is very suitable if one wanted to include the property in the tourist-receptive circuit.
Services are available in the nearby towns of Foiano della Chiana and Lucignano (both about 5 km away by car) but other renowned art cities of Tuscany (including Cortona, Arezzo, Pienza, and Montepulciano) are all reachable in less than an hour. Another not insignificant detail is the property's proximity to the A1 highway interchange that leads quickly to Rome and Florence.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS
The villa (312 sqm – 3,357 sqft, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms) is spread over three floors above ground, plus a basement cellar.
• Ground floor: characteristic entrance hall with vaulted ceiling, living room, dining room with fireplace, kitchen, second living room with exit to the garden and service bathroom. Between the kitchen and dining room is the staircase down to the cellar;
• First floor: living room with fireplace, three bedrooms and two bathrooms;
• Second floor: partially practicable attics, very useful as storage.
The villa lived its heyday at the end of the 19th century, when a family of Sienese nobles (descendants of a famous house affiliated with the Guelfi Neri and exiled in Valdichiana) decided to transform an old farmhouse into a refined stately residence. The property still retains fascinating details: painted plaques decorating the façade, carved window sills and jambs, and an interior staircase made of pietra serena. The Art Nouveau style gives the villa a timeless elegance.
Inside the villa’s resede is a shed (26 sqm – 280 sqft), useful for storing garden equipment and furniture.
The lemon house (87 sqm – 936 sqft), located in close proximity to the villa, is currently used as a shed and laundry room. The roof has been converted into a terrace accessible from the garden. Opposite the lemon house is a small outbuilding to be renovated.
Also near the villa, but completely independent, is the janitor’s house (108 sqm – 1,162 sqft, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom), accompanied by an accessory building. The house, on one floor, consists of two bedrooms, dining room, living room, bathroom and storage room.
THE PARK AND THE ROCCOLO
The property is set in about 9.1 hectares (22.5 acres) of land that provide absolute privacy and tranquility. The grounds include a historic garden, forest, arable land and a small olive grove.
The park surrounding the villa preserves a structure of considerable historical and naturalistic interest: the roccolo (24 sqm – 258 sqft). A classic example of a hunting installation, the structure was once used for the capture of migratory birds using nets and live calls. The roccolo consisted of a “round” and a “colonnade”, with trees pruned and arranged to guide the birds into the nets. Hidden in the vegetation was the tollhouse, from which the “roccolatore” activated the nets and operated the decoys.
Today this type of hunting is banned, but the roccolo remains as valuable evidence of a tradition that has now disappeared, as well as elements of great historical and environmental value.
CLOSEST CITIES AND TOWNS
Foiano della Chiana (4km; 5’), Lucignano (4km; 5’), Monte San Savino (12km; 15’), Castiglion Fiorentino (18km; 20’), Cortona (24km; 30’), Montepulciano (25km; 30’), Arezzo (30km; 30’), Pienza (32km; 35’), Montalcino (46km; 50’), Siena (51km; 45’), Monteriggioni (66km; 55’), Firenze (87km; 1h 10’), San Gimignano (88km; 1h 15’), Volterra (102km; 1h 30’)
CLOSEST AIRPORTS
Perugia San Francesco (70km; 55’), Firenze A. Vespucci (108km; 1h 15’), Pisa G. Galilei (169km; 1h 55’), Bologna G. Marconi (190km; 2h), Roma Ciampino (204km; 2h 10’), Roma Fiumicino (217km; 2h 15’)
