Perched above the medieval village of Bagnone, our villa sleeps a maximum of 12 people and is set in the hills about half an hour from the coast. It is perfectly placed for a peaceful Italian holiday whether that be sun, sea and sand, culture and incredible scenery, skiing and snow sports or just getting away from it all. Just an hour from three different airports it is easily and cheaply accessible. Florence, Pisa, Lucca and the Cinque Terre are all within easy driving distance of the villa.
The Location
The villa is in North Tuscany, close to La Spezia and Pontremoli, just over an hour from Pisa, Parma and Genova airports (all of which are serviced by low cost airlines). Located a few kilometres up into the hills from the Ligurian coastline, the house is also only 55 minutes or so from the nearest ski resort and around an hour from Portofino, Pisa and the romantic walled city of Lucca. Nearer still are Portovenere, the five cliff top fishing villages of Cinque Terre, the port of Lerici, and a host of picturesque medieval villages amongst the rolling hills and mountains of North Tuscany. Florence is less than two hours away and can be easily reached for a day trip.
The village of Bagnone itself is a network of cobbled alleyways and ancient buildings, whose square overlooks a deep river gorge filled with a series of waterfalls and clear blue pools. A medieval castle sits on top of the hill above the village and our villa is located with its own grounds close to this. It's a 10 minute stroll down the hill from the villa to the town square, so it is conveniently located for easy access to the local shops, bars and restaurants. Although the villa within easy reach of the centre of the town, it retains a sense of seclusion and independence and is surrounded by a large area of private land bordered by a mountain stream at the bottom.
The Villa
The villa was originally a fairly grand land owner's style house and dates from about 1900. It was unoccupied and neglected for more than 15 years, but over the last four years we have extensively renovated the whole of the interior, whilst retaining as much of the original character and features of the villa as possible.
It is set in 3,000 square metres of its own private land, with steep terraces overlooking the mountain stream and natural pond at the bottom of the garden. Arranged over three floors, the villa sleeps eight to ten comfortably, with room for a maximum of 12 people if the sofa bed in the lounge is used. It has a large hallway with a marble staircase leading up to the first floor, an en suite master bedroom with a kingsize bed, a second bedroom with its own private balcony and kingsize bed, a third double bedroom with ensuite bathroom, a bunk room which sleeps four, a main bathroom, a downstairs bathroom, a lounge (with a sofa bed), a huge kitchen / winter dining room, two balconies, a large ground floor terrace overlooking the garden, two cellar rooms and a large cantina / summer dining room / games area with table football and table tennis. The second bedroom also has a sofa bed so this can be used as a twin bedroom. The downstairs bathroom can be used as an ensuite for the third bedroom or as a general bathroom.
