Le Diacce: Beautiful Old Farmhouse with Breathtaking Countryside View

My family and I traveled to the Tuscany region to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We were absolutely thrilled with Le Diacce and Barbara’s support for our stay. The house was well stocked; the pool was wonderful (especially for our teenage boys); the setting in the countryside was picturesque. The wine tasting hosted by Barbara was wonderful! All in all, I cannot describe all the wonderful things about this property and the phenomenal hosts. Our family of nine have a wonderful memory that we will treasure forever.

My wife and I took our adult children and their plus ones (20-22 year-olds) to Italy for a 2 week vacation. Le Diacce served as our base in Tuscany. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this place. First, the location is fantastic. It is in close proximity to many small and wonderful Italian villages. Walled cities are close by for exploration (history, food, wine, etc.) Gaiole is a short 10 minute drive away and is so quiet and quaint with a superb grocery market, cafe, and several restaurants. Secondly, the view from the house is breathtaking. One of our favorite things to do was sit outside in the late afternoon with a gentle and cool SW breeze coming up through the vineyard into our face. Lastly, the owners and support staff are amazing. Anna was so helpful in our planning. Barbara was on top of our every question and request before and throughout our arrival. Jennifer was so pleasant in our winetasting at the winery and helpful with suggestions on the "must do's". By the way, you must stop at the food truck on the way to Greve. Not kidding. It was amazing and our kids and friends loved it. Lastly, Lorenzo was amazing. The washing machine had a bit of a hiccup, and Lorenzo was their immediately to replace it with a working machine. I could write so much more. My wife and I have traveled to many places and had many great experiences. The experience in Tuscany is our absolute favorite and Le Diacce is the primary reason for that.

Comfortable and charming farmhouse surrounded by vineyards overlooking the beautiful Tuscan Landscape. Ours hosts Jenn and Lorenzo were gracious and accommodating. The Winery is the the perfect size to enjoy the wines and the company. Two weeks was not enough. Hope to get back again soon.

As part of a 10th anniversary trip, my wife and I wanted to have friends join us for a week in Tuscany. After an exhaustive search, we found Podere Ciona on VRBO last October (we also were impressed by Ciona's own web site.) Franca's response to our e-mail query was immediate and helpful—indeed, all our correspondence was so prompt and friendly that I couldn't wait to meet her! We rented Le Diacce, a 5-bdrm country house that is the main guest accommodation at Ciona. Our week was all that we hoped it would be. On July 14, the four couples in our group came together at Ciona. Franca met us and showed us around the house and the grounds, answering our questions about the facilities and the area. The house was lovely and supremely comfortable. Each bedroom was very large with plenty of furniture and space to unpack and "move in". We prepared many meals in the well-equipped kitchen, and enjoyed eating together both in the dining room and at the table outside on the spacious patio. We started each day with a morning run through Montegrossi then up to the Abbey at Coltibuono and back. After a breakfast featuring apricots from the tree just outside, some of us would enjoy sunning and swimming at the pool, a gorgeous setting with an olive grove on one side, lavender buzzing with butterflies on the other. Others would seek shade for reading and contemplation on the grass overlooking vineyard hills toward Siena in the distance. We found Podere Ciona ideally placed for exploring the region. The hilltop towns of Castellina in Chianti and Radda are short drives away, and worth visiting for sightseeing and restaurants. An excellent restaurant, the Abbey at Badia à Coltibuono, lies but a few kilometers away—the food and view are sublime. We alternated days exploring—drives to Siena, and Montepulciano/Montalcino; a train ride to Florence (easier to park the car in Montevarchi and catch the train)—with sunny days of wonderful Tuscan laziness when the main exertion was popping the cork on a bottle of rosé. A definite highlight was our cooking class with the Tuscan Mammas. Franca and her sister Mimma have travelled internationally teaching Tuscan cuisine. Four of us took the class in the wine-tasting facility at Podere Ciona; the rest of our group joined later to savor the results. Franca and Mimma are charming, and had us rolling with some of their stories. The dinner, al fresco, accompanied by several Ciona wines, was simply fabulous. I highly recommend this property.