Historic hillside cottage in Tuscan Appennines

Beautiful, historic hillside cottage in a tiny, peaceful hamlet in the Tusco-Emilian Appenines between Bologna and Florence.

Recommended for foodies, foragers, families, wild swimmers, walkers and people with a spirit of adventure who want to experience an authentic glimpse of rural Italy in one of the last corners of Tuscany/Emilia still untouched by tourism.

This rustic, C18th stone house has chestnut-wood floors and ceilings, antique furniture and bedrooms with luxury-standard linen, lots of outside space and stunning mountain views. It's in an idyllic mountain setting away from tourism. The hamlet and its traditional way of life has been unchanged for hundreds of years.

Outside there are patios, terraced gardens and a tiny orchard all surrounded by chestnut woodland. You can read more here: http://italycottage.weebly.com/


The house is within 10 mins of village shops and a train station and is within easy reach of Pisa, Lucca, Florence and Bologna (all 1hr or less), and 25kms from Pistoia. The small road leading to the house from the main road is a steep drive (about 1km). The property is a home, not hotel. It is quirky. More here: http://italycottage.weebly.com/



Wild swimming: there are a profusion of wild swimming options close to the house, including streams, waterfalls and plunge pools in the woods surrounding the house and, five minutes' away, a large river (Reno) with small peddly beaches along its shores. A lake half an hour away has small beaches, pedalos, cafes and sail boats for hire. There is also a large open-air swimming pool with sun loungers in nearby Porretta.

Ski, walking, hiking: There are 3 ski resorts close to the house. Abetone, 30 kms away, is the best in the Appenines with stunning views of Emila and Tuscany. It has an extensive network of slopes mainly for intermediate level skiers. Closer but smaller are Lizzano in Belvedere and Corno alle Scale. The Appennines have an excellent network of marked trails and mountain refuges organised by the Italian Alpine Club. A recognised national footpath passes by the house and takes walkers to as high as 1441m to mountain ridges offering stunning panoramic views of Emilia and Tuscany. From one local peak, visitors can see both coasts of Italy and as far as Mont Blanc!



Food and drink: Emilia Romagna is Italy's finest culinary region, home of balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese and parma ham, and Tuscany is known for its fantastic wine, making this house perfectly placed for foodies. The excellent food market every Saturday in near-by Porretta attracts producers from both regions. Excellent wine can also be found in all local enoteche (specialist wine bars). Because of the area's superb culinary traditions, there are a profusion of food festivals (sagre) all year round, ranging from chestnut sagre to the famous white truffle sagre, held in Marradi, about 1hr from the house, in Autumn. In the summer local sagre in near-by villages include polenta, wild boar, venison and ravioli.


It is also a forager's heaven - wild mint, chamomile, bilberries, porcini and chantarelles mushrooms, sorel, woodland fruits...

Festivals and markets: The area is home to many music festivals in the summer, including Italy's best blues and jazz festivals. Pistoia holds the world famous Pistoia Blues festival every July, as well as the Giostra dell Orto, a jousting medieval processing also held in the Summer. Porretta holds the Porretta Jazz festivals each summer, with past guests including the likes of Buddy Guy.
Many local towns also throw medieval parties in the summer - joisting, parades, processions - and Prato has an annual national Comic Book Conference in the spring and Prato Estate (July/August) is a living arts festival including open-air theatre, concerts and films held each year.

Nearby, Pistoia and San Miniato hold large, monthly antique markets and craft festivals. An antique market, often including a stall selling only fascist memorabilia to the strains of military music, as well as antiques and paintings, is held every Sunday in Pracchia's town square (15-minute drive).