farmhouse on the hills of Lucca

We had a good time in Mastiano. It is a perfect quiet retreat for trips to Luca, Firenze and Pisa.

A pleasant simple apartment, actually the uphill half of an old farmhouse, in quiet but not remote hills - not far from a main east-west road in the valley, or from wonderful Lucca and several pleasant sandy and safe beaches (these less than hour by car). Some of the more wooded and mountainous countryside to the nearby interior is lovely and peaceful, at times even dramatic. Unfortunately the house doesn't really face down towards the valley, but one can enjoy the view in that direction to a limited degree from the garden terrace, also a little from one of the bedrooms and the kitchen. Not really facing the view to the East and South, and partially shaded by the olives trees and hillside to the West, does have the advantage of keeping the apartment cooler than would perhaps otherwise be the case. Most of the furniture is oldish and well-used, but all is adequate. The bed I used was nice and comfortable, happily more firm than soft. Bedding and towels, including kitchen cloths, are plentiful. The household equipment is extensive and includes most everything one needs, although for a large group, the pasta cooking-pot may be a little small, while the electric grill is small and not very strong, and a couple of sharp chopping knives and maybe kitchen scales would be useful. There are no bowls for breakfast cereal or small portions of soup, but some very large mugs can serve for these purposes. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I found there were a couple of Italian TV channels more or less constantly showing english-language films in the evening (although usually trashy american ones), and also in english, episodes of a US soap-opera series and of The Big Bang Theory. I did not use the toilet or shower in the cellar, but I noted the shower did not function during my stay - maybe the showerhead clogged with lime. I found some of the cutlery, and also the milk pans, left not very clean by previous tenants, but otherwise the apartment was very clean. I was only troubled twice in the night (during a week's stay) by a single mosquito, but the mosquito nets are in need of repair (apparently planned for this coming winter). The hostess is very friendly, chatty and helpful, and extremely informative about all one needs to know concerning the apartment and the area. Indeed she is a nice person altogether.

Simona was a wonderful hostess and her house was lovely and well equipped. If you don't speak Italian remember to bring some DVDs to watch when you are relaxing inside as there is limited English programming on the television . There was plenty of bedding and linens for the cold nights and a fireplace and space heater to warm the house up. The patio above the house catches the morning sun nicely and would be lovely for evening meals when it is warmer. The house is set in a peaceful hamlet, the quietness only punctuated by the church bell and birdsong. There is a very good budget restaurant a few minutes away in the town square in Ponte a Moriano which Simona pointed us to. It is always nice to have local input on food otherwise you are flying blind and taking your chances. Make sure you look at the book about the valley up to Barga as we found that a tour through it made a really nice day. We had a lovely stay and would recommend this property to anyone who is looking for peace (and has a car!)

The house was very clean and bigger then we thaught. Super service from owner and we recommend this house to every one. The views were breath raming.