Al Palazz

Enlarge

1 of 24

loading photos

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Villa |3 bedrooms |Sleeps 6

Bagnone in Tuscany

from £86 / night

This is the estimated nightly price based on a weekly stay. Contact the advertiser to confirm the price - it varies depending on when you stay and how long for.

£600–£2100 / week

Short stays welcome

Changeover Friday

5 out of 5

5 reviews | Write a review

Key info  Swimming pool, balcony/terrace, car advised, private garden, no pets allowed

Check availability and book

About the home

A traditional stone villa at the heart of a small friendly village in northern Tuscany, Al Palazz ('the big house' in dialect) has wonderful views of the valleys and mountains beyond. The villa is architect-restored , with stone walls, terracotta floors, and beamed ceilings.
It's stylishly furnished with beds, sofas, and garden furniture chosen for comfort. Relax in the second floor sitting room gazing at the view, or in the private gardens and pool (11m x 1.4m) where there's everything you need for lazy days at home.

Sleeping up to six in great comfort, the villa is spacious for sharing with friends/family, and a romantic retreat for two (reduced prices for 2 or 4 guests). Kitchen, dining area, snug on first floor; two double bedrooms & bathrooms, large sitting room on second floor. Option to add ground floor cantina (never let separately) with shower-room, galley kitchen, sitting & bedroom areas. The main entrance is on the first floor, with the cantina (originally a storeroom) on the ground floor, and separate grounds. The gate to the gardens & pool just round the corner (see photos).

Our private pool & changing rooms are set in extensive south-facing landscaped gardens. Cross the path off the square, go through our gate, and down the first stairs to reach our top terrace, next to the farm's kitchen garden. Laze on the swing seat or lunch at a shaded table for six. Down the next stairs you reach the main gardens. A terrace shaded by a grape vine leads through rose arches overlooking flowerbeds and a small lawn to a large covered terrace overlooking the pool, with dining table and chairs, table tennis, outdoor kitchen bar and gas barbeque. The pool on the lower level is solar heated (late May to late Sep). It's 11m x 4m x 1.4m, with steps. Changing rooms, showers, WC, comfortable loungers. Gardens can be lit at night, or sit by candlelight and watch the fireflies. From the pool, a path through an orchard in the making leads to our off-road parking space. There is also parking on-road and in the square by the house.

In summer, sunbathe and swim, sit and read, laze and gaze at the view, barbeque and watch the stars, take a dip in local hillside streams. There are lots of local fairs and food festivals to enjoy, with concerts under the stars. Head up to the mountain lakes or down to the seaside if you want a change of scene ... though many guests simply relax thoroughly in the gardens and by the pool.

In Apr/May and Sep/Oct there's wonderful weather for walking in the woods and hills, and pottering around enchanting little towns and castles. We've reduced prices and are flexible about start/end dates in Low season, to encourage visitors to get to know the area at these times. Enjoy spring flowers, autumn leaves, winter sunsets; dine by candelight and relax by woodburning stoves.

All year round, you can sample superb local food and wine in numerous excellent restaurants, and buy great ingredients for cooking at home from local suppliers. The Italian Riviera and the Cinque Terre are an hour away, and Lucca, Parma, Genoa, Pisa, Florence are all easy day trips. Our detailed House Books are rated highly by guests; they cover the property, the area, and eating out. We are also available by phone for queries on arrival and for any issues during your stay.

Staying here offers a real taste of rural Italian life. We think the villa is most suitable for people who are looking for a peaceful holiday in a family home, who will enjoy the chance to live in a village and explore an unspoilt part of Tuscany with deep-rooted values and many local traditions.

Facilities

Further details indoors:
• Bedrooms 1 & 2 each have luxury super-kingsize beds which can be split to make two singles
• Bedroom 3 in the cantina has a luxury kingsize bed
• Linen changed and house cleaned weekly
• Duvets and bed covers for all seasons
• All bathrooms have shower, washbasin, bidet, WC, heated towel rail, hairdryer
• Main bathroom also has a whirlpool bath
• Separate comfortable sitting areas on the first and second floors
• Lots of cooking equipment, basic ingredients, cookbooks, all cleaning materials provided
• Wi-fi, iPod docking station and CD players (bring your own music)
• English and Italian books and DVDs
• Cards, games, maps, guidebooks
• Satellite TV shows Italian channels, CNN BBC World
• Traditional Italian furnishings – wood and marble in the main house
• Cantina in modern Italian style
• Large rooms, high ceilings, tiled floors, and window shutters, keep the house cool in summer
• Gas central heating and two wood burning stoves make it a cosy retreat in spring and autumn
• Cot and strap-on high chair seats available on request for infants

Further details outdoors:
• Small two-seat terrace overlooking the piazza outside the kitchen
• Acre of south-facing private gardens on three levels
• Top terrace with shaded table for 6 – perfect for meals outdoors – and a swing seat to snooze on
• Middle level with flower beds and an English lawn; rose arches lead from a small terrace shaded by a grape vine to a large covered terrace overlooking the pool, with big gas barbeque, dining table and chairs, table tennis
• Pool and changing rooms on lower level
• Pool (11m x 4m) is solar heated and has steps for easy access
• Two poolside changing rooms, two showers, and WC
• Gardens can be lit at night
• Comfortable La Fuma pool loungers and garden chairs
• Fridge and outdoor tableware for barbeques and picnics in the garden
• New area of garden being planted this season, with path from the pool to our car parking space; parking also available on road and in square

Further details

• Changeover day is FRIDAY in Mid and High Season.
• Weekly rentals run from 4pm Friday - 10am Friday to allow for cleaning.
•• Flexible changeover days can be arranged in Low Season.
• Long weekend bookings (four nights Fri-Mon) available in Low Season.
• We ask guests to leave the house tidy and replace any item they finish.
• Please bring your own beach and swimming towels (house towels provided).

Traditionally in hillside villages, houses were built close together on flat outcrops, with gardens on surrounding slopes. You'll have Italian neighbours - Al Palazz fronts onto the square, the farm and its kitchen garden, and shares walls with the church tower (chimes midday, early evening, and for Mass), a very small B&B, and a neighbour's house.

Accessibility: There are two flights of stairs in the villa and three flights in the hillside gardens, where some drops are unfenced to preserve the views. There are handrails on the staircases and low safety rails for the second floor sitting room windows. We do not recommend the property for children under-eight, or for people who are infirm or who might have difficulty on old stone staircases. Note also: the cantina bed is a double, so the villa is only suitable for families with up to three children.

Conditions

We ask you to complete a form with our terms and conditions and pay a £200 non refundable deposit to secure your booking. The outstanding payment and a refundable breakages deposit of £100 is due six weeks before the start of your stay. On receipt we send you full arrival instructions, including details of the key safe.

Strictly no smoking in the house, and no pets allowed.

Photos

 

Enlarge

View of the villa from the beautiful landscaped gardens

 

Enlarge

Private solar heated pool with showers, WC, changing rooms, at Al Palazz

 

Enlarge

Al Palazz overlooks the tiny village square; the garden gate is just round the corner

 

Enlarge

Large comfortable sitting room with chestnut beams and spectacular valley views

The Tuscany / Massa Carrara Province region

Al Palazz is near the pretty little market town of Bagnone in the Apennine National Park. It's at the heart of the Lunigiana area - ‘undiscovered Tuscany’. It is very rural, authentic, with little tourism (and relatively little English). It's the land of a million stars and a hundred castles, of small towns and villages in valleys which lead from the Apennine mountains to the sea. Here you are still close to the rhythm of the year - what's on, what's available to eat, depends on the weather and the season. It’s a great place to relax on your own, or with friends or family.

The towns and villages of Lunigiana are small gems - wander old cobbled streets and squares, historic castles, churches, houses, museums. Go north up the Magra valley to Mulazzo, which has a wonderful castle and main square, or further to Zeri where there’s an old stone 'sheep village'. Go east and the Taverone valley takes you to the lovely little villages of Licciana Nardi and Tavernelle, and up into the hills and the national park with dozens of lakes. Or take the hill road to Fivizzano, a walled town at the head of a golden valley, with botanical gardens at Frignoli, and a thermal spa and caves at Equi Terme.

Go south to Fosdinovo, with its medieval castle and modern Resistance Museum, to ancient Roman Luni, or elegant Sarzana near the coast. Go west and the picturesque port and beaches of Lerici are just 45 mins/40km away. Portovenere and the Cinque Terre, five tiny villages clinging to a rocky coastline, are 60 mins/50km away and can also be reached by train or boat. The full Italian beach experience (umbrellas and all facilities!) can be found at Marina di Massa (about an hour) and beyond.

Pisa, Lucca, Parma are 75 mins away, Genoa 90 mins along the coast, Florence 2 hours away, all by easy motorway routes. There’s outdoor opera (Puccini) at Torre del Lago in the summer, and a Verdi festival in Parma in the autumn.

The Bagnone area

A short drive (1.5km), or a 20-minute walk down the hill on a track through the woods, takes you to Bagnone, an enchanting small town with bars, restaurants, all shops, doctors, pharmacy, post office, banks/ATMs, play park. Locally there are lots of local hill and mountain paths for walking, and crystal-clear streams for paddling, dam-building and swimming.

Drives of 15-30 minutes will take you to many pretty villages, historic Villafranca and Pontremoli, and modern Aulla. There are many good restaurants and excellent markets and small food shops. Drives of under an hour will let you explore the whole fascinating Lunigiana Wherever you go, we can signpost you to good local food and wine - Parma ham, Parmesan, pecorino, chestnuts, porcini mushrooms, lamb and wild boar are specialties. Our ‘Out & About’ Book gives suggestions for days out and eating/drinking.

Spring brings the first visitors and the valleys bloom with flowers. This is a good time for walking in the valleys and up on the moorland meadows. There are local food festivals in May and June. In high summer Bagnone bustles with Italian families coming back to the area. There's a sagra (food festival), dance or concert at every turn and a festival in August. On the night of San Lorenzo you can see shooting stars. In the autumn, it's time for winemaking in late September and chestnut festivals throughout October. There’s swimming till late September and wonderful walking as the woods turn golden. Winters are mild. Persimmon and pomegranates are in the shops. There are beautiful crisp days for walking and days by warm fires. New Year is celebrated with fireworks ringing round the valleys.

How to get there

Al Palazz What's nearby: Attractions Restaurants Click map icons for more information

Reset Map

The nearest airport is PISA (75 minutes). There are many flights to Pisa from the UK - BA, EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2

Rental care hire: we use www.autoamigos.co.uk, which seems to give consistently good car hire deals. We try to avoid Europcar and Hertz because there always seem to be queues.

There are trains from Pisa Airport to Villafranca-Bagnone, our local station (10 minutes by taxi).

You can also fly to PARMA or GENOA (Genova) both 75-90 minutes away. Some people also get flights to Bologna or Milan (2 - 2 1/2 hours away).

Activities near Bagnone

Reviews

Review: 1 to 3 of 5

>

19 Nov 2012

“A beautiful relaxing place for a 'slow', green holiday” We wanted as green a holiday as possible, and travelled there by train. It all worked out well - pick ups from local station, travelling on buses, using the local village as our base. The shops,... more

11 Jun 2012

“A special place for a special birthday.” This was an important family holiday that was a year in the planning to celebrate my 60th birthday with my wife children and their partners.  We wanted somewhere memorable and special. Al Palazz is... more

02 May 2012

“Fabulous village house and garden in a great location” Pre-holiday service was excellent. The website is very informative and comprehensive and directions and instructions arrived well in advance. The house is old and has been restored to the... more

Review: 1 to 3 of 5

>

Review: 4 to 5 of 5

<

01 May 2012

“Lovely villa, lovely grounds, lovely time” My trip to Al Palazz in June 2011 was actually my second visit to this lovely property. I first visited in September 2008 when my cousin had an unexpected vacancy in her small group rental of the... more

25 Nov 2011

“Not just another gorgeous house....” What sets this lovely vacation rental apart from other houses (other than the spectacular views, the pool and gardens, and the lovingly restored house) are the carefully prepared written materials... more Response: Thanks for your lovely comments. We have not yet met you, but we hope to in 2012 when you've booked to return to Al Palazz (thank you!) Jane and I are passionate about Lunigiana, and we are... more

Review: 4 to 5 of 5

<

Reviews powered by

Rental prices

Prices for group size 2
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
Low season	28 Sep 12	24 May 13	600£ 600	-	-	1 Week
Mid season (pool open)	24 May 13	12 Jul 13	990£ 990	-	-	1 Week
High season	12 Jul 13	6 Sep 13	1260£ 1260	-	-	1 Week
Mid season (pool open)	6 Sep 13	27 Sep 13	990£ 990	-	-	1 Week
Low season	27 Sep 13	3 Jan 14	600£ 600	-	-	1 Week

Prices for group size 4
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
Low season	28 Sep 12	24 May 13	960£ 960	-	-	1 Week
Mid season (pool open)	24 May 13	12 Jul 13	1400£ 1400	-	-	1 Week
High season (pool open)	12 Jul 13	6 Sep 13	1800£ 1800	-	-	1 Week
Mid season (pool open)	6 Sep 13	27 Sep 13	1400£ 1400	-	-	1 Week
Low season	27 Sep 13	3 Jan 14	960£ 960	-	-	1 Week

Prices for group size 6
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
Low season	28 Sep 12	24 May 13	1260£ 1260	-	-	1 Week
Mid season (pool open)	24 May 13	12 Jul 13	1650£ 1650	-	-	1 Week
High season (pool open)	12 Jul 13	6 Sep 13	2100£ 2100	-	-	1 Week
Mid season (pool open)	6 Sep 13	27 Sep 13	1650£ 1650	-	-	1 Week
Low season	27 Sep 13	3 Jan 14	1260£ 1260	-	-	1 Week

The property's weekend rates apply to: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the advertiser's discretion.

Please note:

* 10% DISCOUNT for fortnight bookings (or longer)

* Rates for six are for the use of the whole villa including cantina, for up to six guests

* Reduced rates for three/four people or for two people are for use of the villa only

* Change over day is FRIDAY

Long Weekend Rate available in low or mid season: Book Friday-Monday (4 nights) and enjoy a relaxing long weekend before heading off to Lucca, Parma, Genoa, Florence, Siena ... or home. Cost is 60% of weekly prices listed. Simple.

Discounts are available for stays of a month or more during the winter (November to March) when change over day can be flexible. Please enquire for further details.

Availability

See below for next 9 months' availability - to see the next 24 months click here

Availability notes:

Discount applies for stays of a month or more during the winter months (November to March), when there is wonderful winter walking with the comfort of central heating and log fires by night. Please enquire for further details.

Contact the owner

* Required fields Please check the following errors: First name * Last name * Email *   Did you mean ""? Yes / No Phone number Arrival date Departure date   Ignore calendar - enquire anyway No. of adults No. of children Message * Send me ideas on where to stay

2 years listed You are contacting Jane and David Wolfson Landline 44 7770 571902 Mobile n/a Web Visit site Languages spoken The owner is based in the United Kingdom and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2011. This villa has received 5 reviews from previous guests.

This advert is created and maintained by the advertiser; we can only publish adverts in good faith as we don't own, manage or inspect any of the properties. We advise you to familiarise yourself with our terms of use and FAQs.