Lucca - Garfagnana holiday home rental, Bagni di Lucca with walking, log fire, balcony/terrace, rural retreat, TV, DVD

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Casa Gelso (house)

Home description

Casa Gelso is a traditional stone built house in the stunning medieval village of Lucchio, with its historic 11th century fortress,and local bar, high in the North Tuscan hills. The house has been recently renovated in a modern rustic style, with exposed beams,wooden shutters and cotto floors. There are breathtaking views from every window. Set on three floors, it also has the benefit of a large terrace, again with stunning views. Entering on the mid level, there is an attractive rustic living room with fireplace, which leads to the kitchen with its traditional wood fuelled range, and stone sink.The dining table here, will comfortably seat six. Upstairs there are two double bedrooms, and downstairs there is a modern bathroom and another room which has a door to the terrace with the usual garden furniture.

The village of Lucchio	looking right from bedroom window
Living room	Kitchen/dining area

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/19570

The Tuscany region

The region of Tuscany is famous for its Stunning scenery, the golden rolling hills to the south, classic chianti vineyards, the Appenine mountains of Northern Tuscany (there is even a popular ski resort), and the mediterranean beach resorts such as Fortei dei Marmi and Viareggio.

The famous cities of Florence, Lucca, Pisa, and Sienna are all have the wealth of art, architecture, and culture of the Italian renaissance.

Medieval tuscany is also well preserved in Tuscany, with the walled towns of San Giminiano and Volterra to the south, and the hilltop villages of Barga and Lucchio to the north.

Lucca - Garfagnana / Bagni di Lucca area

Lucchio

The first sight of Lucchio takes the breath away, with its characteristic ancient tall stone houses and fortress, perched high above the valley, this village used its elavated position to look out for, and guard Lucca against any likely attack from other provinces in medieval times. Today of course the fortress is just ruins, but the views are no less spectacular, with panoramic views for miles in several directions. A quiet, sleepy village most of the year, Lucchio springs into life in August, when it's medieval festival with local foods and wines attracts visitors from near and far. Immediately below the village, a forest of chestnut trees descends into the valley below (where there is a good local restaurant).

Bagni di Lucca
Bagni di Lucca was established in late roman times. Its health -giving springs have been used by the nobility of Europe for over 1000 years, and was known as "The Italian Switzerland". The magnificent and unique Ponte della Maddalena (The Devil's Bridge) was built in 1101 so the baths could be reached from Lucca. In the 18th and 19th centuries there were particularly strong ties with England and it was an essential stop on the "Grand Tour". It was frequented by Shelley, Byron, the Brownings, Strauss, Listz, Paganini, and Puccini and many other notables.

Today Bagni di Lucca is a bustling and charming spa town, and even has an open air heated swimming pool. The baths have been renovated and offer a range of natural hot spring treatments. The town nestles in the lush valley of the Lima River in the foothills of the Apennines surrounded by picturesque mediaeval hilltop villages, many of which are worth a day's visit.

How to get there

From the UK, Pisa is the nearest airport with British airways and Ryanair offering direct flights. Florence and Bologna airports are also within a driveable distance.
All the main car hire companies operate from these airports

Activities near Lucca - Garfagnana

Facilities

Further details indoors:
Bedroom1 with double bed, dresser and wardrobe.

Bedroom 2 with double bed and large wardrobe.

Bathroom with shower, bidet, wc, basin.

Kitchen has Wood fuelled range( there is no other oven at present), twin gas hob, fridge-freezer, microwave cooker/grill. Dining table seats 6.

Living room has Sofa and armchair, tv/dvd player, hi-fi, fireplace.

Towels and linen included (not beach towels). House cleaned and linen changed weekly.

Thick stone walls keep house cool in summer, and in winter the wood fired range and fireplace heat the kitchen and living room, whilst convection radiators are in all other rooms.

There is a bar in the village, and a good local restaurant a 5 minute drive away (or 45 minute walk!). The nearby spa town of Bagni di Lucca has numerous restaurants, cafes/bars, shops, supermarkets and a twice weekly outdoor market.
There is also a good outdoor swimming pool in Bagni di Lucca.

The ski resort of Abetone is just 30 minutes by car, is a lovely typical Italian resort, without the hordes that some more 'international' attract. Sometimes frequented by the italian ski team when training. More info at www.abetone.com

The resorts of Fortei Dei Marmi and viareggio are a 60 minute drive from the house.

Further details outdoors:
Large private flagstone terrace (accessed from house, or through arch to street), garden furniture (2 sunloungers, 6 chairs, table) small portable bbq.

Further details

As with many hilltop villages in the area, the streets are too narrow for cars. There is a carpark at the begining of the village, and the property is a 5 minute walk through the village, which has mainly cobbled streets (some uphill some downhill).

Conditions

£50 deposit on booking.
Balance is due six weeks before departure along with £50 breakages deposit (apart from usual wear and tear) which is returned upon your return.

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
2nd Jan to 16th Feb	21 Jan 08	16 Feb 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
16th Feb to 23rd Feb	16 Feb 08	23 Feb 08	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week
23rd Feb to 21st March	23 Feb 08	22 Mar 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
22nd March to 29th March	22 Mar 08	29 Mar 08	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week
29th March to 5th of Apri	29 Mar 08	5 Apr 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
5th April to 19th April	5 Apr 08	19 Apr 08	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week
19th April to 24th May	19 Apr 08	24 May 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
24th may to 31st may	24 May 08	31 May 08	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week
31st may to 19th july	31 May 08	19 Jul 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
19th july to 13th septemb	19 Jul 08	13 Sep 08	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week
13th sept to 25th oct	13 Sep 08	25 Oct 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
25th oct to 1st Nov	25 Oct 08	1 Nov 08	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week
1st Nov to 20th Dec	1 Nov 08	20 Dec 08	300£  300	0-	0-	1 Week
20th Dec to 3rd Jan	20 Dec 08	3 Jan 09	350£  350	0-	0-	1 Week

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

PLEASE CALL FOR LATE AVAILABILITY AND SHORT BREAKS NO MORE THAN TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE.

£50 DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED ON BOOKING PLUS £50 REFUNDABLE BREAKAGES DEPOSIT THAT IS SENT BACK TO YOU ON YOUR RETURN.

BALANCE IS DUE SIX WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE


Payment is currently by cheque or bank transfer.

Availability notes

To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/19570

Contact owner

To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/19570

Contact details for home 19570 Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:	Rick Chapman
Tel:	+44 (0)1825 790720
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Advertiser joined: 10 Jan 2007 This property added: 10 Jan 2007

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