An idyllic stone barn and private pool near Lucca
Sleeps 4
1 double bedroom, 1 twin/double bedroom and 2 shower rooms
Location: Pisa and Lucca
This property rents Saturday to Saturday
Ten minutes drive from Lucca, on the road that leads towards the marble mountains of the Apuane and Camaiore, a small drive leads to an idyllic hidden valley, where La Casina nestles snugly beneath its parent house. The views are wonderfully Tuscan: ancient farmhouses perch on hilltops and forested hillsides wrap around the valley. The Casina, together with the owners main house, was built in 1600 and is set in ten acres of lush Tuscan countryside, originally part of an estate including a large villa, a chapel and a "grotto" with mosaics, of which some remains are still visible. A swimming pool sits to the right of La Casina, taking the place of the original threshing floor. The owners are away during part of the year - so this house then has a private pool and is priced higher and you have this little house, pool and beautiful gardens entirely to yourselves. This period in 2018 is from the 19th of May until the end of June; for the rest of the year you will share the pool and gardens with the charming owners.
A large covered pergola (35 sq.m.), with a roof of traditional chestnut beams, has now been fitted with enormous windows and provides a spacious living/dining room, with views of the valley below. On entering the Casina proper, there is a small kitchen on the right and there a bathroom to the left. The kitchen is small but well equipped; though it does not have a full size oven it does have a dishwasher and a coffee-maker. From the entrance wooden stairs lead up to a double bedroom with a walk in wardrobe, a shower room and a twin bedroom. Outside there is a further covered dining space, to the right of the entrance. The main house is just above La Casina but unoccupied during your stay, and all the main spaces of La Casina look towards the valley.
The area around Lucca is wonderful, one of the best examples of man made landscape, where every change that has been wrought seems to have been for the best: the forested hills are sustainably managed for woods, chestnuts and truffles; vineyards and olive groves interweave with cypresses, unpaved roads and stone walls; occasionally one comes across islands of startling formality: a number of 16th and 17th century villas surround Lucca: Villa Marlia, Villa Reale, Villa Torrigiani are all worth a visit with their formal gardens and richly decorated interiors. Heading north one enters the area of the Apuan Alps, the steep mountains that gave the marble for Michelangelo's David and La Pieta'. Now they provide extensive opportunities for walking, cycling, climbing and caving. For the more urbane amongst us, Lucca is a jewel of a city, studded with churches and good restaurants. It also has a healthy antiques market and good shops.
Casina was great too for a quiet relaxing week. We didn’t see as much of the area as we wanted as we were just so happy sitting by the pool reading and relaxing after our manic first week! The hosts were a lovely couple and entertained us for lunch on our first Sunday. So kind of them.
Casina is absolutely stunning, we have just enjoyed a week long break with our daughter and didn't want to leave. Sandro and Margret are two of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet and made us feel so welcome. The accommodation is perfect, rustic charm! And the location blew us away..... Absolutely stunning spot. We will be returning no question about that. Thank you Sandro and Margret
Just spent a week there..bit of a mission to get there but wonderfully secluded and quiet and an ideal base to explore the surrounding area or just stay put and laze around the beautiful pool all of which we did. We would return in future if we could!
We have just come back from a wonderful week at Casina! We went with our 1 year old son and our friends who also have a 3 month old baby, and the house was plenty big enough for all of us. The bedrooms are spacious, the kitchen is very well equipped, and the veranda room is gorgeous at all times of day and night. Margret and Sandro were perfect hosts, going out of their way to ensure we - and the children - had absolutely everything we needed, and providing us with fantastic local knowledge and restaurant reservations. The pool was even more beautiful than the photographs suggest, and was also immaculately clean. Casina is ideally placed for a wide range of day trips, but you needn't venture far as Lucca is a beautiful town with plenty to see and do. Thank you for a magical holiday - we very much hope to visit again.
We stayed at Casina 4 for a week in September and it was a wonderful vacation. Warm and welcoming owners, amazing view, beautiful pool, comfortable rooms, fully equipped kitchen, nice terrace, grounds to walk around among the olive trees, figs and chestnuts... Perfect place for a family with older kids or two couples, who doesn't mind sharing one bathroom. There is a second bathroom downstairs though. Would love to return there and just spend a whole week at the pool.
Casina is a little gem hidden away in the hills. Though we adored nearby Lucca and its walled city, we enjoyed even more returning to this special retreat where the pressures of life seem to ebb away and rolling hills, bird song and blue skies became the focus - a pure delight.
