Pietrina 10

“ ...the villa will be a special part of our memories ”

We just wanted to send a special thank you again for all you did to make our stay at Villa Pietrina so very special. From the thoughtful gluten-free entries/lactose-free entries of the welcome basket, the beautifully prepared premises, the fun local tour to the Etruscan chapel and to see local frescoes, and the chef-catered dinner, and of course—the CAKE!—so much thoughtful work by you was put into our week in Tuscany! Sean and Owen loved their bike ride! We voted the chef-prepared dinner Best of the Week! And that is saying a lot given the beautiful Tuscan food.

The moments we spent as a family at the villa will be a special part of our memories for a lifetime!

“ We spent a wonderful time at Pietrina... ”

We spent a wonderful time at Pietrina that is situated in a very panoramic position close to San Giustino Valdarno. Pietrina is a traditional tuscan farmhouse that has been enlarged over the times - this explains its somehow warped architecture with a new staircase added to get on the second floor otherwise only accessible by an outer staircase. Typical is also that the rooms on the first floor have a lower ceiling and that the rooms above are lighter, more generous than the ones downstairs. The lower rooms seemed a bit dark to us, it woudn't harm to illuminate them more.

There is a lovely terrace on the front side of the house with a generous BBQ station from which you can look at the ample olive grove and the Pratomagno with its heights and woods and another place where to eat and dine under magnificent old oaks looking to the other side, the hills and fields of the Arno valley. Not to forget the sumptuous pool area with enough space to be able to play crocket or KUP (our passion). All this is beautifully arranged with lots of flowerbeds gradually ascending versus the woods.

It must be a vast property also producing their own exquisite olive oil of which a sample was waiting for us together with other refreshments when we arrived on this hot Saturday afternoon - thank you for this! The kitchen is small but well thought of: there is everything you need to cook great meals of the delicious food you will find at the stores at San Giustino. We also liked the Pizza place there which you find very easily. The property manager Ali gives excellent advice on every question coming up; she was a great help and much fun to talk to.

The situation at the end of a little valley makes Pietrina a very peaceful retreat, sometimes you will see at dusk some boars coming down to the olive grove, a tame fox showed up asking for a goodie which we refused of course because it has to learn to survive in the wilderness. However, it was extremely sweet. A lasting impression is that this is a very natural and authentic neighbourhood (the next neighbours are not very far away). In fact, we got to love this region that seemed to us not at all as touristy as the Chianti or Crete Senesi and offering a great quality of life. Arezzo is stunning and Florence is not too far to visit for a day.

“ Pietrina ”

Perfect except lacking AC for those hot nights. At least one fan was not functioning. Pool and umbrellas were divine.

“ ...everything I imagined and more! ”

Our stay at Pietrina was everything I imagined and more! The drive to the villa was done within the hour and the directions provided were easy to follow. The next thing we knew we were driving up the lavender-lined driveway up to the front of the villa. What a gorgeous location. And Alison was there to greet us with a huge smile. The view of the mountains and valley from the villa is stunning.

We were 10 including 4 grandchildren between the ages of 9 and 11. The villa was spacious so one could always find a quiet space to enjoy.There was a lovely basket of fruit, a bottle of olive oil made from the olive trees on the property and some essential groceries on hand to get us through the first few days. The villa was very well equipped and we found everything we needed. The grounds are beautifully and thoughtfully landscaped. It was very hot while there and we spent a lot of time in the pool.

We found the grocery store, Simply Punto, in San Guistino well supplied for our needs. They make their own sweet Italian sausages which were beautifully spiced. And the store is just 2.7kms from the villa. We also used the butcher in Loro Ciuffenna, recommended by Ali and bought beef, chicken and sausages. Delicious. The butcher doesn't speak English so we managed to make our selves understood with lots of pointing and facial expressions. What fun! Also in Loro, we ate at La Torre. The food was excellent so we went back second time. But the service was very slow, very disappointing. At the villa we ate al fresco 99% of the time. The barbq was well used.

I opted to have a meal catered at the villa. Chef's choice! Fantabulous!!!! The banquet was well worth the money. We had enough leftovers for our supper the next day. Marta, our chef, was a delight and I think she was pleasantly surprised when we gave her a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of the meal. And hugs and kisses were in order. The most memorable dish was the pear risotto with pecorino! We went to Marta's restaurant, Oca Satolla in Laterina which is 5 minutes south of San Giustino and dined outside in the garden. Food was excellent! Try the truffle pizza. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My 4 granddaughters asked Marta if they could climb the trees in the garden. She graciously agreed as long as they promised not to get hurt. They provided entertainment for the other diners.

For anyone with children I would recommend going to Nora's Cashmere Goat Farm. About an hour's drive on some very winding roads up into the hills of Chianti. The farm is located just outside the village of Radda in Chianti. Nora made us a lovely lunch for 15 euros a person and did not charge for the children. She explained about her business; she called in the goats and the children got to feed "Jellybean" one of this spring's little ones. Nora also has a shop where she sells yarn, shawls, blankets made with the cashmere from the goats and soaps made from goats milk. It was a lovely visit.

Ali, the caretaker for the villa was very helpful and easily accessible by phone or email. Our Toronto contact, Neville Reid and Neil at head office were always prompt with answering any enquiries while in the planning stages of thisvacatipn.There were no negative surprises when we got to the villa!

We had a fabulous vacation thanks to invitationtotuscany.com and highly recommend the villa Pietrina.

“ ...a luxurious Tuscan holiday ”

We had a wonderful time at Pietrina. Ally looked after us beautifully. We explored the area and the house is just in the most perfect spot to explore Tuscany from. And as it was so comfortable - we relaxed every day. We would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a luxurious Tuscan holiday