Description
This majestic stately villa is located on the edge of a small village in the Lucchesia, a few kilometers from the city. The buildings have been finely restored to their original appearance by specialized workers and now house beautiful frescoed salons and common areas of rare beauty. The villa's park (3,600 square meters) houses an elegant Italian garden and the property's 12 × 6 m swimming pool. Finally, 120 olive trees are located under the villa.
Basic services are already available in the nearby village (1km; 2') but the historic center of Lucca is about twenty minutes away by car. From Lucca one can then reach the most famous cities in Tuscany (Pisa, Volterra, San Gimignano, Florence, Siena...). Also, the Tuscan Coast is no more than forty minutes away by car.
DESCRIPION OF THE BUILDINGS, STATE AND FINISHES
The manor house (965 sqm – 10,383 sqft, 9 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms) spans five floors in total and was recently renovated to bring it back to its original glory. The work was conducted with the utmost care so as not to alter the building's charm. The basement has been converted into a wellness center with a spa and sauna area, and features beautiful vaulted exposed brickwork ceilings. On the ground floor is the living area of the villa. From the front entrance you have access to all the rooms on the floor, which include a kitchen with an oven, the formal dining room, a second dining/living room with bathroom, and an office with bathroom.
Going up to the upper floor, one reaches a large reception hall with office and tea room and two bedrooms with shared bathroom in between (one of which also has a private sitting room).
Going up further, on the second floor there is a suite with private bathroom and sitting room, an office leading to two sitting rooms, two bedrooms with shared bathroom, and a fourth bedroom with private bathroom.
Finally, going up to the top floor we find a generous hall used as a game room, a small guest bathroom, and three bedrooms with private bathrooms (one of which has a private sitting room).
The noble floors of the villa are characterized by elegant rooms and remarkable decorations. The ceilings are all painted and feature 16th-century grotesque motifs or typical 18th and 19th-century trompe-l’œil frescoes with depictions of human figures and cherubs against a sky background. The frescoes are the work of the painter Francesco Bianchi: of particular interest is the fake painting depicting the Carthaginian queen Dido welcoming Aeneas as he tells her about the fall of Troy, a reproduction of an original work by Pierre Narcisse Guérin (1774-1833) preserved in the Louvre.
The frescoes were recovered and restored by a specialized company in Florence. On the top floor, on the other hand, the ceilings feature wooden beams and roofs, painted in light colors that allow the rooms to remain bright while maintaining the classic wooden beams.
The floors on the noble floors are marble, including the typical black-and-white checkered floor so common in the Lucca area. There is also no shortage of parquet floors, featuring exquisitely crafted inlays with floral and geometric patterns. The top floor, in general, features a cleaner and less artistic style, favoring practicality over historic decorations.
What's more, if one wants to use the property as an accommodation business, each apartment/suite is ready to accept its own kitchen and systems are in place.
The guesthouse (355 sqm – 3,820 sqft, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) houses a communal living room, the garage, and two independent apartments:
- Apt. A (ground, first floor): sitting room, living room with kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom;
- Apt. B (first floor): living room with kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom.
The outbuilding has also been renovated, and while from the outside it resembles a manor house, inside it was decided to give it a more rustic and classic style, with exposed stone walls, wooden beams and terracotta floors.
The manorial chapel (95 sqm – 1,022 sqft, 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom) is no longer consecrated and has been converted into an event area on the ground floor (ideal for music, thanks to the excellent acoustics typical of churches), while the upper floor houses a studio apartment with kitchenette, sleeping area and small bathroom.
EXTERIORS
The villa features a beautiful Italian garden (about 2,800 sqm), recreated in the classical style with gravel paths and hedges with geometric patterns that frame green areas maintained with great care by the owners. On a raised terrace, right next to the annex, is a second garden (800 sqm) that accommodates the 12 × 6 m swimming pool built in 2017 with salt purification and automatic pH control unit. Surrounding the pool is a terracotta sunbathing area with umbrellas.
Below of the villa, along the hillside, are about 120 olive trees (on about 5,000 sqm) that produce up to 160 kg of oil per year, which should be considered organic as the owners have never applied chemical treatments on the trees.
The villa has two driveways, both closed by automatic gates with an intercom. A surveillance system connected with a private security service allows the entire property to be kept under control remotely.
CLOSEST CITIES AND TOWNS
Closest services (1km; 2’), Capannoni (6km; 10’), Lucca (10km; 20’), Pisa (24km; 30’), Viareggio (34km; 35’), Pistoia (42km; 35’), Forte dei Marmi (44km; 40’), Livorno (57km; 50’), Volterra (64km; 1h 15’), San Gimignano (71km; 1h 25’), Florence (76km; 1h 10’), Colle di Val d’Elsa (120km; 1h 25’), Monteriggioni (123km; 1h 30’), Siena (139km; 1h 40’)
CLOSEST AIRPORTS
Pisa G. Galilei (44km; 35’), Firenze A. Vespucci (67km; 45’), Bologna G. Marconi (149km; 1h 35’), Perugia San Francesco (231km; 2h 30’), Roma Ciampino (359km; 3h 45’), Roma Fiumicino (373km; 3h 40’)
