Overview

The brainchild of one of Italy’s top contemporary architects, the private hamlet of Casamora is a dazzlingly successful marriage between the historic and the high-tech. It forms the stylish centrepiece of a 2500-acre farming estate set on the sunny, western slope of the Pratomagno mountain range, mid-way between Florence and Arezzo. The hamlet – or, more properly, borgo – offers three luxurious holiday residences arranged around a beautiful stone piazza with a burbling fountain and a huge swimming pool , including three more villas with private gardens, two sharing the pool with the hamlet and one with its own private pool. Air conditioned bedrooms. Setting the tone for the property is the reception area: a grand, two-storey structure, built in the 16th century as a carpentry workshop, where rustic stone walls are complemented by modern furnishings, state-of-the-art lighting and an astonishing suspended library offering high-speed internet and a vast collection of books on Tuscan topics. Casamora boasts its own restaurant, where the chef makes full use of the estate’s own organic produce, including a range of award-winning olive oils. Next door, the enoteca is one of the most appealing rooms in the borgo, not least because its walls are lined with a mouth-watering selection of Tuscany’s finest wines and grappas – notably those from the Chianti, only 30 minutes away. The hamlet, or more properly Borgo. Each of Casamora’s residences is unique.

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Description

Rental option notes

 When the estate is rented as one; the owners add service to ensure that the communal areas, as the theatre, library, enoteca, restaurant and bar by the pool are attended by staff occurring higher management costs, hence the price is higher than the sum of all the accommodations added together.

Location

 Mid-way between Florence and Arezzo, both 45 minutes, Casamora occupies a vast swath of land on the sunny side of the Pratomagno mountain range. The nearest shops and restaurants are in Pian di Sco, 1km/0.5 miles, while Figline, 15 minutes, provides supermarkets, a direct rail link to Florence and an array of discount designer shops. There are many, many interesting villages arrayed along the old Settiponti road, just below Casamora, which was once an important pilgrimage route. The property itself offers a network of walking paths right to the summit of the Pratomagno; an alternative for hot days might be the pine-shaded trails around the abbey of Vallombrosa, 25 minutes. The Chianti wine-producing region lies just across the Valdarno, about 30 minutes’ drive.

Accommodation

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L’Ulivo/Ground floor

 Entrance. Air conditioned double bedroom with a small terrace. Opposite, a bathroom with two sinks and bath. Air conditioned twin bedroom opening to the garden. Opposite, a bathroom with two sinks and bath. Up 3 terracotta steps to a large air conditioned double bedroom with a four-poster bed, a small terrace and an ensuite bathroom with two sinks, bath and separate shower. Laundry room.

First floor

 [accessed by interior and exterior steps] Sitting room with a TV overlooking the floor below. Second sitting room with a terrace facing the pool. State-of-the-art kitchen with a long dining table.

Il Noce/Ground floor

 [Wheelchair accessible]. Loggia facing the borgo’s piazza. Large living room. Spacious and very well equipped eat-in kitchen with a round table. Air conditioned double bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with bath, opens to the courtyard.

First floor

 Accessed by interior steps. Air conditioned double bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with bath overlooking the pool. Air conditioned double bedroom with a four-poster bed, a terrace facing the piazza and an ensuite bathroom with bath. Large air conditioned twin bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with two sinks and bath. Laundry room.

I Meli/Ground floor

 Entrance. Sitting room. Two air conditioned twin bedrooms, each with a dressing room and an ensuite bathroom with bath.

First floor

 [accessed via a footbridge from the pool area or 19 stone steps from the ground floor].
Air conditioned double bedroom with a four-poster bed and an ensuite bathroom with bath. Living room with a glass door to the footbridge. Dining room. Large, well-equipped kitchen with a breakfast table opening to a small terrace.

Villa Le Magnolie/Ground floor

 Entrance hall and gallery. Large living room with a dining area and a very well-equipped galley kitchen opening to the garden and pool terrace. Laundry room.

First floor

 Air conditioned twin bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with bath, two sinks and bidet. Two air conditioned double bedrooms each with an ensuite bathroom with bath, separate shower, two sinks and bidet. Air conditioned double bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with bath, two sinks and bidet.

Villa La Leccina/Ground floor

 Entrance hall. Very well equipped kitchen with dining area and portico. Two air conditioned twin bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom with bath, two sinks and bidet. Air conditioned double bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with bath, two sinks and bidet.

First floor

 Living room with an open terrace.

Villa La Nocciolina/Ground floor

 [Wheelchair accessible]. Entrance hall. Air conditioned double bedroom with an ensuite bathroom with bath, two sinks and bidet; opens to the garden. Air conditioned double bedroom with a breakfast table and an ensuite bathroom with bath, two sinks and bidet; opens to the garden and to a terrace with a dining table. Laundry room

First floor

 Large living room with a dining area. Very well equipped kitchen. Two terraces: one facing into the main piazza, the other a path leading down to the garden.

Grounds

 The residences in the hamlet share with La Nocciolina and La leccina an enormous swimming pool, 10 x 20m/32 x 64 feet, a shady loggia with a sitting area, a self-service bar, changing rooms and a stone-columned pavilion, once a wash house and now a lovely spot for reading - or an afternoon nap. Villa Le Magnolie has a beautifully-maintained walled garden with a large private swimming pool, 5.7 X 11.5m/19 x 38 feet. Villa La Leccina enjoys a private, shaded garden leading out into the countryside and to the shared pool terrace of the hamlet. . Villa La Nocciolina enjoys a private, shaded garden which leads into one end of the courtyard of the hamlet or into the estates countryside.. The estate as a whole is shaped like a natural amphitheatre, its 2500 acres/1000ha covering a vast swath of the Pratomagno hillside from an altitude of 400m/1300 feet above sea level to the summit at 1000m/32,000 feet. About 20% of the land is used for farming activities, including an extensive organic vegetable garden. Casamora’s specialty is its olive oil, pressed onsite in a modernised 17th century mill, but it is also actively participating in a Slow Food-sponsored initiative to re-establish a variety of indigenous crops, such as the near-extinct Zolfino bean, rovello blackberries, walnuts, mushrooms and Gastra chestnuts. Prized Valdarno chickens are also raised here, as well as ducks, guinea fowl, rabbits and bees.

Assistance

 Casamora is a fully-staffed property with a multi-lingual concierge. Housekeeping is provided daily. Welcome aperitif on arrival, wine and other alcoholic beverages, whether in the restaurant or in the enoteca, are charged separately.

Facilities

 Dishwasher. Washing machine. Spin dryer. Satellite TV [with Sky English-language channels]. CD player. Safe. Air conditioned bedrooms. Central heating. Decorative fireplaces. Fixed telephone line connecting through a central switchboard. Guests have access to the books, periodicals, large-screen satellite television, computers and wireless internet connection in the estate’s library, as well as a billiards room. Meals are served in the restaurant or its adjacent courtyard, and wine-tastings may be arranged in the enoteca. Five mountain bikes are available onsite.

Facilities Note

 A theatre seating 160 is available on the estate for presentations and performances on request.

Access

 Airports: Florence, 56km/35 miles; Pisa, 148km/92 miles. Railway station at Figline, about 11km/7 miles. Motorway exit at Incisa, about 14km/9 miles, including 600m/yards of good white road. Ample parking.

Activities

 Tennis at Reggello, about 8km/5 miles. Riding stables at San Giovenale, 18km/11.25. 18-hole golf at Grassina, about 34km/21 miles.

Small Appliances

 Hair dryer. Iron and ironing board. Kettle. Mixer. Toaster

Pool Details

 The Hamlet swimming pool has a depth of 1.2-1.7m/4-5,5 feet with steps for entry/exit.
The Villa Le Magnolie swimming pool has a depth of 1.2-1.7m/4-5.5 feet with steps for entry/exit.

Amenities for Children

 Several high chairs and cots/cribs.