Tuscany, Pisa, Peccioli, Italy

Charming two bed/two bathroom house in the center of beautiful Peccioli, with a private entrance on a very quiet street set behind the main square of the Church. There is a staircase that goes up to the first floor from which you enter a very large bright living room with a beautiful view of the town's streets, and with an interesting corner bar; on this floor is also the kitchen with a peninsula and a fireplace which, in addition to heating the room, can be used to operate the central heating system, offering considerable energy savings. We then move on to a study room used as a bedroom with a small bathroom, and then on the upper floor there is the main bedroom with a large new bathroom, and a room with a balcony and a view of the hills and the pretty town of Peccioli. From this floor, up a few steps goes to an attic room, which can also be used as a bedroom or study plus plentiful storage. The heating system works with natural gas or with wood at the fireplace.

Peccioli is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, which was confirmed recently as it was awarded the 'Bandiera Arancione' (orange flag status) by the Touring Club Italiano. The streets of Peccioli take on the semblance of a museum of modern art, as the town is encouraging art installations of all forms and championing innovative urban design, already visible in the new elevator with a suspended glass walkway which stretches from the car park to the village centre. The town has a very ambitious aim for 2025: to become the Italian Capital of Culture and it working towards this bid. Peccioli is located in the Valdera region of Central Tuscany, between Pisa and Florence. This colourful landscape of rolling hills dotted with medieval villages, castles and lanes flanked with tall dark green cypress trees epitomises the Tuscan landscape. The area is scattered with historical towns and medieval villages, castles and country churches and a landscape with golden meadows of wheat dancing in the breeze, vineyards, olive groves and fields of sunflowers. Meandering through the countryside of Valdera you feel the vestiges of the mysterious Etruscan civilisation. Here Andrea Boccelli, the famous tenor, was born and bred and it is in the heart of Valdera, in Lajatico, that the famous Teatro del Silenzio (the Theatre of Silence) where the natural landscape creates a breathtaking setting and in the summer months some of the biggest names in opera come for a special performance. Casciana Terme has thermal waters and spa facilities and is a pretty town with piazzas and cafès serving the local wine. The nearby città d’arte (cities of art) include Volterra, San Gimignano, Palaia and Florence, making this a perfect base to explore the whole of Tuscany.

Distances: Peccioli on the doorstep, Lajatico 20 km, Volterra 30 km, Pisa (airport) 45 km, Castiglioncello (beaches) 50 km, Lucca 60 km, Florence 70 km .