DOGANA Villa

DOGANA

View residential complex "DOGANA"

DOGANA - This property has ancient origins and was apparently built in 1135 by a noble Florentine family that had been cast into exile. Through the centuries the structure was destined to incredibly different uses: toll station between two townships (Dogana in Italian), military outpost, monastery, and finally, for the past two hundred years, farmhouse. The property is in an ideal position for visiting Tuscany. The Firenze-Siena superstrada is 500 meters away, allowing easy access to both cities. Firenze is at 16 kms and Siena is at 40 kms. Basic shops are at 2 kms, while all shops, facilities and restaurants are at 5 kms. Not far from the property is a public tennis court. The structure was recently renovated and is surrounded by a beautiful park that is entirely fenced in to afford maximum privacy. Access is through an electronic gate with remote control. There is a 6 X 12 meter swimming pool with adjacent furnished solarium terrace and a large barbecue. Under the terrace are utilities rooms reserved by the owner for his own use. There are beautiful furnished garden areas surrounding the structure in the park. There is a gardener who has access to all the grounds for maintenance. The main structure comprises a primary building developed on two levels with a tower, and a lower structure that is built in a horseshoe design around an internal courtyard. This structure is divided into two separate units: Dogana and a separate apartment called Doganella that sleeps 4 persons. The property can be booked in three versions: Doganella for 4 persons and Dogana in the version for 12 persons, or both apartments together totalling 16 persons. Maid service is provided on saturday and is included in the price. Central heating is with gas, and gas will be charged on consumption during heating season together with firewood. Private access to Dogana is from the great portal in the front of the building which opens onto a covered portico with cobblestone floor and large panoramic glass doors that face the internal courtyard with its delightful artesian well. The courtyard is furnished and ideal for enjoying one’s meals. Inside the porticoed section are two doors that provide access to the apartment proper. Up six steps is a landing with door that opens directly into the spacious liveable kitchen that is complete with gas range, oven, dishwasher, fridge with freezer and wood burning stove (AGA). A door in the kitchen remains closed. To the left of the kitchen and up two steps is a hall with two doors: one is to the thermal room and attached complete bathroom with shower and washing machine, and the second is to a utilities room. At the end of the hall glass doors lead down a brief flight of stairs to a huge open-plan living/dining room with open hearth fireplace and door to the rear garden. Through an open archway to the left in the living room is a second large dining room with glass doors that open onto a passageway and landing with door to the courtyard on one side and stairs leading up to the first floor on the other side. Halfway up the stairs is a door that leads down a few steps again to the portico. Back in the second living room, down two steps, is a door opening onto a hallway (basically, this hallway skirts the outline of the courtyard internally) with door on the left to the courtyard and doors on the right to a twin bedded room and to a spacious and elegant complete bathroom with two washbasins, shower stall and bathtub. At the end of the hall and down two steps is another double bedroom. The stairs lead up to the first floor landing. Through a door and up one step is a spacious living room with open-hearth fireplace. A door on the left of the living room opens into a twin bedded room. On the right, through an open arch and up two steps is a hallway with several doors. The first door on the left remains closed; the second on the left is to a study. The third on the left is to a huge, luxurious bathroom that is complete with two washbasins, shower and bathtub. There is also a delightful pietraserena sink dating back to the 16th Century in this bathroom that leads us to believe it was originally the monastery refectory. A door at one end of the bathroom opens into a double bedroom. This bedroom also has a door to the hallway. On the opposite side of the hallway, the first door leads down three steps into a twin bedded room. The second door leads down three steps into a second large bathroom that is complete with bathtub and hand shower. Past this bathroom and down three steps is another double bedroom. The apartment is very comfortably furnished with typical Tuscan pieces and its whitewashed walls, wood beamed ceilings and cotto floors reflect its distinctive Tuscan atmosphere. There are a satellite TV, stereo with CD, and a baby cot.

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