FONTE CARESINO Villa

Independent farmhouse that was carefully restored by the owner who is an architect and who has maintained the original structure intact, while adding modern design ideas to the internal furnishings. The house lies softly on a hillside and follows its curves. The position is beautiful and the house is surrounded by lawns that gently fade into the woods, offering delightful walks. The property is isolated, but it is within easy reach of the nearby towns, and from it, one can see a few other farmhouses in the distance.

There is a 6 X 12 meter swimming pool (depth varies from 1 to 2 meters), that is 60 meters from the house and on a lower level. The pool is for exclusive guest use. It operates with a special system of copper and silver filters that reduce the need for chlorine. Next to the pool is a building that remains closed. On a higher level above the house is a separate barn that the owners have also restored and that they reserve for their own use when they are present.

Gaiole in Chianti with all facilities, shops and restaurants is at 4 kms. Siena is at 29 kms. The house is reached by 500 meters of private dirt road (not suitable for low vehicles) with private gate that ensures privacy. Parking is next to the house. As the house is built on the side of the hill, it develops on different levels and it also has several entrances. From the parking area, up a few steps is a covered loggia.

An entrance door leads from the loggia into a spacious living room with open hearth fireplace and linen upholstered sofas. It was probably the farmhouse kitchen when the house was first built. There are three doors in this living room. To the right of the fireplace, a door opens into a twin bedded room that is connected by a passageway with wardrobes to a complete bathroom with bathtub. Another door in the living room opens down one step into a spacious twin bedded room with large table. This bedroom also has a door to the passageway with wardrobes and shares the bathroom with the twin bedded room.

A third door in the living room opens onto a landing with door to spacious double bedroom with table and its own private complete bathroom with bathtub. From the landing two short flights of cotto stairs lead down to a second smaller landing with door to a spacious double bedroom with sitting area that is connected up one step to its private spacious, complete bathroom with bathtub. A door in the bathroom opens into a wardrobe. Down one more step from this second landing is the ground floor living room with fireplace and panoramic glass doors that open onto the side of the house. A door on the right of the living room remains closed (it is the door to the laundry room to which only the maid has access), while on the left are internal glass doors that open onto a small landing with stairs leading down to the dining room.

This landing and the stairs leading to the dining room do not have a handrail and are not suitable for small children. The landing is at 1.4 meters above the dining room floor. The dining room is luminous and has two sets of glass doors on opposite sides of it that open outside to the east and to the west. These are useful because they lead to charming grassy areas with garden furniture. There is a barbecue for guest use.

On one side of the dining room, two open, raised walls create the separate kitchen area. It is very well equipped and functional. The kitchen is complete with gas range, oven, dishwasher, microwave and fridge with freezer.

The house offers woodbeamed ceilings, cotto floors and whitewashed walls in the typical Tuscan tradition. It is very pleasantly furnished and quite comfortable. Central heating is payable on consumption together with firewood. There is satellite TV with VHS, a CD player, and the house is equipped with a maid who comes three times per week for three hours each time to clean the house. The maid costs 120 Euros per week and maid service is mandatory. On request, the maid can do laundry (each washing machine load and dryer load costs 5 Euros); only the maid can operate the laundry equipment. There are three local ladies who can prepare meals and hold cooking courses if booked in time.