A HOME FOR THE
WHERE: Via Scipione Ammirato, Montaione, Tuscany, Italy. Tuscany is a land of luscious, rolling hills cloaked with vineyards, olive trees and woods, and dotted with venerable settlements, each with its medieval architectural treasures. Montaione is the ideal hilltop village base, with good restaurants and specialist shops, in the heart of the Tuscan idyll, and about an hour’s drive from three pinnacles of the Renaissance – Florence, Pisa and Siena.
THE PROPERTY: A stone staircase leads to a top-floor apartment in a 16th Century townhouse, recently modernised and with bags of space. It sleeps four, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a combined lounge and kitchen. It looks down over a narrow, traffic-free street.
WHAT TO SEE: The town is a convenient hub, equidistant from Florence, Siena and Pisa. There’s an abundance of nearer historic small towns, such as San Gimignano and Certaldo Alto. Montaione’s small town square feels like a set from an Italian opera. Sit outside the cafe under the church with coffee in the morning – or a glass of chianti, with titbits of charcuterie on focaccia in the evening. The scenic landscape is an easy walk or cycle away.
WHO TO CONTACT: This is an Airbnb property. Register, then book at airbnb.co.uk/rooms/ 5262920.
HOW MUCH: Prices start at £67 a night, plus a £28 one-off cleaning fee for any number of nights.
VERDICT: Quiet, comfy alternative to usual Tuscan honeypots, in a building and village of character.