Castellaccio 144

As is natural in this part of the world, entry into a house through its kitchen, and Castellaccio's has long marble counters, built-in appliances, a handy breakfast table and a wood stove. Doors from the kitchen lead to an attractive dining room with a table for 10, off of which is a small office with a single bed and access to the inner courtyard.

Off the dining room, a corridor, brightened by the arched glass doors from the court, provides access to the upper floor bedrooms, a colorful tiled shower room and the large living room. With an ancient pietra serena fireplace, deep sofas covered in warm russet fabrics and painted wooden furniture, this is a room to retire to at the end of the day and relive the day's adventures.

The furnished inner courtyard, partially open to the sun but closed off by a huge wooden door, is another great place for dinner as it is steps away from the pizza oven. Also off the courtyard is the laundry and an external staircase to a loggia with bistro table and chairs which in turn accesses the upper floor bedrooms. There is a beautiful double bedroom with fireplace, which shares a large bathroom with the smaller adjoining twin/double bedroom, as well as another bathroom and a third bedroom under strong chestnut eaves, which can be a double or twin as desired. Both bathrooms have clawed tubs and roomy showers, and all bedrooms are nicely furnished with country antiques and attractive spreads.

Across the terrace from the house are arched doors to the stone barn whose wide entryway features an Arabian-style double bed behind drapes to one side and a large shower room behind an antique turquoise door to the other. A few steps lead down to an enormous sitting room with a tall stone fireplace and generous sofas that invite lounging. There is a handy kitchenette in the corner and wide French doors out to a patio whose travertine table, nearby barbecue and hammock strung in the shade of tall trees all suggest an ideal place for a summer meal.

Steps away is a gate to one of the hidden joys of the property, a long arboured walkway whose sides and hanging vines spill over with seasonal colour and perfume, and at the end of which is another surprise, a regulation tennis court. Steps from the limonaia lead down to the long pool with a furnished pergola at one end and a living area under the trees at the other.