Vacation Rental Description
Calcina, Italy, is a handsome and well appointed 'casa padronale' farmhouse offering spacious accommodation, with its own private swimming pool and charming little church with naive painted murals.
It sleeps 12 guests in 6 generously sized double bedrooms, has 4 bathrooms, 3 ensuite, satellite tv and video and offers sweeping views from three sides of the house and terraces.
Enjoying a hill top position very close to the beautiful walled city of Sansepolcro, birthplace of Piero de la Francesca, Calcina nestles in the lovely lower foothills of the Alpe Della Luna (mountains of the moon) region, and is set in 20 acres of grounds with gardens orchard olives vines and woodlands. The property offers 360 degree views to Umbria beyond and Tuscany below. It is a quiet and tranquil country setting ideal for children and a family holiday yet conveniently close to the many cultural artistic and culinary delights which attract visitors to italy.
Available for year-round rental, this is an ideal base from which to explore many of Tuscany and Umbria's prime tourist sites, or to simply bask by the pool in the Italian sunshine and admire the lovely countryside.
Accommodations
The farmhouse was built some 200 years ago adjacent to the site of a shrine to San Cerbone which dates back to the 12th century,and which was visited by Saint Francis of Assisi on the pilgrimage to Rome.the house has been fully restored over the last 5 years but retains many original features including age polished pianelli floors, a working stone fireplace, chestnut beamed ceilings, double aspected rooms with high ceilings and long views, extensive terraces to catch the sun all day long, a working walk-in bread and pizza oven, garage and a range of outbuildings including a small deconsecrated private church with altar, pews and seating for 12 people.
FIRST FLOOR
The house is on two floors with 3 double and 2 twin bedded rooms on the upper floor and one twin bedded room on the ground floor. The house sits on a hillside and thus has groundlevel access to both floors but has been linked by an internal stonebuilt staircase. The main entrance is via a porch on the upper floor and this opens into a large double aspected comfortable living room with a huge sofa, armchairs, working stone surround fireplace dated 1851, satellite TV and video. The views from this room are towards the medieval city of Anghiari and over the plain of Sansepolcro. The bedrooms are all spacious and comfortable. The largest bedroom is double aspect with long views and has a beamed ceiling, king-size sleigh bed and ensuite bathroom with bath.
There are 2 more large double bedrooms one with a traditional Italian king-size wrought iron bed and antique furniture and the other with a queen size bed with ensuite bathroom with shower. Two further twin bedded rooms overlook the church and share the family bathroom with fabulous views as you laze in the bath.
GROUND FLOOR
The ground floor, formerly the cantina, is accessed by double French doors from a wide pergola covered terrace which runs across the front of the house. The well-equipped kitchen is a large and airy room with a wonderful chestnut beamed ceiling. It is designed with an island workstation sink unit in the middle with dishwasher and a built-in range of chestnut cupboards, fridge/freezer, gas hob and electric cooker, with stonebuilt cooker surround and granite working surfaces. The walls boast antique dresser shelving units and the whole is a very pleasing working environment which cooks will find easy to use. This room opens on to the dining room via a wide stone archway. The dining room, which also opens onto the terrace, has a large antique oak dining table seating 12 and a range of antique mountain and country furniture enthusiastically collected by the present owner from local antique fairs.
Facilities
Cable Satellite
Cleaning Service
Cooking Utensils
Dishwasher
Garage
Heating
Kitchen
Linen Service
Open Fire
Amenity Parking
Private Pool
Refrigerator
Sterio
TV
Washer
Outside
To the side (and facing down the valley) is a large and sunny terrace stretching the full width of the house and including a pergola ideal for al fresco dining.
To the rear of the house is a large barn (presently unrestored and used only for storage) and a small private (deconsecrated) church with naive mural painted walls.
Behind the barn lies a large 10m x 5m swimming pool with roman steps and a wide paved surround furnished with loungers and chairs. There is a delightful view over the Tuscan countryside to one side and an uninterrupted view towards Umbria on the other.
Activities
Biking
Playground
Cinema
Fishing
Golf
Gym
Horse Riding
Mountain Biking
Night Clubs
Restaurant
Shopping
Tennis
Theater
4 kms away is the small but sophisticated walled town of Sansepolcro (home to Piero della Francesca's famous work 'The Resurrection') which attracts visitors from all over the world. It has supermarkets and a full range of shops, banks, cafes and a post office, plus a lively market twice weekly and a wide selection of restaurants including 4 which appear in the Michelin guide. Sansepolcro has year-round events and festivals including the traditional crossbow contest the Palio della Balestra with rival town Gubbio.
Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and Bologna are about 2 hours drive. All approximately an hour away are Lake Trasimeno (boat trips, wind surfing, child-friendly beach), Perugia, Assisi, Cortona and Gubbio. Arezzo (the location for the town shots in the oscar-winning film La Vita e Bella) is about 45 minutes away, Citta di Castello about 30 minutes and Anghiari 15-20 minutes.