CASA SASAIA

Description:
The country estate of which Casa Sasaia forms part is situated on the hills looking down on the Val d’Orcia, which is a miraculously unspoilt piece of Southern Tuscany, especially in this time and age where everybody has already seen and discovered the most popular region of Italy. And even more miraculous; it lies between Florence and Rome, but within easy reach of other cultural gems like Siena, Arezzo, Perugia Assisi and Orvieto.

Medieval and Renaissance jewels like Pienza, Montepulciano, Montichiello and Montalcino are close-by; at the most a twenty, thirty kilometres by car. You can walk to your heart’s content through the woods and over the characteristic clay hills of the “Crete Senesi”. And as far as meals to enjoy: even in other parts of Tuscany one admits that the kitchen is good, which means quite a lot, so not everything. Tuscany’s best wines come from this part of the region, like the Vino Nobile, the “Noble Wine” from Montepulciano and the Brunello from, a.o., Montalcino. Would you like a taste? There are more than enough local wineries to choose from! Throughout the year, there are more cultural events to visit than we could mention and do not forget the local “sagra’s”; the Italians are master-organisers of festivities all evolving around food.

The view from the country estate stretches out over the valley, with on the background the cone-shaped, extinguished volcano of the Monte Amiata towering above it. Small wonder that this beautiful piece of the world has been adapted by the UNESCO, as being of the utmost importance to keep it intact, both for its natural beauty as well as its cultural assets. The hills behind the estate are woody, and the ancient country roads which connected the farms to each other are strictly kept intact, so that nature can be enjoyed in all its riches.

Amid the fields one finds the “Crete Senesi”, which characterize this part of Tuscany. These “crete” are often strange, moon-like landscapes of clay hills and small woods and shrubs, offering a natural habitat to quite a many animals like deer, wild boar, porcupines, hares, rabbits and lots of birds. Less than fifty years ago this part of Tuscany was so poor, that the farmers were desperate to feed their families, and the government tried to transform the “crete” into productive farming land. But times changed for the better, when the superb wines became popular, and now the “crete” are being strictly protected. Mammals and birds can procreate, and hunting is prohibited.

The large villa on the estate was built in the 2nd half of the 15h century to provide a night’s stay for pilgrims and merchants on their way over the old, Roman Via Francigena to and from Rome. In 1924, the estate was bought by a well-known, aristocratic family, which devoted their live to bring prosperity to the then desperately poor people. Daughters Benedetta and Donata, the next generation, are now as lovingly and efficiently managing the estate, which has become a superb combination of wood- and farmland as well as olive groves. The famous English garden designer Cecil Pinsent made the gardens come to life as being an ideal combination of pure landscape and 20th century garden architecture, inside which both the British and Italian gardening traditions made a beautiful, lasting marriage.

Moreover, the estate has become a centre for many cultural and artistical events. The medieval castle on the estate is home to an internationally famous musical festival, the “Incontri in Terra di Siena”. A large, framed photograph of the world-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin in the reception area bears witness of this. He came to play, and became a much-loved friend of the family.

The dwellings on the estate have all been completely restored and enjoy all modern comforts, without, however, having abandoned the original structure. You are sure to enjoy a wonderful holiday in one of these accommodations and will cherish the happy memories, completely according to the motto of Elisabeth Travel “memories are made of this”. And, just in case you would want more than relax, take the car to drive round and just bask in being away from it all, doing nothing? Well…There are cooking lessons, or language lessons, you can rent a bike, taste wine.. The manager of the estate will be pleased to give you all the information you could wish for, in excellent English.

Casa Sasaia, is a square building with regular dimensions and surrounded by large oak-, almond-, and plum trees, filtering the sunlight and providing an agreeable mixture of sunlight and shadow. When the former owners of the estate availed themselves of the services of the British architect Cecil Pinset, he received quite a list of wishes, amongst others the lay-out of the gardens around the villa Sasaia, and he created, again, something beautiful. The architecture of this old farm was, originally, very much in style with the traditional Tuscan farms, with stables for the live-stock and granaries on ground level, whilst the families were living on the first floor. In what now has become Casa Sasaia once lived a family counting eleven, till finally the cruel system of the “mezzadria”, the hereditary tenure, came to an end. The family then moved to the city. During World War II, four British soldiers found a hiding place here and in return, they worked on the land.

Nowadays, Sasaia has been completely renovated, and changed into a very comfortable, sunny family home. The old stables on the ground floor have been changed into a nice, cosy summer room, with the beautiful Tuscan light entering through seven windows. The troughs have been changed into couches with comfortable cushions on three sides. On one side there is a large, open fire place. A ping-pong table is situated in the middle of the room. The ground floor and first floor are connected by an outside staircase as well as an inside staircase, modelled on a design from Sarteano dating from the 15th century.

The living is situated on the first floor, with views on both sides on the trees as central focus point. The dining room/kitchen is typically Tuscan, with as striking example the open fire place, covered by travertine, the local stone. The walls have been painted in blue, also characteristic for the Tuscan kitchens; farmers in many countries, also in The Netherlands, were convinced that the colour blue kept the flies away during the summer months. Moreover, there are 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The kitchen has been provided with all modern comforts (5-pits stove, oven, refrigerator/freezer, microwave, dish washer, washing machine), and the style as well as the furnishing of the spacious, sunny rooms is comfortably rural with modern decorations.

The garden is full of climbing roses, hydrangea’s, honeysuckle, lavender, quite a many varieties of sage, rosemary and other, colourful shrubs and plants offer a wonderful mix with the oaks and fruit trees. The garden is about 1,5 ha. large, with a pergola, large outside table with chairs and a swimming pool (10 x 5 m.).

Next to the house there is a secondary house (very nice!!) in the style of a loft, spacious and comfortably furnished. This “annexe” exists of a living with kitchen corner (small refrigerator), two bedrooms and two bathrooms. This house can be rented separately in low season.

Facilities:
Reception, parking, garden with garden furniture, swimming pool, open fire place, fridge with freezer, dish washer, oven, 4 burners, electric kettle, washing machine, toaster, microwave, TV-sat, CD-stereo, DVD, airco, mobile fans in the bedrooms, iron and ironing, hairdryer. There is a tennis court on the estate, a trampoline and a children’s playground; please bear in mind, however, that you will need your car to get there, unless you would like a walk! There is WiFi-internet. There is also a small restaurant on the estate.

Possibilities for sports/excursions:
Walking and cycling. And perhaps you will find out, just like we did, that taking small “walks by car” through the surroundings are relaxing and enjoyable. We can recommend a visit to the wonderful town of Pienza, with many nice shops with local products; delicious olive oil, wines, Pecorino cheese, etc. When you are there, look at the beautiful wrought iron objects at Biagotti’s. Montichiello is a small jewel, with its Teatro Povero, the theatre for the poor. And if you like linens: Next to the church there is a small shop selling bed spreads, towels etc. made of pure linen. Also worth while a visit are Montalcino and Montepulciano, with many wine-houses where you can taste and buy to your heart’s content. In Bagno Filippo you can sit all day in the pool filled with water from the natural hot springs for about € 10,00 p.p. And just in case you now ask, what about some culture? Well, then we can suggest a visit to the Abbey of S. Antimo, with a mass on Sunday, or the Duomo in Chiusi and the Museum of Archaeology in Chianciano. Just to mention three of the many possibilities.

Distances:(in approx. kms)
The house is situated at about 5 km. distance of the estate’s centre and the last part of about 2 km. goes via an unpaved road. Closest village is Contignano, on the other side of the river Orcia, at about 7 km. Here you will find a small grocery shop, a green grocer, butcher and a bar. All kind of shops, postal office, pharmacy, large supermarket in Chianciano Terme (± 10 km.). Montepulciano 11, Chiusi 12, Pienza 21, Montalcino 41, Orvieto 56, Arezzo 72, Siena 85, Perugia 92, Florence 128.

Lay-out (300 m², 10 pers.):
Ground floor: Very spacious living/ “play” room (70 m²) with open fire place, double bedroom with en-suite bathroom with shower, storing room.
First floor: Large living with dining table and open fire place, dining/kitchen with open fire place, two double bedrooms with en-suite bathroom with shower, room with two beds, double bedroom, bathroom with bath.

Annexe (90 m², 4 pers.):
Living/dining room with large open fire place and kitchen corner, double bedroom with en-suite bathroom with shower, bedroom with 2 beds – not next to one another) with en-suite bathroom with shower.