In the centre of the village, just outside the walls of the mediaeval castle, surrounded by three hectares (7/8 acres) of olive trees circling the built area, stands a 17th Century tower containing a delightful spiral staircase linking the three storeys of an ancient building with a stone façade in typical Tuscan country style.
The building, already being used as the Gioiosa 1 farmhouse, is part of what used to be the heart of the farm estate and comprised, besides the manor house, coach house, barns, an oil-mill, storage buildings, cattle sheds, horse stables, pig-pens, chicken coops, dovecots, the cellar and a huge rainwater storage tank.
The farmhouse dwelling nextdoor to the manor house, had been used to house trusted domestic staff : it was named “Gelinda” in commemoration of a...
In the centre of the village, just outside the walls of the mediaeval castle, surrounded by three hectares (7/8 acres) of olive trees circling the built area, stands a 17th Century tower containing a delightful spiral staircase linking the three storeys of an ancient building with a stone façade in typical Tuscan country style.
The building, already being used as the Gioiosa 1 farmhouse, is part of what used to be the heart of the farm estate and comprised, besides the manor house, coach house, barns, an oil-mill, storage buildings, cattle sheds, horse stables, pig-pens, chicken coops, dovecots, the cellar and a huge rainwater storage tank.
The farmhouse dwelling nextdoor to the manor house, had been used to house trusted domestic staff : it was named “Gelinda” in commemoration of a faithful worker who had lived there for many years..
Renovation work on the farmhouse, carefully respecting the typology of the architecture and keeping the original materials, turned it into a six large double bedroom property, with ensuite bathrooms, elegantly furnished with period furniture, carpets and paintings, mostly unearthed from storage rooms on the premises and carefully restored.
In the old barns, large spaces have been set aside for guests, and are used, periodically by MussiArte - www.mussiarte.it – to hold exhibitions dedicated to contemporary artists.
It is very pleasant to shelter from the sun during the summer and, towards evening, relax beneath the canopy in an area set aside beneath the shade of an old fig tree, and it is delightful to sip 'aperitivi' while enjoying the unique views that stretch from the sea to the hills beyond, from the island of Elba to Bandita della Magona up to the archeological Etruscan sites of Casal Vecchio and La Nocera.More