In the green heart of the Lunigiana in northern Tuscany, the Casale del Borgo offers holiday accommodation in two comfortable apartments. The estate, which is in the village of Monti di Licciana Nardi and has been in the family for over 300 years, consists of a large farm building, and around 30,000 sqm of vineyards, olive groves and fields.
The well preserved and partially renovated building, once the farmhouse, stables and agricultural stores, is characteristic of fortified villages of the area, with various internal porches, courtyards and entrances, and with a strong protecting wall around it. There is also a large terrace from which you can enjoy a wonderful view of the Apuan Alps, and in the spacious cellars work is in progress to create a spa, gym, sauna and swimming pool. So far the restoration of this unique building has produced two spacious apartments: La Terrazza and La Corte.
La Corte is set out on two levels and is accessed from the charming panoramic terrace. It has a large live-in kitchen, two bathrooms, a living room with fireplace, a dining room with sofa bed, a large lounge overlooking a small courtyard in the back garden and a study with a single sofa bed. There are three double bedrooms and one single, so the apartment can sleep up to 9 guests.
La Terrazza is also on two levels and is accessed from the terrace. It has a large live-in kitchen with fireplace, a dining room, a spacious living room with double sofa bed, a bathroom, two double bedrooms and a single. It sleeps up to 7 guests.
Both apartments have independent central heating and TV and are comfortably furnished in traditional style with period furniture and antiques.
The Lunigiana is perhaps one of the least appreciated areas of Tuscany, least visited by tourists, but this renders it an air of an Italy of times gone by, somewhat slower than the Tuscany to the south. That said, if you fancy a day away from the medieval castles, marble quarries, National Parks and amazing hilltop villages, then the beaches and fishing towns of Portovenere and the Cinque Terre are nearby, with Lucca, Pisa and Florence all being ideal day-trips.
