Holiday accommodation in the grounds of a wine estate, near Montepulciano and not far from the Tuscan-Umbrian border. The Gracciano Estate lies in the lush and ample Chiana valley which runs south of Florence from Arezzo to Orvieto. The valley is above all renowned for its wine, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and the succulent T-bone steaks from the wide-horned white Chianina cattle.
This area between Montepulciano and Cortona was described by Frances Mayes in her bestseller 'Under the Tuscan Sun'. Her beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house, and, always, the pleasures of food, captures the delights of a Tuscan holiday. Mayes portrays life in Cortona as timeless, and this is only one of the reasons to come to Gracciano.
The Tenuta di Gracciano belonged to the Svetoni family from the beginning of the 1800s. From this family of historic wine makers from Montepulciano the property passed down some 40 years ago to the present owners, the della Seta family from Florence.
The estate extends over 100 hectares of which 20 are planted with vines. The vineyards are spread over the Gracciano hills 300 metres above sea level, one of the best wine-growing areas of Montepulciano. Fields and woodland form a picturesque patchwork over the rest of the estate, surrounding the Maramai farmhouse which can be rented by the week.
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The cellars can be visited by guests of Maramai by appointment and different vintages of Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano can be purchased here. The family’s own olive oil, produced in small quantities for family and friends, is also for sale.
DISTANCES FROM THE TENUTA DI GRACCIANO: Montpulciano 7km; Pienza, the Utopian Renaissance town 14km; Cortona 18km; Chiusi (a charming Tuscan hilltop town) 20km; Cetona (a beautiful medieval town) 30km; San Casciano dei Bagni, with its luxurious spa, 35km; Città della Pieve 35km, Arezzo 50km, Siena 60km, Orvieto 70km, Florence 110km.
[ View on Google Map | map of region ]AIRPORTS AND TRANSPORT: Siena 60km, a small airport for private planes, Florence 90 minutes drive, international airport, Pisa 2.5 hours, international airport, Rome 2.5 hours, international and intercontinental airport. The closest train station is Chiusi, on the main line from Florence to Rome. You can have a chauffeur driven car pick you up at the airport and leave you again on departure, as well have a hire car await you at the house.
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Casa Maramai sleeps 9-10. The house totals 400sqm with a hectare of garden. Maramai, now a charming country house, used to be a small farm with three separate buildings. It is named after the Tuscan farmer’s family who lived there until the early seventies. The ground floor of the main house was used for storage while cattle were tethered in the vaulted room. The family would live on the second floor and the central room with the big chimneypiece used to be the kitchen.
