Casa Pescaglia

Multi-folding hills, softened with forestry, form giant cushions of calm around this historic house, punctuated here and there with tiny hamlets and terraced vineyard slopes. Pretty, private gardens surround it, scented with herbs and banks of flowers, and following the lie of the land with lawned paths and little stone stairways. And the villa itself is a wonderfully sympathetic restoration of a sturdy former farmhouse and its equally ancient barn, which now forms a very comfortable poolside Guest House. In the main building, the kitchen opens on to a dining terrace, and light streams into a spacious, sunny sitting room with country furniture, colourful kilims and a dining area. Three bedrooms on the first floor include the master double, with an en suite walk-in shower inlaid with pebbles. With its own breakfast room /kitchenette, and sitting room with a piano, the guest annexe houses two additional bedrooms and opens onto a lounging and dining area beside the swimming pool. Local shops at San Martino in Freddana are within 4km of the villa, Lucca’s fine restaurants are just 13km away, and the nearest beach is a mere 20km drive.