Splendore

Lucca: Ten minutes away by car, Lucca is one of the most enchanting towns in Tuscany. The historic town is surrounded by a wall which now serves as a delightful promenade offering views of the city within and the mountains all around. Lucca is an eminently walkable city which is untroubled by traffic, since the town center is closed to private automobiles apart from those of local residents. Bicycling is a another wonderful way to explore the town. Among local attractions are Lucca’s opera house, marvelous shops and restaurants and a museum honoring native son, Giacomo Puccini. Don’t miss Lucca’s beautiful cathedral – and have a euro in your pocket, because Tintoretto’s Last Supper in the right nave of the church can only be admired after paying for the spotlight focused on it. The town is only 8 km from the villa.
Lucca is also home to one of Italy’s nicest antique markets. Depending on the time of the year, it can be small or take over Lucca’s two largest piazzas and almost all the streets and alleys in between. Lucca’s market is held each month on the weekend that has the third Sunday of the month.

The famous villas around Lucca: Some of these historic villas are open to the public and a few have internationally renowned gardens, all of which makes highly rewarding sight-seeing while staying in the area. The most important villas open to the public are Villa Reale di Marlia, Villa Grabau, Villa Bernardini, Villa Oliva, Villa Mansi, Villa di Carmigliano.

Pisa: The Piazza dei Miracoli, or the Square of Miracles with the Leaning Tower, the Duomo, the Baptistry, the Monumental Cemetery and the museums. Pisa is at 20 km from the villa.

Florence: Blessed with breathtaking landscapes and famed masterpieces, the so-called “Cradle of the Renaissance” is an open-air museum, a genuine lifestyle experience, a real, yet dreamlike, treasure chest, filled with innumerable inspiring discoveries. Florence is at 85 km. 

Cinque Terre: Set amid some of the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, ought to provide enough to bolster the most jaded of spirits. A Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997, Cinque Terre’s five villages date from the early medieval period. Sinuous paths tempt the antisocial to traverse seemingly impregnable cliffsides, while a 19th-century railway line cut through a series of coastal tunnels ferries the less brave from village to village. Thankfully cars – those most ubiquitous of modern interferences – were banned over a decade ago. 

Pietrasanta: The small sculptors town Pietrasanta, just below the marble caves where the famous white carrara marble comes from (a fascinating excursion) is at 20 minutes.

The seaside: There are sandy beaches approximately thirty minutes away on the coast of Versilia at Viareggio and the fashionable Forte dei Marmi with lively bars, designer shopping and some of the best seafood restaurants in Italy.

Sport and Wellness: You can go cycling, play tennis and golf or relax in the spas in Bagni di Lucca or the beauty Farms in Vico Pisano and Montecatini. The hot springs of Bagni di Lucca: http://www.termebagnidilucca.it

The worlds smallest theatre (Guinness Book of Records) is the Teatrino di Vetriano, today owned by FAI (the Italian equivalent to the National Trust) https://www.fondoambiente.it/luoghi/teatrino-di-vetriano

Airports: Pisa airport is at 20 km/30 minutes away, while the Florence airport is 85 km/1 hour away. Lucca has a train station and an exit from the motorway.

Local shopping: The nearest village for your shopping is at a distance of 1 km.