Casoro

Cetona is considered one of Italy’s prettiest villages. The villa is a mere 2.5 kilometers from this charming hilltop village. Found between the regions of Tuscany and Umbria, the town lies roughly equidistant between Rome and Florence. Human presence in the area goes as far back as the neo-Paleolithic period. Evidence of the Prehistoric, the Bronze Age and the Etruscan era can be viewed in the Belvedere Park, the Museo Civico per la Preistoria del Monte Cetona and the nearby Parco Archeologico Naturalistico del Monte Cetona.

Cetona is ideally situated for exploring the cultural points of interest of Southern Tuscany and further afield. Nearby is the Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage considered one of the top natural wonders of Tuscany. The beautiful valley is home to exceptional towns such as Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciamo where world-famous wines like Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino are produced. This makes for lovely excursions. Even closer by are the towns of Città della Pieve and Chiusi - which are within a 15 to 20 min drive of Cetona. Active pursuits in the area include hiking. biking, golf at Lamborghini-Panicarola and various watersports on nearby Lake Trasimeno. Lastly, in only an hour or two you can reach Siena, Florence, Perugia and Rome.

The geographical location of the property allows easy day trips to Siena, Assisi, Orvieto, Perugia, Arezzo and Florence.

Florence and Rome are easily accessible. We recommend the train for day trips. Chiusi train station is only 10 km away and the train journey takes an average of 1½ hours.

Chiusi’s mysterious origins date back to the 6th century before Christ, when Chiusi was one of the 12 most important cities in the Etruscan Federation. The town itself rises up from its legacy a warren of underground subways, tombs and passages.

Città della Pieve sits on a hill overlooking the River Tiber. It is some 8 km from Chiusi. It is an attractive town with churches and palaces built of brick from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance.

Orvieto is one of the most beautiful cities of Umbria. The site of Orvieto is among the most dramatic in Europe.

In San Quirico d'Orcia you should not miss visiting the early Renaissance garden Horti Leonini, as well as the western gate of the city and the Collegiata (main church).

Montalcino is beautifully situated on a hill inhabited since Etruscan times, swathed in vineyards and olive groves. It is a quiet, affluent, attractive town with pretty buildings and flower-filled squares, and many shops selling the Brunello di Montalcino.

Montepulciano is a graceful Tuscan hill town, best known for it’s Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which was being praised by connoisseurs over 200 years ago and can certainly contend with Italy’s best today. The many churches and handsome palazzo, the steep cobbled alleys and vine-trailing stone bastions are essential viewing for anyone venturing south of Siena. On a clear day from the top of the town you have tremendous panoramic views across the countryside, stretching towards Assisi’s Monte Subasio, Monte Amiata, the Val d’Orcia, Pienza, and even the towers of Siena.

Pienza: The unfinished “utopian” city, was commissioned by Pope Pius II in 1459. In just three years the cathedral, the papal and bishop’s palaces and the central part of the town were completed, but the extensive project ended abruptly when Pius died only two years after the consecration of the cathedral.

Monte Oliveto Maggiore: This abbey was founded by three Sienese noblemen who left the city to live a life dedicated to prayer, religion, etc. and who founded the Olivetan order – an off-shoot of the Benedictines. The most important thing to see at this still active and working Monastery is the cycle of frescoes that decorate the monumental cloister. They describe the live of Saint Benedict and were painted by Signorelli and Sodoma. There are also some beautiful marquetry stalls in the church itself.  It is a very magical and serene place set in the midst of exceptionally beautiful countryside. It is home to a dozen monks who specialize in restoring old books, and make wine, honey and olive oil.

Sant’Anna in Camprena is a rambling monastery on the road between Pienza and San Quirico d’Orcia. A very romantic setting which served as location for the film The English Patient. In the refectory there is a fresco by the renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, known as Il Sodoma.

Sant'Antimo is surely one of the loveliest Romanesque buildings in all of Italy. It is hard to imagine a more sympathetic combination of architectural grace and natural setting. Originally founded by Charlemagne in 800, the abbey was once home to a prominent Benedictine community. Creamy stone bricks, luminous Volterran alabaster, playful carvings and frescoes of animals give it a peculiarly sunny air. A group of French Cistercian monks now runs the abbey, celebrating Mass with Gregorian chants several times a day.

The landscape in this region of Tuscany is spectacular: The Crete Senesi are the eroded clay hills in the Orcia valley. These strange, pale, barren looking slopes, with their bare cliffs, broken gullies and white Jurassic limestone, look altogehter more lunar than terrestial.

Tuscany is famous for its Hot springs, belonging to a geothermical system that more or less encircles Monte Amiata: the most spectacular is Saturnia in the south west of the region. Steaming water collects in a number of white limestone basins - a rare natural spectacle and great fun to bathe in! Swimming possible both in the natural basins and in smart thermal baths. Saturnia offers a wide range of comforts and even a sauna.
Close to the property is Bagno Vignoni which has been popular since Etruscan times. St. Catherine of Siena is said to have appreciated its thearpeutic qualities, as is Lorenzo the Magnificent, whose family built the splendid arcaded pool - a kind of flooded, bubbling piazza, famously used by Tarkowsky for some of the more surreal passages of his film Nolstalgia. Not far from this antique piazza there is a hotel with a lovely open air swimming pool, fed from hot springs. This is also available to external guests.
Bagni San Filippo may go into the books as the world's smallest thermal spa - a telephone booth, a few old houses, outdoor spring in the middle of the woods with glistening limestone formations and one small hotel with a public pool.
Terme di Chianciano is a highly modern health and thermal centre. 
In San Casciano dei Bagni, a few years ago a Medicivilla was converted into a luxury spa center. The view from the pool to the Orcia valley is breathtaking.

The area surrounding the holiday home is ideal for hiking and cycling tours.

Golf Lamborghini - 25 km away in Panicarola is a 9-hole golf course built by the creator of Lamborghini cars, Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Lago Trasimeno - this stunning lake is less than an hour away. Swim in the lake and enjoy a range of water sports.

Outlet: There are Prada, Guici, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Miu Miu outlets on the road towards Florence.