Overview
Flooded with light
Il Sasso sits on the slopes of the famous Orcia valley and is surrounded by magnificent evergreen oak trees typical of Tuscany. Beyond are open fields and views across the valley to the Radicofani fortress on the far-away blue hill.
The holiday home is characterized by sunny, spacious rooms furnished in a comfortable, modern style. On the ground floor what used to be the cows’ barn has been converted into a large summer room leading out to the garden. Seven large windows transform this room into a light-flooded oasis. Facing the west, the trees in the evening light cast beautiful shadows on the façade.
The main house has five bedrooms each with private bathroom. An adjoining small stone house, which used to be the pig pen, hen house and ox barn, is now a charming and cosy loft with old tie beams and a large fireplace, has two further bedrooms and bathrooms.
The garden, shaded by old oak trees, has been designed to blend in naturally with the surroundings. Climbing roses, hydrangea petiolaris, lavender, cystus, rosemary and honeysuckle mix well with the old oak and fruit trees.
Meals can be taken under a pergola covered by wisteria, roses and grapevines. A 10 by 5 meter pool is tucked away at the far end of the garden. The house can be reached on a 2 km private gravel road.
The closest village is Contignano which lies on the other side of the Orcia river at a distance of 7 km from the house. Here you will find an alimentari (basic food shop), abar, a butcher, and a fruit and vegetable shop. For a larger choice of shops or a supermarket Chianciano Terme is at a distance of 10 km. The next restaurant where you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner is 6 km from the house.
This house belongs to a a large property which extends over the hills overlooking the Val d'Orcia, an enchanting and miraculously unspoilt valley in southern Tuscany, listed as UNESCO world heritage in 2004. Midway between Florence and Rome, the estate is also within easy reach of Siena, Arezzo, Perugia, Assisi and Orvieto. Renaissance and medieval gems such as Pienza, Montepulciano, Monticchiello and Montalcino and the Abbey of Sant'Antimo are only a few miles away from the houses you can rent at the property.
The countryside around the estate abounds in lovely walks in the woods and the typical "crete senesi" (clay hills) of the region. The food is considered the best in Tuscany and famous wines such as the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino can be sampled in the local cellars.
Guests Reviews
Our Guests Reviews
Our first time back for over 15 years and it was exactly as we remembered - a beautiful location not far from lovely hill towns, such as Monticchiello, Pienza and Montalcino. We even visited the Palio di Siena. Thanks Lorena and Donata for your great hospitality. Hopefully we'll be back sooner than 15 years next time!
Mark, July 2024
Stunning place! Rooms are spacious. Gorgeous sunsets and beautiful areas to relax, including pool and seating areas. Tons of different fruit bearing trees - figs, pomegranate, lemons, limes, olives. Excellent olive oil produced there. Beds are comfy and suites are well stocked with kitchen equipment and towels and toilet paper etc. We had a lovely stay as a large family!
Natalie, June 2024
The week we spent was amazing. Our whole family stayed in the Il Sasso villa, a perfect Tuscan farmhouse but with modern conveniences. It was lovely and comfortable for all 10 of us (ages 10-80). The help we got from Benedetta was invaluable, it was like having our own private concierge. She helped with dinner reservations, finding english speaking guides and multiple other things. The location is perfect for day trips all over Tuscany, to small towns and big (siena), though really too far from Florence for a day trip. Two weeks wouldn't have been too long!
Anne, June 2023
This was our 4th visit to the estate and each time we promise to return. Somehow, each time is as wonderful as the first and each time has been delightfully different. We have stayed in 3 different apartments in their La Chiara property but this time we rented a big house, Il Sasso and its guest house for our family of 11. The property is stunning and isolated. We had our own pool and housekeeper. There are lots of wonderful places to rent for a week in Tuscany but for us this was perfect. It is not luxury but it is traditional with modernized amenities. The kitchen is country and well stocked. We went to the market and stocked up on food for breakfasts, lunches and a couple of dinners. We enjoyed the freedom of a 'home' environment that allowed each of us to eat as we desired before we began our day of touring any of the dozens of wonderful hill towns within 15-30 minutes drive. We also found the property so enticing that we spent 2 of our 7 days enjoying the pool and the beautiful grounds. This is not the Ritz and if you need that you'll be disappointed.
A car is required. This is the Country! Complete with fire-flys, bats, birds, lizzards and yes, a few insects. It's all part of being in authentic Tuscany. Enjoy! We will return. But it is everything and more of what we want when we are in Tuscany; romantic, charming, authentic and very comfortable. We will return .. . . again and again.
Bonnie, August 2022
An Unbelievable Week
Left on Jun 8, 2010 for a stay in Jun 2007
Our week at Il Sasso was something we will always remember. From the spacious and beautiful villa to the property and service, we could not have asked for anything better. We only wish we could have stayed longer.
Amenities
HOLIDAY HOME AMENITIES
- Pool: 10 x 5m
- Pool area is gated
- Air conditioning
- Internet WIFI connection
- Fireplaces
- Satellite TV
- CD-stereo
- Fridge with freezer
- Stove with oven
- Dishwasher
- Microwave
- Electric kettle
- Coffee maker
- Toaster
- Mobile fans for the bedrooms
- Iron and ironing board
- Hair dryer
- Washing machine
- Pergola
- Garden
- Parking
- Shared tennis court (6 km)
There is also a family owned restaurant 4 km from the house: The La Chiara restaurant provides healthy gourmet dinners with home-made pasta, seasonal ingredients from the vegetable garden, the countryside and woods, as well as fruit from the trees in the garden. These dinners will be served on Saturday, Monday and Friday night in the shade of the linden tree in the courtyard, or in the large dining room with a fireplace during the colder months on guests' request (the day before). On Monday evenings there will be an oil-tasting dinner.
Disabled Facilities
One double bedroom downstairs has a bathroom suitable for a disabled person.
Touring ideas
Restaurant 4 km
Tennis 6 km
Contignano (bar, grocery shop) 8.4 km
Thermal baths Chianciano 9.2 km
Montepulciano 10 km
Monticchiello 10 km
Pienza 20 km
Chiusi 20 km
San Quirico d`Orcia 27 km
Montalcino 38 km
Arezzo 50 km
Orvieto 50 km
Perugia 60 km
Siena 70 km
Viterbo 70 km
Assisi 80 km
Florence 130 km
Rome 170 km
Photos
Floor Plan Activities
The property's location makes excursions to Siena, Assisi, Orvieto, Perugia, Arezzo and Florence an easy day trip.
Florence and Rome can be reached by train in one and a half hours from the nearby station Chiusi.
In San Quirico d'Orcia make sure you see the Horti Leonini, an early Renaissance garden, as well as the western door in the city wall 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.
Montepulcino is a graceful Tuscan hill town, best known for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which was being praised by connoisseurs over 200 years ago and can certainly contend with Italy's best today.
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 consacration 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.
Just 10 km from the property you will find the thermal spa Terme di Chianciano with a highly modern health and thermal centre. Those wanting to combine holidays with a wellness break can enjoy fango baths, cosmetic and therapeutic treatments, solarium, massages and hydromassages.
In San Casciano dei Bagni, 30 km away, a few years ago a Medicivilla was converted into a luxury spa center. The view from the pool to the Orcia valley is breathtaking.
Outlet: Fashion addicts can splurge out at the famous Prada factory outlet, which lies on to road to Florence.
Map
Please note: the Google Maps are only approximative, the exact address will be given after finalized booking.
Choose your holiday home
Il Sasso
- Sleeps 14 Guests
Ground floor:
- 1 large summer room with fireplace (70 m2)
- 1 double bedroom with en suite bathroom (shower, suitable for disabled people)
- 1 storage room
First floor:
- 1 large central living room with fireplace
- 1 dining kitchen with fireplace
- 2 double bedrooms each with en suite bathroom (shower)
- 1 double bedroom with en suite bathroom (bathtub)
- 1 twin bedroom each with en suite bathroom (shower)
Dependance (78 m2):
- 1 living room with fireplace and open plan kitchen
- 1 double bedroom with en suite bathroom (shower)
- 1 twin bedroom with small en suite bathroom
Outdoors:
- Spacious pergola for al fresco meals
- Garden
- Pool
- Covered parking space
On the ground floor what used to be the cows’ barn has been converted into a large summer room leading out to the garden. Seven windows flood the room with light, the mangers have been turned into benches with cushions. An open fireplace, comfortable sofas and armchairs make this room pleasantly informal and comfortable. In one corner a simple kitchen with fridge caters to outdoor life. A double room with an en suite bathroom opens out onto the garden and has been adapted for wheel chair use.
A spiral Renaissance-style travertine staircase leads to the upper floor. Here a stunning central living room with windows looking out on both sides, a fireplace and a large African hardwood dining table communicates with a large Tuscan kitchen with an old beam and local travertine hood running along one wall. A waist-high fireplace is a local feature which makes it easy to cook over the fire. The kitchen walls have been painted a stunning blue lime wash in the characteristic style of the old kitchens in peasant farms, as blue was supposed to keep the flies away in the summer. As you will see from the plan of the house two bedrooms have en suite bathrooms while the other two share a bathroom.
An adjoining small stone house has been converted into a loft-like dépendance and offers two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room with fireplace and an open kitchen.
01 Oct 2026 - 03 Nov 2026
9180 EUR €
10780 EUR €
Weekly rates in €
| Il Sasso | 18 Apr 2026 - 30 May 2026 01 Oct 2026 - 03 Nov 2026 |
30 May 2026- 01 Oct 2026 |
Availability | |||
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Il Sasso
14
PAX 14
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9180 EUR € | 10780 EUR € | N/A | Request Booking Il Sasso |
Check availability
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- Please also read How To Make A Reservation.
RENT INCLUDES
- Bed, bath and kitchen linens
- Mid-week change of towels
- One pool towel per person
- Welcome pack
- Internet WIFI connection
- Electricity
- Air conditioning
- Baby bed with linen and high chair available. Baby bed can be booked for children up to their 4th birthday: free of charge.
- Maid service (3 hours house cleaning per day 5 days per week)
- Final cleaning
- Pool cleaning
- Garden maintenance
- Should you rent the accommodation for more than 1 week, the house will be cleaned on Saturdays and the linen will be changed.
EXTRAS
- Heating (if required): metered. Please be aware that central heating is very expensive in Italy. The average cost for one week goes from EUR 500 to EUR 900 according to the outdoor temperature and the amount of time the heating is turned on (EUR 5 per cubic meter).
- Wood for fireplace: EUR 25 per basket
- Tourist tax: EUR 2 per person/day
SECURITY DEPOSIT
Security deposit is due via credit card on the premises.
SERVICE ON REQUEST (please enquire with us when booking)
- Extra domestic help (house cleaning, washing and ironing): EUR 20 per hour
- Dinner: A dinner serving traditional Tuscan recipes can be served on request at 7:30pm in the Chiara restaurant. Minimum 15 people required to guarantee the service. If not, we offer dinner delivery service at your villa (see below In-Villa cook).
The dinner is composed of a first course (pasta dish), a second course (meat or chicken) and a dessert, as well as mineral water, wine and coffee. (EUR 45 per person, EUR 20 per child under 12). - In-Villa cook: According to availability. Dinner prepared by a cook. The costs are EUR 55 per hour for the cook + grocery shopping. Please enquire for availability at the time of your booking.
- First shopping: EUR 160 (expenses for a few basics and shopping time included). The shopping list includes: Bread, butter, jam, 18 eggs, 3 litre milk, 1 packet Earl Grey Tea, 1 packet coffee, natural yoghurt, orange juice, 3 kg fruit of the season, 2 kg pasta (noodles), 2 jar tomato sauce, 1 piece of parmesan cheese, salad and tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, 12 litres mineral water, 6 bottles of beer.
- Babysitter: price on request
- Cooking courses: price on request
- Extra set of towels: price on request
NOTES
- Reservations from Saturday to Saturday are preferred. Flexible dates are possible: minimum 7 nights. On Sundays and public holidays, the office is closed.
- PLEASE NOTE: For this property the check-in is possible between 3pm and 5pm.
- Pool opening dates: end of May - end of September, depending on weather conditions
- Pets: only upon special request and subject to size and manners
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