Unique, stylish and made for two, La Fornace is far from your conventional Tuscan villa. In a previous life, it was a small industrial building with kilns; now the intriguingly modest exterior opens on to a light-filled modern interior of glass, metal and distinctive furnishings. This is the place to come if you want something different. In the process, you gain a lovely private pool, terrace with ping pong and Jacuzzi in secluded grounds that overlook vineyards, as well as an excellent base for visiting Florence, San Gimignano and Siena – the Florence-Siena highway is only a few kilometres to the east. The villa also has easy access to roads into Chianti’s heartland.
Everything has been cleverly and carefully thought through here, from the dramatic living-kitchen-dining room, with its feature staircase to the original kilns below, to the garden, edged by elegant pine trees and cypresses, which can be lit at night. You will find plenty of good places to eat locally, but they may not beat an al-fresco dinner prepared on your outdoors gas barbeque in your own private paradise.
We challenge you to find anywhere quite as original as La Fornace. For somewhere so well positioned for day trips to a good number of Tuscany’s cultural highlights, it is amazingly secluded and peaceful. So much so, you may spot a wild boar crossing the bottom of the garden in the late afternoon. We love this villa’s style: eating indoors or out will be memorable. As, perhaps, will be enjoying a fine glass of Chianti in the Jacuzzi while the sun goes down.
Ground Floor
Lounge-Kitchen-Diner
Sofa, five armchairs, two sideboards, bookshelves, dining area, bench seating, fully equipped kitchenette, open fireplace, stairs to lower floor with original furnace ovens, main entrance, door to terrace, Pergola and table tennis table.
Bedroom
Double bed (cannot be converted to twins), wardrobe, chair, mosquito screens, air-conditioning.
Bathroom
Double shower, twin sinks, WC, washing machine.
No infants or children under 6 years.
Private Pool
Length: 9 metres
Width: 4 metres
Depth: 1.0 - 1.80m
Entrance: Metal ladder
Opening times: May to mid October
Fenced: No
Furnished: Sunloungers
Cleansed: Chlorine
Distance from villa: 5 metres
