Villa Carrera is within a 200-yard,
level walk from a medieval village in one of the most scenic areas in Tuscany, the Val di Chiana (about 35 minutes drive South of Siena) with the larger hill
town of Montepulciano reached in 12 minutes and Florence less than an hour by car. If you’ve been searching
for an exceptional villa with up to 12 bedrooms, look no further. Meticulously
restored, Villa Carrera is designed for sophisticated travelers seeking a high
degree of comfort and refinement.
Guests enjoy the freedom of walking
to the nearby café to start the day with a frothy cappuccino or taking an
evening stroll to two restaurants or a pizzeria. Along the same street is a
small grocer who doubles as one of the area’s most notable butchers. The
villa’s entry gate opens to a small playground across the street with swings
and slides. On Friday mornings, opening the gate reveals the outdoor market
that comes to the village.
Inside the gates, guests are welcomed
by copses of cypresses and an idyllic country view over gently rolling Tuscan
hills draped in acres of olive groves belonging to this country estate. An
outdoor living area sits just above the swimming pool to take in this
delightful panorama.
The entire villa is air-conditioned,
smoke-free and adorned with frescoed ceilings and large, sun-filled windows. An
elevator allows access to all three floors. Each of the 12 well-appointed
bedrooms is adorned with treasured family heirlooms, a wall safe and a
marble-clad, en suite bathroom with built-in hairdryer. All bedrooms may be
configured as queens or with two singles beds.
For effortless entertaining, a Tuscan
chef is available for breakfast, lunch and dinner when reserved well in advance and
at additional cost. Meals are served outdoor under the arched, fully shaded loggia or in the main dining room. Indoor and outdoor dining areas are furnished for the maximum occupancy.
Parking for several cars is located
within the entry gate near a far older structure storing the estate’s farm
equipment. While the villa and its lush grounds are well separated by hedges
and greenery, guests will occasionally see a handful of workers at the end of
their workday.
The area overlooks one of
Italy’s most visually striking landscapes. The Val di Chiana valley is dotted
with colorful hill towns yielding highly rated Vino Nobile di Montepulciano red
wine and the velvety Pecorino cheeses of Pienza.
Multiple day trips are super easy
from this location with a 10 minute drive leading to a nexus of highways
heading North/South along the A1 autostrada or East/West on the Perugia – Siena
motorway. The charming hill town of Montepulciano is 12 minutes by car; Pienza:
20; Chiusi with a mainline train station or Cortona: 30; Lake Trasimeno or
Arezzo: 35; Siena or Montalcino: 45; Perugia: 50; Orvieto: 60; Florence or
Assisi: 70; San Gimignano or Castellina in Chianti: 80; Rome: 2 hours.
Technical Description
Ground floor: Entrance from covered outdoor dining portico with gas barbecue. Dining room with adjoining buffet room and door to outside. TV room with Bluetooth stereo tower docking station and door to the dining portico. Kitchen with commercial six-burner stovetop, oven, microwave, fridge/freezer, dishwasher, ice maker, US-style and espresso coffee makers, toaster and walk-in pantry. Kitchen anteroom with prep island and door to outside. Two half baths. Laundry room with two washing machines and dryer. Elevator accessing all three floors.
First floor (5 bedrooms/5 bathrooms):
Main living room with seating for 14; double doors on either side open to two
smaller sitting rooms. Master bedroom with French balcony and en suite bathroom
with double vanity sinks and whirlpool tub with shower. One bedroom with French
balcony and en suite bathroom with multi-jet shower. Three bedrooms, each with
an en suite bathroom with shower; one with larger shower stall.
Second floor (7 bedrooms/7
bathrooms): Master bedroom with en suite bathroom with double vanity sinks and
whirlpool tub with shower. Four bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom with
shower; one with larger shower stall. One bedroom with en suite bathroom with
tub and hand held shower. One small bedroom with en suite bathroom with shower.
All bedrooms may be configured as queens
or with two singles beds.
When rented at the price for 18 guests (Mid and Low seasons only) bedrooms numbered 9, 10 and 12 are closed and locked.
All rooms have air conditioning. Electricity included 500Kwh. Overage payable on consumption. A meter reading is taken on arrival and on departure. There are temperature controls set to conserve energy when guests leave the villa as energy costs are 8 times higher than other countries including US. A key card system, similar to those found in hotels, provides bedrooms with smart energy conservation; key cards are removed when guests leave for the day and a constant temperature is maintained throughout the house.
Refresh cleaning with a towel change on Monday & Thursday. This service neatens the bedrooms and living areas, It doesn't include cleaning the kitchen. Additional housekeeping may be arranged, if requested. Advance notice is required and this service is paid on-site in Euro. See costing details in the additional services page.
TransAtlantic: Rome Leonardo da Vinci at Fiumicino - 2 hours
TransAtlantic:
Milan Malpensa - 4.5 hours
National and InterEuropean:
Firenze
(Florence) Peretola - 75 minutes / Pisa Galileo Galilei - 2.5 hours / Bologna
Borgo Panigale - 3 hours
Wi fi internet inside and exteriors. Included in the price.
Heating is available throughout the villa. On arrival you will be asked to take a meter reading with the owner and you will only pay for the units clocked up (1.8Euro per M3)
The villa's professional
kitchen, though well equipped, is compact in size. It is equipped with
commercial grade appliances including six burner stovetop, oven, microwave,
fridge with freezer, dishwasher, toaster and US-style coffee maker. Ice maker machine.
Smoking is not permitted inside the villa.
Parking within the villa's grounds for up to 6 cars.
The swimming pool is for the exclusive use of the villa renters and it's open Mid April to Mid October. A pool towel per person is provided free of charge.
Measures: 6m x 14m. Depth: 1.4m all the way.
Satellite Basic package -
A limited number of channels with most of them being Italian. There are one or
two news channels in the English language.
The villa is equipped with two washing machines and a dryer.
A car is essential because public transports are not available.
The nearest train station is Chiusi Chianciano about 15 minutes drive. Trains depart regularly to Florence and Rome (1 hour 50 minutes), Siena (1 hour 10 minutes).
Multiple day
trips are super easy from this location with a 10 minute drive leading to a
nexus of highways heading North/South along the A1 autostrada or East/West on
the Perugia – Siena motorway. The charming hill town of Montepulciano is 12
minutes by car; Pienza: 20; Chiusi with a mainline train station or Cortona:
30; Lake Trasimeno or Arezzo: 35; Siena or Montalcino: 45; Perugia: 50;
Orvieto: 60; Florence or Assisi: 70; San Gimignano or Castellina in Chianti:
80; Rome: 2 hours.
Just got back from our trip and have to tell you it was absolutely fantastic. Villa Carrera was even better than advertised. The owner of the villa as well as your local representative were there to welcome us and were available whenever we needed help.The wines and olive oil the owner make are outstanding." - W. Gregory
The villa was magnificent and the town was a gem. Italy in August was crowded and hot as expected but coming back to that great pool with the beautiful rolling hills of Tuscany in the background was always the cherry on the cake each day." - M. Harris
The Villa is magic. The gates opened at 4pm on the dot and our lovely hosts were standing there waiting for us, and behind them stood the villa. Nothing could have prepared us for the scale of the building...From the minute we stood under the colonnade we could feel that we were going to be spoiled...didn’t take long to start once the tour began and we were shown room after beautiful room reinforced by the realisation that this was ever so much more than I dreamed of and that it was to be our home for a week...Every meal was a feast and the ice machine worked around the clock with Aperol spritzers being the order of the day." - S. Ashburn
The villa size with 12 bedrooms and bathrooms - as well as plenty of room for our group to be together - along with the pool and outdoor areas were excellent. The hostess was very helpful explaining everything and provided a tour of the house and property. Villa Carrera certainly met and in many ways exceeded my expectations. The location was wonderful - overlooking the beautiful countryside but just steps away from a lovely village - which we enjoyed every morning for coffee. It is difficult for me to imagine what might have been a better location and arrangement." - L. Lovell
Villa Carrera was much larger than I had anticipated! Our hosts were extremely welcoming, gracious and informative. Our 3 generational family had tears of happiness and then sadness that we had to leave!! " - M. Farewell
Minuses: Just inside the main gate of the estate are two buildings separated from the villa by hedges and a gravel parking area that are occasionally used by the staff as an office and storage for farm equipment.
Pluses:
INCLUDED
IN THE PRICE:
Electricity included: 500Kwh. On arrival and on departure you will do a meter reading and pay for the exceeding units clocked up if any.
Monday and Thursday
light cleaning (neatens bathrooms and bedrooms) with towel change
Final
cleaning
Wifi
internet indoor and outdoor
Pool towel
changed weekly
NOT
INCLUDED IN THE PRICE
and payable in Euro cash to the owner:
Mandatory:
Tourist tax:
1Euro per person over 12 years per day
Refundable damage deposit: 1000Euro for 24 perople / 500Euro for 18 people. Given in Euro or USD cash on arrival and returned on departure
Heating and electricity: meter reading on arrival and on departure (payable in Euro cash)
On
request:
Extra
cleaning 20Euro per hour, min. 6 hours (+ 20% on Saturday and Sundays)
Extra linen
Meals at
the villa: Continental buffet breakfast. Dinners and cooking class based on request. All meals need
at least 12 participants.
Venue fees: 1.800Euro for up to 50 guests. 2.800Euro up to 100 guests.
| From Euro 10.800 to Euro | € 18900,00 | 24 guests 2024: Jan 8 - March 24 2023 13.600Euro March 25 - June 9 2023 16.400Euro June 10 - August 25 2023 18.900Euro Aug 26 - Sept 22 2023 16.400Euro Sept 23 - Dec 15 2023 13.600Euro Dec 16 - Jan 6 2024 16.400Euro |
Villa Carrera has been carefully crafted to provide the highest level of guest comfort.
The covered outdoor dining area is ideal for dining al fresco rain or shine and is equipped with a large BBQ for grilling. Breakfasts, lunches and dinner may be reserved at the time of booking or well in advance.
The main living room on the middle floor is flanked by two additional seating rooms, one on either side. Large windows face an idyllic country view.
The exquisitely vaulted indoor dining room opens to the outdoor dining area to one side and the parking area to the other.
The owner of Villa Carrera carefully selected the silk and tapestry fabrics for every bedroom's bed covering and matching window treatments - these pieces are handmade locally. All the bedrooms offer high ceilings and large windows making them bright, airy and inviting rooms.
What puts this sprawling luxury villa over the top is being within a few hundred feet of a medieval town and being easy to reach from major roadways. A couple of restaurants, a cafe and a few shops are just steps away.
To the rear, a level lawn area separates the immense villa from the pool and outdoor patio area.
Beautiful vistas of olive groves mingled with vineyards provide pool goers witha delightfully tranquil Tuscan setting. Wine from the family owner's vineyards can be purchased from the owner. On arrival you will find a selection of wines in the villa with the price list.
?The present owners of Villa Carrera have done a splendid job of recreating the majestic setting of this early 18th century estate. Today, wine and olive oil are the signature exports of Tuscany. In the 1800s, this part of Tuscany was known for producing and exporting silk worldwide. Silk fabricsmade at Villa Carrera where exhibited in the 1854 World's Fair in Paris.
Inside, the villa features an elevator, air conditioning and 12 well-appointed bedrooms, each with its own en suite bath. There are two service bathrooms on the ground level near the dining areas.
At the opposite end of the dining room, is an adjoining serving room that's ideal for buffet service.
The kitchen anteroom with an ancient stone sink, ornamental fireplace and center prep island. The doorway connects to the kitchen hallway and a door leading to the garden.
The compact commercial grade kitchen is well equipped. Guests may choose to self cater or hve meals professionally prepared and served inside or out. Adjacent to the kitchen is a walk-in pantry and an anteroom that serves as a prep area.
The ground level TV room is adjacent to the outdoor dining portico and features a smart sound column to connect personal devices for music listening. The TV offers local reception with a couple of English language news channels.
The villa elevator connects to all upper floor living rooms and bedrooms.
The main living room on the first floor with an intricate patterned ceiling and two large windows allowing for plenti of sunlight. Tso smaller sitting rooms flank each side of this room.
A heirloom silk tapestry, unique to this part of Tuscany, graces the adjoining sitting room to the right of the main salon.
A second small sitting room opening to the main living room.
Bedroom 1 - First floor master bedroom with French balcony and en suite bathroom. The bedroom is accessed from one of the small sitting rooms.
Bedroom 1 - En suite bathroom with double sinks and Jacuzzi tub with shower. Villa Carrera's owner personally selected the travertine stone for all the bathrooms with each room having its one pattern and color scheme. This bedroom enjoys one of the larger bathrooms.
Bedroom 2 - First floor bedroom with walk-in closet and en suite bathroom. This bedroom faces the rear of the villa overlooking the pool area and a pretty view of the countryside.
Bedroom 2 - En suite bathroom with one of the larger shower stalls having a rainforest showerhead. Each bathroom is equipped with a hairdryer.
Bedroom 3 - First floor bedroom with en suite bathroom. This is a rear facing bedroom looking out over the pool area to the Tuscany countryside.
Bedroom 3 - En suite bathroom with shower stall.
Bedroom 4 - First floor bedroom with en suite bathroom. This bedroom is along the side of the villa facing a row of sheltering trees.
Bedroom 4 - En suite bathroom with shower stall. The two glass doors of this shower both open to allow easy access into the shower for those wanting to avoid any steps. This also expands the shower base to fit a bathing chair, upon request.
Bedroom 5 - First floor bedroom with French balcony and en suite bathroom. The bedroom is accessed from one of the small sitting rooms.
Bedroom 5 - En suite bathroom with Jacuzzi style shower. This is one of the larger bathrooms.
Bedroom 6 - Second floor master bedroom with en suite bathroom. This sunny corner bedroom has one window looking towards the village.
Bedroom 6 - En suite bathroom with double sinks and Jacuzzi tub with shower. This is one of the larger bathrooms.
Bedroom 7 - Second floor bedroom with walk-in closet and en suite bathroom. This bedroom faces the rear of the villa overlooking the pool area and the scenic countryside. The second floor bedrooms are on the highest level and have some of the best expansive views.
Bedroom 7 - En suite with one of the larger shower stalls having a rainforest showerhead.
Bedroom 8 - Second floor bedroom with walk-in closet and en suite bathroom. This bedroom is along the front of the villa overlooking the road and neighboring rooftops. Being on the highest level, the view expands to the surrounding countryside.
Bedroom 8 - En suite bathroom with shower.
Bedroom 9 - Second floor bedroom with en suite bathroom. This bedroom is along the front of the villa overlooking the road, neighboring rooftops and trees. Being on the highest level, there are peeks of the surrounding countryside.
Bedroom 10 - Second floor bedroom with en suite bathroom. This bedroom is along the side of the villa facing a row of sheltering trees.
Bedroom 10 - En suite bathroom with shower stall.
Bedroom 11 - Second floor bedroom with ensuite bathroom. This bedroom faces the rear of the villa overlooking the pool area and the scenic countryside. The second floor bedrooms are on the highest level and have some of the best expansive views.
Bedroom 11 - En suite bathroom with tub and hand held shower head that can be attached to the wall.
Bedroom 12 - Second floor. This is the smallest of all the bedrooms and it is a cozy fit for two single beds that can be joined, upon request into a queen. Facing the rear, it has a pretty country view and an en suite bathroom.
Bedroom 12 - En suite bathroom with shower.
The gated estate, replete with olive groves, gardens and a forested hillock comes with a variety of reading noooks, plenty of parking and outstanding views, The building to the left of the pool is the estate's cantina used to store harvesting equipment.
The estate's main gate opens to the town's children's playground equipped with slides and swings.
Children's playground in front of the main entrance to the villa.
Steps from the playground and entrance gate to the villa is one of the medieval entrances into the hamlet.
Street market outside the villa's main gate every Friday morning. During market days, guests use the estate's secondary gate for unhindered access.
The outdoor markets are typically open from 8 AM to 1 PM. For the widest selection of freshly picked produce from nearby farms, we recommend arriving early.
The medieval entrance gate into the walled town is just a few hundred feet away from the villa's main gate.
Try the local macelleria, butcher shop only a short walk from the villa. This family run butcher shop is renown throughout the area for top quality meat and for making their own cured prosciutto and salami, as well as a handy assortment of local gourmet delicacies.
In addition to freshly baked bread at the local bakery you will find a selection of mouthwatering pastries to tempt the strictest dieters in the group.
Montepulciano hill top town, reached in less than a 15 minute drive from the villa, rises majestically over a sea of vineyards whose vintages proudly bear the town's name.
Montepulciano main square, aptly named Piazza Grande, is crowned by its signature 13th century town hall.
Montepulciano teems with shops featuring wines, cheese, Chianina beef (among the world's best) and a host of artisans specializing in everything from handmade leather to ceramics and art. On the last Sunday of August the Bravio delle Botti festival is not to be missed. Locals compete pushing uphill the central streets heavy wooded barrels.
Montepulciano Bravio delle Botti on the last Sunday of August.
Its origins going back to the 14th century when the race was actually run on horseback! Only in more recent times the race has been transformed in a competition with barrels. Indeed, since Montepulciano is famous worldwide for its fine red wine "Nobile di Montepulciano", the idea came about of using wine barrels for the districts to compete against each other.
Pienza, a 20 minute drive from the villa is a perfectly preserved Renaissance town known for its exquisite Pecorino cheese. This sheep's cheese is sold fresh and aged and comes in a variety of flavors.
While in Pienza try to pay a visit to the Biagiotti wrought iron artisan shop. Items range from the purely functional to fantastical, all interspersed among curios and antiques.
Arezzo is reached in 35 minutes by car. Aside from it's magnificent Renaissance architecture, this walking city is renown for its antique shops, artisan boutiques ranging from leather to jewelry and a vibrantly unique Italian ambiance. The highest point in the town is a park crowned by a Medici Fortress - youngesters will delight in exploring the hidden passages and walking along the ramparts.
Arezzo is known for its antiques. On the 1st Sunday of the month and the preceding Saturday, over 500 exhibitors set up stalls in Piazza San Francesco, Piazza Grande and the Logge del Vasari along with some of the side streets.
Lake Trasimeno - ?Kids of all ages will look forward to this 35 minutes drive from the villa. Passignano sul Trasimeno in neighboring Umbria is Italy's quintessential lake town replete with summer ferry rides along the lake, an anccient castle worth visiting and lots of gelato!
This villa's location overlooks one of Italy’s most visually striking landscapes. The Val di Chiana valley is dotted with colorful hill towns yielding highly rated Vino Nobile di Montepulciano red wine and the velvety Pecorino cheeses of Pienza.
Multiple day trips are super easy from this location with a 10 minute drive leading to a nexus of highways heading North/South along the A1 autostrada or East/West on the Perugia – Siena motorway. The charming hill town of Montepulciano is 12 minutes by car; Pienza: 20; Chiusi with a mainline train station or Cortona: 30; Lake Trasimeno or Arezzo: 35; Siena or Montalcino: 45; Perugia: 50; Orvieto: 60; Florence or Assisi: 70; San Gimignano or Castellina in Chianti: 80; Rome: 2 hours.
