Frank

My wife and I have a couple of nights yet to fill in our 3-week trip to Italy beginning in mid-June, and we would like to spend them somewhere out of a city in Tuscany, perhaps at an agriturismo or family accommodation near, say, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, etc. I'd like something reasonably priced, and since I'd like to be forced to practice my hard-earned rudimentary knowledge of Italian, if the family speaks little English, so much the better. Anyone have any favorites?

Mike Miller

Frank, last Oct, we stayed at Il Columbiao B&B. It's about 15 miles outside of Siena in a small village called "Torre". Here is their website. They do speak english. http://www.toscanaholiday.com/

graziella

Hi Frank I highly recommend the Locanda Rosati, close to Orvieto and Banoreggio , this is an outstanding lovely stone large house, beautiful garden , huge pool, good food, nice big bathrooms ...spotless, we liked it very much. <BR>and Orvieto!! such a beautiful town. <BR>E mail : [email protected] <BR>If you go, tell me if you liked it.TKs

Pat Schulte

We have satyed at a farm near Montalcino several times and it is lovely. It is called La Crociona. the owners name is Fiorella Vannoni (she speaks English) She has 7 apartments. <BR>The E-mail address is [email protected] <BR>Let me know if I be of any more help.

Steve the Guide

Two friends of mine have already opened a nice Agriturismo 20 minutes from Florence, near Scandicci.The place is called "Roveta". Their names are Franco & Titina and speak english. The new rebuilt old-farm house is also 15 min far from San Casciano Val di Pesa and less than min. far from Montaione. Highy reccomend for the cheap prices. <BR>Tel.+ 055 7309069 (they don't have e-mail yet). Ciao

jeff

Right on the Tuscany/Umbria border--East from Cortona, up over the mountains, thru the village of Mercantale---a beautiful villa on the top of the hills to the South (on the Preggio Road)to the right as you go East from Mercantale. <BR> <BR>It is called LaPietra/Casa Carina and has accomodations for two in Casa Carina--both places are converted farm houses, as this is truly farm country! Gorgeous views of the sunflower, tobacco, olive farms and vineyards in every direction. <BR> <BR>Spent a glorious week there in late '98. <BR>May not rent for less than one week, however. <BR>http://wwte.com/italia/casa3.htm <BR> <BR>

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

FRANK, Go to www.ware.it and look at <BR>their agritourismo choices. A great <BR>location for you would be the Villa Il <BR>Poggio near Sinalunga. You can rent just a B&B room for 2 nites at a good <BR>price. It is easy access from here to <BR>Siena but also Montepulciano and the <BR>entire area going to Montalcino. Hard <BR>to beat this place.

Betty

If I had a couple of nights to fill, I would stay in Cinque Terre. <BR> <BR>Betty

Frank

Actually, we're spending three nights in Manarola, Cinque Terre. My request is for a part of the trip when we'll be between Florence and a 6-night stay in Perugia (to explore Umbria). I thought a couple of nights in a rural setting would be interesting. I appreciate all the good advice so far. To clarify my original message, it's not that I want the hosts to speak English; I'd actually prefer they didn't, to force me to practice my Italian, but that's really not a factor in selecting where we stay. Keep those suggestions coming!

Dawn

Try looking at Karen Brown's B&B guides (either in your local bookstore or limited places to stay on her web site www.karenbrown.com) We are staying at a couple of her places and they list at the bottom how much the owners speaks English, from "not at all" to "fluently". Give it a look.

jeff holmes

the place I mentioned yesterday, is not midway between Florence and Perugia--it is roughly 45 minutes north of Perugia and 1.5-2 hours South/SE from Florence...what you'd do and see from Perugia, you'd do and see from Casa Carina, more or less. <BR> <BR>

Christine

Hi Frank, <BR> <BR>We had a great experience staying at a farmhouse about halfway between Siena and Florence last year in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. We could see the San Gimignanao Towers from our room. It is reasonably priced and they do speak english. The owners steered us towards some fantastic area restaruants and we found it the perfect place to relax after a hectic week in the Dolomites and Venice. <BR> <BR>Here is the website: <BR>http://italyfarmholidays.com <BR> <BR>and the link for the one we stayed in: <BR>http://www.italyfarmholidays.com/regions/farms/t14.htm <BR> <BR>

candy

when i read your query, i immediately thought of Poggio Alloro, outside San Gimignano with a great view of its spires that rise up like Oz across the farm's fields. Its rooms are very spare and basic, but the hospitality is wonderful, and you would definitely have to practice your Italian: it's a family=owned farm, fun by three brothers and their wives and kids, and only one daughter speaks english. the meals are communal and wonderful. they're hosted by one of the brothers, who's so adorable and genial that he sets a wonderful tone as everyone struggles to conduct a conversation. when my friend and i were there, there were two german families and a bunch of italians, and it was great connecting with them at breakfasts and dinners, seeing where they'd been and where they were headed and exchanging stories. anyway, for more, you can check it out in the ESCAPE TO TUSCANY forum (see HOSTED FORUMS selection on Forums home page) and search. If you're in a bookstore, you can check it out (with photos) in the travel section, in a book called ESCAPE TO TUSCANY. Another wonderful place is outside Florence, called Il Milione (search the same hosted forum for more info), with a pool, apartments with kitchens, and horseback riding. have a ball.

Frank

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions, some of which I've checked out on the web and elsewhere. I'm about to make my final choice (we leave in just two weeks!), so if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know. You folks are a good source of help!

Rachel

The Podere Sasso is a wonderful place to stay. It is near Siena and Montepulciano. The woman who runs it is Scottish. My family stayed there for a week last summer and loved it. Here is the website: http://home.earthlink.net/~poderesasso/