Favorite farmhouse/B&B in Tuscany or Umbria?
 

We will be driving through Tuscany and possibly Umbria for 2-3 days. We want to visit wineries, see beautiful castles and primarily, really take in the Italian culture. Part of this to me is finding a wonderful place to stay during our driving tour. To me, wonderful would be finding a farmhouse possibly on a winery that's family-run and the family serves dinner at night, etc....really get to know the people and the culture. I don't want to stay at a place where no one else is there..I want the family to be there to provide local knowledge, etc. Does anyone have any recommendations for what I'm looking for? Also, I'm aware that many places want more than 2 nights booking -- can you recommend somewhere that doesn't mind only 2 nights? I'm most looking forward to this part of our trip and therefore are reserving 3 out of our 9 days in Italy for this. Thank you so much!

Brooke - We stayed four nights at an agriturismo called "Madonna delle Grazie" near Citta della Pieve on the Umbria/Tuscany border. It's run by Renato Nanotti, his wife Maria and their son Ernesto. Only Ernesto speaks English but the family was very friendly. They have a daughter named Aureliana but she was away at college. Renato spoke to me in Italian and I answered him in Spanish! <BR> <BR>They have a pool and Renato teaches horseback riding. He has five horses and will invite you to ride with him on Sunday morning. They make their own wine, grappa, olive oil, honey, etc. We found them recommended by La Dolce Vita magazine and by Karen Brown (www.karenbrown.com). <BR> <BR>Lodging includes breakfast and dinner. All the guests sit at one table together so conversation is inevitable and was so much fun. It's a lovely old farmhouse with five guest rooms. Not luxurious but impeccible with gorgeous views and a real authentic feeling. Guests from Italy and other countries. <BR> <BR>Recommend it highly.

I am an American art historian who has resided in Umbria for over 30 years. Contact me directly at [email protected] and I can share some of my insider's knowledge.

Thank you so much Leslie for that wonderful recommendation. I will do a search for it now on the web and go to karen brown's web site -- do you know if the hotel has a web site? And Mary, I'll email you directly know! Thank you again and would love any more suggestions!

Brooke: <BR> <BR>I'm looking for the exact same thing for one night. I read about the Fiorini family in San Gimignano, but haven't had luck contacting them. If you find anything, please post on this site. Thanks.

Check out Dionora at www.dionora.it.It's a small b&b outside of Montepulciano--spoke to the owner,Mario he sounds delightful.It has photos of all the rooms on the website.Was recommended by the owner of LaChiusa,a fabulous small hotel and restaurant.We're staying at Dionora in October.

You can link to the Madonna delle Grazie website from Karen Brown's or directly with http://www.madonnadellegrazie.it <BR> <BR>I found that if you are looking for almost any agriturismo in Italy, you can find at least minimal info. on this website, though it isn't very user friendly: www.agriturist.it

Thank you so much Maxine for the information. The place looks beautiful!! But it's a little more pricey than we wanted to pay -- $250-$300 a night is probably too much for us for this trip. But it does look beautiful!!

Just got back from a 5-night stay in Tuscany. Our B&B was Casa Satti in Montecarlo (near Pisa, Lucca, Sienna) but it was more like a villa. The view of Tuscany was magnificent. You can do a search for them on the internet as they have a site. We only paid $165/night for 3 people and felt like it was a bargain for the beauty and peace and quiet we got!

We just returned from a 5 week trip during which we stayed in a villa in Tuscany for 7 nights. It was Agriturismo La Presura, located near Strada in Chianti. I made all of the reservations on the internet. It is run by the Bucciolini family (Federico is the English-speaking son). We had 2 wonderful dinners cooked by the mom and grandmother...they were served in a beautiful garden within the grounds of the "farm" (it is an olive oil and wine producing farm). There is a gorgeous pool that overlooks the hills and vineyards. The room was large and had a small kitchen. We paid less than $500 for 7 nights! We rented a car and were able to see Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Assisi, Cortona, Orvieto, Chianti, and Pisa during that week. It was wonderful! <BR>My only caution would be to ask for a room that is not near the main road (it was a bit noisy).

We stayed at Castello di Oliveto near Castelfiorentino and had a super-duper deluxe dinner (only Monday nights) in the castle. 2 BR apartment was about $140.00. The castle has its own award-winning wine. However, this is not a family-run small place; the hostess, Elisabetta is very friendly and helpful, but pretty much everybody does their work on the estate and you're on yyour own to enjoy the pool and tennis court.

Hi Brooke, <BR>We stayed at Hotel Residencia San Sano which I found in Fodor's Inns of Charm, Italy. It's about 20 minutes drive north of Siena just off the Chianti hyw in the tiny village of San Sano. The village only shows up on the most detailed maps. Absolutely charming, excellent breakfasts included & served outdoor in the entry garden under the arbor. Dinners option and also excellent. Village has a tiny family-fun tratorria with mouth-watering food. They have a pool and the village is dead quiet at night. They are also listed on some of the Chianti web sites, but I don't remember which. Overall it was our favorite place of a 3 week Italy trip.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. Unfortunately, the Madonna delle Grazie - which looked perfect for us! - only takes reservations for a full week. Also the San Sano is booked as is the La Presura. Still looking into the Casa Satti and searching for others! Any more personal recommendations would be great! I trust the recommendations of fodorites! Thank you!

First, I am so sorry to post another message to this, but I wanted to try and get in touch with KC who posted about La Presura. Turns out they do have availability and we think we're going to book with them. KC, what more can you tell me about the place? Are the bedrooms are OK? (Hard to see on the internet) How often does the family serve meals? How does that work? If you can, please email me directly at [email protected] and I'd love to learn more. Thank you again and sorry everyone!

If you haven't booked yet, please check out the Fattoria Titignano at www.titignano.it. My husband and I stayed there in June and it was to die for. Situated halfway between Orvieto and Todi on a hillside above a national park and Lago di Corbara. It was truely a room with a view, not to mention the best meals I have ever eaten.

ttt

Brooke, <BR> <BR>The new (Sept/Oct) issue of Expedia Travels magazine has a nice article on Umbria, with food and lodging recommendations -- probably worth looking at or buying. <BR> <BR>John H

We have booked our second stay for Il Columbiao B&B in the village of Torre which is about 10 miles outside of Siena. Here is their website: http://www.toscanaholiday.com/

Check out http://www.charmingitaly.com. I will be going to Italy in November and my friend Dawn and I have been searching on this web site for a nice place to stay. Great web site!