My friends and I are renting a villa in Castellina in Chianti. There is always so much vital information on this website that we were wondering if we should bring supplies with us for the inital day, or get the necessary items when we arrive at our destination. We will be traveling from Rome on a Sat. morning to arrive at our villa. Also what would be the essentials to bring to a villa for a stay of one week? Any other additional information would also be helpful. It will be the first time any of our party will be vacationing this way. We all normally just go to hotels. Thanks for any help.

It is a good idea to talk to your rental agency as what to expect varies. I have rented places where I had to bring my own matches to light the stove, my own salt, soap and detergent, sponge for dishewashing and any spices.

Other places have had supplies all at hand, it depends. I have had the agency or their agent at the villa have a day's supplies of food ready for our arrival. This is nice as most places are rented Sat to Sat and if you arrive late in the day and the next day being Sunday remote places may not have grocery stores open.

It is fun to shop for your supplies but not when you are all starving! Which agency are you using?

Parker villas. We have other people we know use them and recommended them.

My friends and I are renting a villa in Castellina in Chianti. There is always so much vital information on this website that we were wondering if we should bring supplies with us for the inital day, or get the necessary items when we arrive at our destination. We will be traveling from Rome on a Sat. morning to arrive at our villa. Also what would be the essentials to bring to a villa for a stay of one week? Any other additional information would also be helpful. It will be the first time any of our party will be vacationing this way. We all normally just go to hotels. Thanks for any help.

Our family of 4 has stayed in agriturismos 2x in Italy and I believe these are similar to a villa. The most recent stay was for a week in July 2006 near Montepulciano, which rented from Sat. to Sat.

Our agriturismo had dishwashing soap, etc. Possibly was from people just leaving the stuff behind when they left. We also left a few kitchen supplies behind that we had purchased. The kitchen also had salt, pepper, basalmic vinegar, and olive oil available. Of course, all the bedding, bath and dish towels were supplied. We also had use of a washing machine which was very convenient.

Both of the agriturismos we have stayed in did not have air condition.(both had lovely pools) so both times we went to a Mercatone Uno--like our Target and purchased oscillating fans and left them behind as our next accommodations were a/c. Last summer the evenings were so comfortable we really didn't needed the fan.

Arriving on a Sat. afternoon coming from the Cinque Terrre, we had time to go to the local Co-op grocery store after we checked in. Many of the grocery stores will close for siesta in the afternoon and reopen later in the p.m.

We enjoyed our week in the Tuscany/Umbria countryside and doing daytrips around the region. Even going to the grocery store was fun! I cooked pasta a couple times for our family and in the evening we enjoyed just sitting outside with our parmegiano-reg. cheese and wine.

This was the most relaxing week of our 3-week France and Italy trip although being in Sorrento when Italy won the World Cup was truly amazing!

We visited Castellina in Chianti several years ago while we were staying near San Gimignano. You will love it!

Buon Viaggio!

Wait til you get to the villa and see what is needed. Ask the agent who is meeting you the location and hours of the nearest supermarket or grocery store. Usually the stores are closed on Sunday, so you'll need to go shopping Saturday afternoon or evening. One (essential) item we've always had to buy is toilet paper. Also laundry detergent.

Have you looked at www.slowtrav.com? Lots of stuff about renting in Italy there, and an article about what to expect when renting a villa there: www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/italy.htm

Yes, the Parker Company is well known, call them at 800 280 2811 and find out what is stocked at your specific villa.

It wouldn't hurt to bring some basics which you can buy along the autostrada at an autogrille, such as milk, cheese, meats, etc.

There is no way a person here can tell you what is stocked at a certain villa without knowing exactly which one or the actual terms of Parker Agency.

Parker Company villas are not stocked (even with salt and pepper) without specific prior arrangement. At least, ours was not either time we rented from this (otherwise) terrific company.

Thank you to all who answered my post. Your help is apreciated.