Best Italian villas Travel 49
22 La Pieve Tuscany
Mention Tuscany, and most of us
imagine the cypress-spiked hills
around Siena. However, the north
Tuscan hills above Lucca are every
bit as beautiful and a brilliant base
for the beaches of Versilia and
spectacular hill walks in the Apuan
Alps. Forty minutes north of Pisa —
and only 20 minutes from the nearest
beach — La Pieve is a handsome,
honey-coloured three-storey villa on
the edge of the historic Camaiore
town. Immaculate inside and out —
think limewashed original beams and
muted grey sofas — La Pieve sits in a
mature, manicured garden shaded by
cypresses and pines, with a pool and
panoramic terrace.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for
six from £2,492 (i-escape.com).
Fly to Pisa23 Villa Emilio
Abruzzo
This wowy two-bedroom villa lords
it over the surrounding olive farms like
some concrete and glass Grand Designs
show home. Sleek minimalism is
married with ultra-modern touches,
including a 100in home theatre screen
and floating staircase. The downstairs
bedroom has sliding doors leading on
to a large, lush garden and
pool. The villa is six miles
inland from Ortona, at
the southern edge of
Abruzzo, an
overlooked land
of rugged peaks
and cobalt coves,
mountain
hamlets and
dramatic coastal
towns that
tumble into the
Adriatic.
Details Seven
nights’ self- catering
for six from £2,494
(homeaway.co.uk). Fly to
Pescara24 Vita Umbria
Hewn from the forested slopes of
central Umbria, this high-end
modern villa is split across two levels.
On the upper level, a rooftop pool, lush
garden and wisteria-covered
pergola gaze up the valley to Assisi
(a ten-minute drive away); below, three
en suite bedrooms and an open-plan
kitchen-lounge that could have been
styled by Jeff Koons, with blood-red
kitchen cabinets and architectural
lighting. A sauna is just the job after
days out on the bikes provided;
integrated speakers inside and out
are a fun touch.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for
six from £3,330 (simpsontravel.com).
Fly to Perugia25 Dioscuri Sicily
Going with a group of mates? In
northern Sicily, Dioscuri has six
bedrooms, all en suite, including an
annexe perfect for couples with babies.
A full-size pool table is a bonus, likewise
the 18m infinity pool surrounded by
sunloungers. However, most time will
be spent on the wrap-around terrace,
where a large dining table gazes down
over the Tyrrhenian coast. Beaches are
15 minutes by car, day trips to Aeolian
islands are on your doorstep, cookery
classes and yoga are optional extras.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for
16 from £1,998 (wishsicily.com).
Fly to Catania18 Casa Punto Bianco
Puglia
Malibu meets the Med in this long,
white modern villa half an hour’s drive
inland from the beaches of Torre Canne.
You’re only a 15-minute drive from the
magnificent hilltop Ostuni with its
sun-bleached piazzas and limestone
gothic churches, but good luck tearing
yourself from the covered terrace,
which looks out over the 15m saltwater
pool and the olive groves below. Inside,
a cool white decor is splashed with
colourful rugs and abstract art; an
open-plan kitchen and lounge has
wall-to-wall sliding glass doors that spill
out on to the terrace.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for
six from £1,529 (jamesvillas.co.uk).
Fly to Brindisi
19 Villa di Mezzo
Tuscany
Brought up in Tuscany, Dan Wrightson
hand-picks each of the 200-odd
properties on his books. Many,
including this farmhouse 20 minutes
from Livorno, are available only
through him. New to the rental market
this year, this solid, high-beamed house
is owned by a retired ambassador
whose wanderings are traced in a
scattering of kilims, antiques
and Persian throws. There
is air-conditioning
throughout, a big
gated garden and
pool, and a forest
footpath to the
tavernas and
bars in nearby
Nugola village.
Details Seven
nights’
self-catering
for eight from
£1,820 (invitation
totuscany.com).
Fly to Pisa
20 Villa Ninfea
Italian Lakes
Most villas do not come with their own
wooden motor boat, but then this
grand, four-storey 19th-century
mansion is not most villas. Right on the
shores of Lake Como (the pine-shaded
garden all but dips a toe in the water),
Villa Ninfea is fresh from a stylish
modern facelift, but still retains many
original features, including stained-glass
windows and marble flooring, a faded
snooker table and handsome fireplace.
Twenty minutes’ drive from the towns
of Como and Bellagio, the villa is also
an easy stroll from the shops and
lakefront restaurants in Laglio.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for
eight from £6,527 (redsavannah.com).
Fly to Milan
21 Casa Giulia Le Marche
Bordering Umbria between the
Apennines and the Adriatic, Le Marche
is a cut-price Tuscany minus the tour
groups. Here, at the end of a dusty farm
track in ten acres close to the ancient
hilltop town of Mogliano, Casa Giulia is
a solid two-floor farmhouse with four
en suite bedrooms (plus a fifth on
request in an adjoining barn) and a
modern kitchen leading on to a covered
terrace and pool. Thirty minutes’ drive
from the coast, the villa is also close to
Monti Sibillini national park with its
network of walking trails.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for
eight from £1,200
(marchevillarentals.co.uk). Fly to Ancona
23 Villa Emilio, Abruzzo
Vita in Umbria24
ESSENTIAL ITALY; STEPHEN HUGHES/SIMPSON TRAVEL