Apartment in villa: refined historic very special

Description from the owner

The Chapel, located on an historic Renaissance estate, enjoys the best of both worlds: easy access to the city centre and the peace and quiet of the Tuscan countryside. It is situated in a protected and peaceful area of more than 20 hectares, just outside of the centre of Florence, at the foot of the hill of Settignano, in a marvelous environment, surrounded by meadows and olive groves.

The former Chapel of this stunning estate has now been cleverly transformed into a romantic guest house for a couple. Originally a private chapel of a famous Renaissance family, the one-bedroom accommodation has recently been carefully restored to its o...riginal state and retains its original beauty and charm. The Chapel has been fully decorated with antique furniture by the owners who live nearby and has a wonderful atmosphere.

The interior is about 50 m2 (530 sqft). There is one double bedroom (queen-size bed) located in the chapel's original nave decorated with original frescoes, a living room with full kitchenette located in the former sacristy, and one bathroom with shower located in the former confessional.

This house offers a remarkable number of little extras: air-conditioning, CD-stereo, DVD-player, WIFI Internet access , ample garden, BBQ, parking inside the property, electronic entrance gate to the estate, washing machine. In the living room you will find art books, travel magazines, city maps, museum and restaurant guides.

The property is really a little gem in a wonderful location. The hill of Settignano, behind our back, preserves some of the most attractive Florentine villas ( Villa Gamberaia with its magical Italian-style

garden, Villa I Tatti seat of the Harvard University centre for the Italian Renaissance studies, Villa Michelangiolo where the creator of the David and Pietà once lived. Wonderful walks lead towards Settignano,Corbignano and, through of wood of cypresses, as so far as Fiesole; all you must see here, the many art cities of Tuscany, is less than 1 hour by car or by train. It is one of the best accommodation you can find in Florence, if you are looking for a quiet and safe place: immersed in a peaceful and natural wooden setting just a few minutes from the center of Florence, in the foothills of Settignano.

Moments away from the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Museum, it is a perfect starting point, at any time of the year, from which to begin a wonderful visit to Florence and the many art cities of Tuscany.

We live next door and can fill every need (from house maintenance to a restaurant reservation).

In this garden you will enjoy the privacy, the beautiful countryside views of meadows, olive trees, cypresses and pine trees. There are also tables with chairs, sun chairs and sofa-beds, barbecues .

This is really a green resort, far away from the bustle of the city with its humming motorbikes and honking cars. While our location is far from every disturbance, it is only a short bus ride into the city. Cathedral Piazza della Signoria and the main train station, S.Maria Novella, are about 3 kms from our house. There are two bus stops in walking distance and the public transportation service (Bus n. 17 or 10 ) takes you to the centre in about 15 min.Read more

Additional Location Information

On the green hills that encircle Florence, like a giant Romantic frame for the trim Renaissance architecture of the city below, there lies an ethereal village called Settignano, which has left an indelible mark on the art and literature of the Western world.
Michelangelo spent part of his childhood in Settignano, where, according to his biographer Vasari, he imbibed his skills as a sculptor in the milk of his wet nurse, the wife of a stonecutter in the nearby quarries.
The original gift was nature's, the pietra serena (gray stone) that defined the architecture of the early Renaissance. Many boys who might have been absorbed into agriculture were drawn to the Settignanese botteghe, the workshops that refined the stone excavated from the quarries as well as marble imported from Carrara. Their sculpture had a softness, almost a transparency, that reflected their surroundings. More, their skills in stone - probably since Etruscan times generation after generation of the region had worked in the quarries - gave them an incomparable facility for expressing what they saw and felt.
Without an invitation to dinner or to a piano recital or poetry reading in somebody's villa, the visitor is left to the village's lanes and byways, its cypresses and vines. With a little artistic and historic orientation, however, strollers can discover that beauty is perhaps the most powerful drug in capturing and subduing the frenetic soul. Otherwise, why would so many non-Italians have felt so at home, so close to an original and perfect state of being in Settignano?

Location Type City

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