La Casella

is a large, restored farmhouse outside a medieval village in the Tuscan hills 40 minutes by car from Siena, within easy reach of many beautiful towns; it is about 90 mins. south of Florence, 2½ hours north of Rome and 25 minutes from the Autostrada (exit 28, Val di Chiana.)  Three of us own the house: we bought it in 1973 when it had been standing empty for 8 years, and put in a big new kitchen and three bathrooms to go with the 6 bedrooms, as well as electricity and running water, but did everything possible to keep the original character.

The house is set in an acre of olive grove, has beamed, brick ceilings, whitewashed stone walls and terra-cotta tiled floors. The windows have wooden shutters with insect proof screens.  Part of the house is probably very old, being built with earth-filled walls; a somwhat newer part has stone and brick walls;both these sections existed before 1760. The farm was worked by tenants of the Benincasa family, who still own the surrounding vine and olive land. The land around the house is agricultural; the neighbouring houses are a short walk away and cannot be seen from La Casella. 

Montisi village is small with only a few hundred inhabitants, but it has all the shops you might need for everyday living and is about 8 minutes walk from the house.

During July and August, however, all the Montisani families return from the towns where they now live, and there are frequent village entertainments (including wonderful open-air meals prepared by the local families) where everyone is welcome. Activity peaks with the annual Festa of the Joust in the first week of August.