Archive for 'Tuscany'

The gorgeous and dreamy historic town of Montepulciano in Tuscany known for its delicious wine gained international fame back in 2009 when it was chosen as a filming location for one of the movie adaptations of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight book series, New Moon. Fans worldwide were suddenly focused on this Tuscan gem and were were captivated by both the town's beauty and its newfound connection to the beloved franchise. So, if you love the movies and/or books and have always wanted to experience the allure of Montepulciano for yourself, then browse our villas in Montepulciano and plan a visit to this charming town...

Lots of people like to follow their favourite characters on their fictional journeys through destinations and then shadow those footsteps themselves in real life. Think of Bloomsday in Dublin, each summer, that sees fans from all over the globe come to follow Joyce’s protagonist Leopold Bloom around the city. Recently, another Irish author has given us yet another engaging and fascinating protagonist whose journey we can chart with Maggie O’Farrell’s fictionalised novel about the life and death of Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara, in The Marriage Portrait.

The celebrated and well-loved O’Farrell released the book in 2022 to great acclaim and immediately transported readers all over the world into the life of an incredibly young bride in Renaissance Italy. Certain liberties have been taken with the details of her life but the story is rooted in historic record and real events and places. Those, therefore, who have read and adored the book can pretty easily track Lucrezia’s path from birth to childhood to a rather nerve-wracking young married life in a strange court. In fact, many of the places in the novel are already key tourist attractions that one might already be planning on visiting if booking a villa in Florence and/or a vacation rental in Emilia Romagna. 

If you are a fan of pretty views, houses with incredible and distinct character, plenty of space and beautifully finished interiors, history, manicured gardens, private pools, and romantic al fresco dining areas then you will find that all this and more besides is offered if you are booking one of our Tuscany Villas for a holiday in Italy and decide upon Villa Torreone. Impossibly beautiful, it makes a lasting impression and is the kind of place where you can make special memories that will last a lifetime!

Welcome back to our new series of What to consider when planning a holiday in Italy and the continuation of our guide to the different charms and considerations that one should keep in mind when deciding on the best time of the year in which to plan a vacation in Italy. In the first part of this guide, we looked at winter for all of those who are just itching for a getaway right away or who are after some winter sun or fun on the slopes as well as the gentle charm of the warmer climes and lushness of spring. This half of the guide will introduce our readers to the most popular time for Italian vacations, summer, as well as to the wonderful selling points of autumn, just on its heels. So, if you are thinking about finally booking that trip but you are still trying to decide when to go, then read on and start planning a perfect holiday in Italy today!

When you are trying to plan the perfect vacation in Italy and you are browsing through the amazing and endless array of remarkable villas across our website, it can be hard to narrow it down and to decide upon exactly the right vacation rental for you and your travel companions! We sometimes spotlight particular favourites over on our blog or put together curated lists of properties according to location or a feature (being close to the sea, being romantic, being perfect for larger groups/weddings, etc). Some villas will be displayed on our homepage due to availability for certain periods or being part of a special offer. However, if you want the opinion of a previous renter and a customer rather than our choices – if you want to find out about the experience of actually staying in a property, what that feels like and which villas boast particularly charming features – then the best thing that you can do is go to our customer reviews page.

Here, you can read all about the experiences of previous guests; what they noted as special, if they would return again, what kind of holiday they had, nearby attractions to make note of, if a property is suitable for small kids, etc. Some of these reviews are lengthy and will touch on all sorts of information but some will only give a little glimpse of what you can expect – whatever detail lingers most in their mind – and this can be a key insight that only a previous guest could have about booking a particular villa. Both kinds of reviews are helpful in different ways but we’ll let you decide which ones to pay heed to or see which reviews catch your attention and imagination by letting you click through to check them out for yourself.

In the meantime, here is a curation of some recent reviews and what you can expect as well as what our customers are saying about the experience of booking a dream villa in Italy with us...