Location
Villa Arpicella really does offer the best of both worlds! Despite its prime location at just 15 minutes’ walking distance from Pienza, it enjoys the peace and quiet of a beautiful countryside setting with spectacular panoramic views.
The villa’s extensive gardens are sheltered and secluded, with no other properties in sight, and open on to superb vistas of the surrounding olive groves and gently hilly farmland, which stretch right up to the outline of Mount Amiata on the far horizon. The living quarters are all on the upper floor, so can likewise embrace this wonderful scenery and benefit from light-filled dayrooms.
There are many opportunities for open-air relaxation and dining, including a shady portico-terrace adjoining the house, fully equipped with garden furniture. Some of the original, typically Tuscan structural details that have been attractively retained are: the whitewashed walls; terracotta-tiled floors; narrow-beamed, terracotta-tiled ceilings; and, of course, the massive, wood-burning fireplace.
The villa is approached from Pienza (2 km away) on an asphalted road, past a lovely Romanesque church (Pieve di Corsignano), and then along a rough gravel track, bordered by olive groves, stone walls and hedges.
In the vicinity are a number of excellent hiking paths, as this is ideal walking country, set within a nature reserve, whose wildlife is protected. This area of the Val D’Orcia (Orcia Valley), including Pienza itself and Mount Amiata, an extinct volcano and now a very popular winter ski area, is renowned for its outstanding natural beauty and, as a result, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
