Pieve a Castello: A Tuscan Retreat
Pieve a Castello, located between Siena and Florence in central Tuscany and surrounded by idyllic countryside, provides an opportunity to stay at an architecturally unique historic monument which was for centuries a main over-night stop for the thousands of travellers each year on the Via Francigena, the medieval ‘main road to Rome’, now restored to international award-winning standards.
ATG’s trips based at Pieve a Castello explore varying aspects of Tuscany’s rich cultural history and landscape, you will be staying as a ‘house guest’ with time to visit places of outstanding interest nearby, to explore unspoilt countryside on foot and to relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.
Ancient paths of the Via Francigena fan out through vineyards, olive groves, meadows and forested hills, and include over 100 miles of excellent walking (you will find a complimentary Route Book in your room with 20 self guided walks of 1-7 hours if you wish to do more).
You will also enjoy superb Tuscan cuisine and carefully chosen local wines, whilst being looked after by two of our fully trained Tour Consultants and the dedicated Pieve a Castello staff. As with all our Escorted itineraries, ‘everything is included, everything is taken care of’, so you are free to relax and enjoy this unique and magical place.
A relaxed ‘house party’ style is consistent across the itineraries based at Pieve a Castello, which is also available to host private groups and, on certain weeks during the year there is also the option to stay at Pieve a Castello on an ‘independent’ basis.
Features
- All meals are included. Breakfast is usually served in the courtyard, lunch on the shaded terrace, pre-dinner drinks & canapes on the library terrace and dinner served in the early medieval splendour of the former baptistry. Final evening gala dinner
- A wide range of traditional Tuscan cooking using inspiration from earliest times to the present day, together with local ingredients and vegetables from the organic garden
- An interesting variety of wines from various areas of Chianti, as well as Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello. White: Vernaccia di San Gimignano and interesting ‘new whites’ from elsewhere in Tuscany
- Pool with travertine marble and salt-water filtration (open May-October)
- Secluded terraces for sitting and relaxing
- Library with specialist books on the area as well as light reading
- Church and chapel acoustically modified for concert performances and recording, equipped with fine concert grand piano
- Walking-friendly terrain: Established farm and forest tracks, vineyards and quiet country lanes. Some tarmac on approach to towns
- Complimentary Route Book in your room with 20 self-guided walks from Pieve a Castello, for those who want more walking than the itinerary offers
Room with a view
Stunning views of the Tuscan countryside
There are 10 bedrooms, originally used for multiple-occupancy by early medieval travellers. In a protected building of this antiquity, every room is different, each with unique features.
All bedrooms have private ensuite facilities (with bath/shower or shower), heating and air-conditioning, sofa, writing desk, fridge-bar, TV, cupboard with drawers and safe, and views of the central courtyard and open countryside.
Many of our regular clients have their favourite room which they like to request each time they stay whilst others prefer to choose a different room each time…. Please let us know during the booking process if you have any room preferences (courtyard or main house) or if there is a particular room you would like to request.
Room 1: Large, first-floor room with writing room, bath-shower (double/twin)
Room 2: Large, second-floor room with writing room, bath-shower (double/twin)
Room 3: Large, second-floor room with unique shower room (double/twin)
Room 4: ‘Cosy’ room on second floor with four-poster bed, bath-shower (double)
Room 5: Former dovecote on second floor with spacious shower (double)
Room 7: Courtyard room with bath-shower and side door to garden (double/twin)
Room 8: Courtyard room with bath-shower and side door to garden (double/twin)
Room 9: Charming, corner courtyard room with shower (single room, French-sized double bed with no single room supplement)
Room 10: Cosy courtyard room with shower (single room with single bed with no single room supplement)
Room 11: Courtyard room – with writing niche, shower and 8th-century apse (!) (double)
Pieve a Castello: News
Solar panels at Pieve a Castello:
In 2016 Pieve a Castello applied for a grant from the“Regione Toscana” (Tuscan local government) to part fund installation of solar panels in a discreet area on a bank beyond the swimming pool. The project costs €45000, of which the “Regione” has agreed to contribute €15000. The solar panel project at Pieve a Castello was one of only three such projects approved by the Tuscan “Regione”. The investment means that the hot water and part of the heating will be produced by solar power, dramatically reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. The grant was approved in November 2016, authorisation to progress the project was received in February 2017. Works commenced in November 2017 and were completed in March 2018.
Featured Pieve a Castello Trips
Explore these selected trips based at Pieve a Castello
