Beautiful Villa with Private Pool
Rural Location, 5 mins Walk to Shops and Trattoria, 1.20 hr from Pisa airport.
Sleeps 7 (4 Bedrooms)
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Totally private and detached traditional Italian villa with pool. Great for family fun, sharing with friends or as a romantic getaway. Good sized pool (7 x 4.5m), south facing sun terrace and shaded dining area with BBQ. All rooms have stunning views. The villa is 100 yrs old built of stone over 3 floors, with chestnut beams and tiled floors. A good layout for sharing. Laze by the pool with a good book or discover Tuscany, it's up to you! Take a stroll around the tranquil countryside, or how about an evening meal alfresco with a bottle or two of the local wine. Have fun with the kids exploring the mountains, woods and the many local hillside villages. Bagni di Lucca, a pretty spa town, is 10-15 mins drive away. There are lots of good restaurants there, and an internet point. You are well within reach of the famous sites of northern Tuscany such as Pisa, Florence and Lucca.
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| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 October 2011 - 12 May 2012 | £700 | 7 | ||
| 12 May 2012 - 26 May 2012 | £800 | 7 | ||
| 26 May 2012 - 1 June 2012 | £850 | 7 | ||
| 2 June 2012 - 30 June 2012 | £950 | 7 | ||
| 30 June 2012 - 28 July 2012 | £1300 | 7 | ||
| 28 July 2012 - 25 August 2012 | £1450 | 7 | ||
| 25 August 2012 - 1 September 2012 | £1300 | - | ||
| 1 September 2012 - 29 September 2012 | £950 | 7 | ||
| 29 September 2012 - 11 May 2013 | £700 | 7 |
Notes on prices
Prices are for the property per week in UK Pounds. We can offer a discount if only 2 people wish to rent and only require the use of 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom. Please ask at time of booking. We offer a £50 discount if you book 2 weeks together. We are happy to discuss discounts for long lets. The availability calendar is always up-to-date so you can plan with confidence. For discounts on late bookings please call me. Heating and linen is always included.
Changeover day
Saturday. This can be flexible in lowest season. Please arrive after 4 pm and leave before 10am to allow time for cleaning. A key is available from a keysafe by the frontdoor, you will be given a code to open it & then use guests' keys provided in hall.
Accommodation
| Bedrooms: | Bedroom 1 king size bed Bedroom 2 king-size bed Bedroom 3 2 twin beds Bedroom 4 single bed. Access to bedroom 3 is via bedroom 4 Terracotta floors throughout. Cot & highchair available. |
| Bathrooms: | Main top floor bathroom has large walk-in shower, WC, washbasin. Downstairs bathroom has large shower, WC, making a total of 3 WCs in house, one on each floor. No baths in house, just good large modern showers. Plenty of storage, stools and chair. |
| Kitchen: | Large open plan kitchen/lounge. Very well equipped modern fitted kitchen, cooker, fridge freezer, dishwasher, microwave, wood burning stove. Table seats 10. Also outside dining on loggia and sun terrace available. Large stone built BBQ. |
| Utility Room: | Washing machine for guests' use. Drying area inside & out. Plenty of general space in downstairs wine & cellar area (cantina) |
| Living Rooms: | Open plan kitchen/lounge has 2 sofas and chairs for 7. Satellite TV/DVD player, radio/cd player, iPod player, large coffee table. Fireplace with wood burning stove. A good selection of DVDs and CDs is available. |
| Other: | The house is large, built over 3 floors and all rooms are well proportioned. Total area 208 sq metres. Traditional floors but rugs provided. Guests have described it as elegant, but still comfortable and homely. Lots of pictures, books & board games. |
| Cleaning/towels/ linen/maid service: |
Towels and linen provided in price. Property cleaned between lets, more often by agreement. See terms and conditions for more details. Please provide own towels for the beach and pool area. 2 week guests get £50 reduction. |
| Amenities/Facilities: | hob/stove oven fridge/freezer microwave dishwasher washing machine iron/ironing board satellite tv central heating cot high chair barbecue private pool (for sole use of guests) |
| Location Type: |
Notes on accommodation
The property is traditionally built in stone and all windows have shutters. Large rooms and high ceiling help keep you cool too. The property is about 500m above sea level. It is a delight to get back to the villa and pool after spending a day sightseeing in the heat of the valleys. The villa is suitable for children as it is far from busy roads etc. Adults must supervise children at all times in the pool area of course.
Accessibility
The house is not suitable for wheelchair users. The cobbled mule track from the house to the main car park in Livizzano is quite steep so flat shoes are best. The mule track up to San Cassiano (5 mins) is also quite steep. Most people manage easily, we have guests in their 70's with knee replacements who have managed fine, just take it slowly - it's a lovely walk and there is no rush! Local villages and towns are not suitable for wheelchair users as pavements are often narrow with steep kerbs.
Outside
Private pool, is 1.4m deep, 7m wide 4.5m across. Not overlooked. The water is treated with saline not chlorine so kind to skin and good for buoyancy. The pool water can be lit at night. Pool open mid-May until end of September. Solar panels heat domestic water supply and any surplus goes to pool. This raises the water temperature but effectiveness obviously depends on weather conditions. Sometimes we leave the pool open until end of October but as we cannot guarantee this it is not reflected in the price and is at our discretion. Sun terrace and shaded loggia dining areas are lit. Family sized stone built BBQ on loggia. Also table and chairs + brolly on sun terrace. Also veranda at front of house. Terraced garden with vines, masses of herbs for guests' use and young olive trees.
Coast/Beach
Viaregggio beach is about 1.30 mins away, a thriving town which is well worth a visit. If you have more time other beaches of Tuscany including those on the island of Elba and Cinque Terre are also accessible. The whole area is wonderful walking country with many marked ways. Walking books & loads of maps in house.
Golf
We don't know of any golf courses locally.
Skiing
Skiing available half an hour's drive at Abetone. Good ski lifts.
Special interest holidays
A local restaurant proved cookery courses which you can details of from our website (weblink at the bottom of this page). Spa town of Bagni di Lucca 10 mins away, thermal baths in the hot springs highly recommended, also a thermal pool. Seasonal outside swimming pool in Bagni di lucca also fed with natural spa water. We can also provide chefs who will cook for you and give lessons at the villa.
You can fish in the local rivers, a permit costs €10.
Travel
Pisa airport by motorway is about 1 hr 20 mins, local roads about 1.30 mins. Car hire is essential. No frills airlines fly to Pisa. Rail link from Pisa via Lucca to Bagni di Lucca is cheap and useful. Check out www.trenitalia.it. Easyjet, Ryanair, Thompsonfly, others fly from Standsted, Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gatwick, Leeds/Bradford, L'pool, Luton, Manchester, N'castle, Nott'm East Mids. The list is always growing.
Distances
Villa is in a village with general stores, butcher, post office, church and trattoria 5 mins walk away. More amenities at Bagni di Lucca about 10-15 mins drive away. Historic Lucca, a beautiful walled town with fabulous shops is about 1 hr away. Florence itself about 1hr 30 mins. Our website gives full directions to the village from Pisa airport and links to maps.
Further details
Our website gives lots more information about the villa, and has many more photos. You can also see previous guests' comments. The house itself has masses of maps and leaflets on local walks and places to visit. There is also a huge selection of books available for guests, and plenty of other things to make your stay a fabulous one.
Booking notes
We offer £50 discount on 2 week bookings or more. Good discounts on last minute bookings - ask for details. We require a 30% non returnable deposit to secure your dates. At the time of booking we will give you details of the bank account to pay into etc. Full payment is needed 8 weeks before your holiday starts. We can also offer reductions if a couple just want to use one of the accommodations floors, ie one bedroom and one bathroom only. Please enquire at time of booking for rates.
Guest comments
'Absolutely loved it, definitely coming back. We were so impressed with the villa and its facilities, not to mention how clean it was'. Adel, June 2010.
'We escaped to the hills of Tuscany, and what a wonderful time it was!' A&V, Chicago, May 2011.
'We had a wonderful stay as always, we recommend eating at Santinas, but not good for the waistband!' B&C, June 2011.
'Our kids loved the pool, playing for hours in the water, we are all sad to go home, lovely food in Bagni di Lucca at Del Sonno's , tasty and cosy'...SB, Belgium, July 2011.
'We are looking back on our great time in Livizzano, it's cold & dark here in Sweden now. We miss the pool, the weather, the walking, the food & the very nice people we met.' D&E, Sweden , Sept 2011.
'Many thanks for the use of your villa, so much to see & do in a week, a well organised house & lots of useful information,' J&M, Sept, 2011.
Owner profile
About the owner
I bought La Casa di Livizzano to restore it, and now the ownership of it is shared between myself and my son Ben. I and my husband Mike spend a lot of time there, particularly in the early Spring when we are getting ready for the season. We are retired now and hope to be able to spend a little more time at the house in the future. We normally take 2 weeks in the high summer for ourselves and friends but rent the rest of the season out to friends, family, or people who find us on the internet like yourselves.
We have got to know people in the village and we go to Italian classes in England in order to get the most out of our time at the house. We love going into Bagni di Lucca for coffee or a meal, we are greated like old friends and it's good to be able to chat in Italian.
Year purchased: 2003
Why the owner chose a home in this location
Dear holiday seekers
If you stay at La Casa di Livizzano you will be experiencing a truly rural way of life in a traditional Tuscan house, that is large enough to share with your friends and family. This is what attracted me to buy the house from an Italian family who wanted to retire to the coast. I built a pool & restored and modernised the house, but kept the feeling of space and coolness which is important. Every year we do as much improvement as we can afford. We use the house regularly and we know whatever we like, so will our guests, and that gives us great pleasure. People say how can you rent it out to strangers? But we like the idea that people are enjoying the house, and it is not left empty when we can't be there.
We hope you enjoy your stays there as much as we do.
Unique benefits of the property
We feel San Cassiano is the ideal holiday locations as it's quiet, but you can still access the popular tourist spots of Florence, Pisa and Lucca. Our property is very private but you are not isolated. There are village shops just 5 minutes walk away and no busy roads to worry about. The views are wonderful and with the pool to yourselves there is really no need to rush around. Everyone can relax. The house is plenty big enough for a large family of 7, but also works well for one or two couples as there is one double room on the top floor and one on the lower ground floor, plus a bathroom each.
I have seen villas with bedrooms subdivided in order to sleep more people. This ruins the feel of the house I think, and I have kept to the original layout of the bedrooms for this reason.
For booking and further information
Property Ref IT598
Contact Name:
Sue Gower
(UNITED KINGDOM) +44 01908561351
Owners Website: Click here
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Property Ref IT598
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