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farmhouses tuscany
Farmhouses in Tuscany
Spending your vacation in the countryside in a Tuscan farmhouse or country home may include dining with the host family and other guests, assisting in the grape or olive harvest or merely enjoying the quiet intimacy of a stay in the countryside independently from the farm.
Many farmhouse hosts also help to organize activities for their guests, from horseback riding to mountain biking and from providing information on local hiking trails to offering Tuscany cooking classes and wine tastings. Many farmhouses have recently added swimming pools to their properties to offer their guests the opportunity to cool down during the warm Tuscan summers.
In your searches across the Web you've probably come across the term "agriturismo" and have probably wondered what the term actually means.
Agriturismo, or "agricultural tourism / agritourism", gives ones the chance to experience true rural Tuscan life. It means that actual working farms have opened their homes to offer rustic to elegant accommodation.
Generally based on or around a farmhouse villa, winery or castle, these are often family-run operations which offer accommodation that ranges from bed and breakfasts to large apartments and separate buildings that include living areas, kitchens and private bathrooms.
Most accommodation in Tuscany is in original farmhouses or farm buildings. A great deal of effort goes into the renovation of the farmhouses to preserve their original architectural forms. Built to a traditional formular of thick stone walls, exposed wooden rafters, often fashioned from hefty chesnut trees, terracotta tile roofs and floors, there is a pleasing simplicity about these farmhouses. The farmhouses make ideal holiday accommodation for couples, families and groups of travellers to Italy.
Tuscan contryside
There is a unique place where you do not need
words to make yourself understood, or comparisons to feel that you are
well, or strong sensations in order to feel emotional. It is the Tuscan
countryside and you are its guest. And so, discover a holiday that
immediately feels familiar: the agritourism. A walk up to that old
village, a trip on horseback, a moment of astonishment inside a parish
church, a lunch rich with typical products. The Tuscan countryside is a
natural environment where the centuries-old presence of man has
modelled the profiles of the hills. The farmhouses, the medieval
villages, the rows of vines, the olive groves, the cypresses: with a
Tuscan farmhouse you can enjoy a green, healthy, relaxing and real
holiday.
A holiday that gives you the chance to rediscover the pace and the products of the countryside
Tuscan farmhouses
stay holidays are particularly good for families, thanks to the
relaxing and restful settings, the open spaces for children to run
around in and for the opportunity they give to witness farming and
agriculture first hand.
Tuscan farmhouses stay holidays can provide the most
thrilling and unexpected experiences like watching a chick being born,
the first attempts of a foal or lamb to stand up on its feet, taking
part in grape harvesting or in olive crushing, safely observing how
honey is collected from a beehive, making cheese or salting ham.
These
are all activities that help develop and reinforce, both in children as
well as in many adults, an awareness of the origins of food and an
understanding of the laws of nature. For this reason a farmhouse holiday has
an important educational value and is a precious means for establishing
a sense of collaboration and satisfaction in “accomplishing tasks
together”. This is a concept which is too often lost in today’s
frenzied pace of life. The farms particularly interested in welcoming
families with pets and providing demonstrations and educational
experiences based on agricultural activities must satisfy certain
regulated requirements: the guests must be put up by the owner or by a
member of the family; first-hand accounts attesting to the family and
farm history; an educational programme both for adults and children on
the activities on the farm and for the discovery of the surrounding
area must be provided (with educational and support material); there
must be sufficient space both inside and outside; the farm must be
quipped with everything necessary for practical training and lessons;
pets must be allowed in the guests’ area and in communal spaces; a
fenced area for guests’ dogs and information on the veterinary services
available in the area must be made available to guarantee the
well-being and the health of pets.
Beautiful villages in Italy
Slow food
Travelling in Italy with your pets
Farmhouse holidays in Tuscany
The ideal way to discover and experience Tuscany is carefully defined
and protected by regional laws. Farmhouse holidays, although not exactly of
Tuscan origin, are one of the most popular ways of discovering the
region. Many people see it as the ideal kind of holiday and the best
way to experience and enjoy the Tuscan territory.
Farm holiday
establishments, or agriturismi, have been around for a long time so
they are no longer a novelty although they still present some
innovative features and are set to keep evolving in the future.
But
what is a farm holiday exactly? This is how Tuscan law no. 30/2003
defines it: “Farm holiday businesses are those establishments where the
welcoming and accommodating of paying guests, by single or associated
farmers, is carried out in connection with and as a complement to the
farming business, which shall however always remain the main interest”.
There are therefore two fundamental aspects: welcoming guests and
farming, the farm’s principle activity.
Tuscany was one of the
first regions to define farmhouse holidays with a set of constantly updated
regulations. Tuscany is certainly at the forefront where regulations of
all aspects of farm holiday enterprises are concerned, from regulatory
issues (classification, health and hygiene, the working hours to be
dedicated to farm holiday activities compared with the time dedicated
to the farming activity), to those aimed at identifying a series of
collateral activities. These strong points are explained particularly
well in the regulations for the implementation of law no. 30/2003,
which identifies a number of additional elements farm holiday
establishments can use to develop their business. These elements are
Our flavours and Traditional food, On horseback, With my pets, With the
family, Being together, No barriers.
Tuscany The Metallifere Hills : Geothermal energy abounds
The
Metallifere hills are the largest range in the Tuscan Appennines,
located in the western portion of Tuscany. The range runs through four
provinces: the southeast part of Livorno, the southern part of Pisa,
the southwestern part of Siena and the northwestern part of Grosseto.
Excluding
the Poggio di Montieri and Cornate di Gerfalco peaks (both over 1,000
m), the majority of the range is hilly and rich in various local
minerals. The area between Pisa and Grosseto is noted for its
geothermal energy which manifests in sulfur geysers. The area
includes various cities and towns: Sassetta, Campiglia Marittima and
Suvereto in the Livorno province, Monteverdi Marittimo, Pomarance and
Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina in the Pisa province, Radicondoli and
Chiusdino in the Siena province, Monterotondo Marittimo, Montieri,
Roccastrada, Massa Marittima, Gavorrano, Scarlino and the northern part
of Castiglione della Pescaia in the Grosseto province.
During
Etruscan times, the Metallifere hills were known for their mineral
outcrops; extraction continued for centuries and reached its peak in
the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries before
it began to rapidly decline. In order to service the mineral mining, a
railroad route was built. It is now almost completely defunct.
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