We have enjoyed lovely hotels on our visit, beginning in Rome and then in Sorrento. Buoninsegna in the Tuscan hills to the east of Siena is blissful. Bro and SIL have the room with the two windows in the top right. It is called the Limonaia, after the lemons that grow on the property. We are also surrounded by pomegrantes, apples, olives and grapes. This setting has to be good for our health!
Every time we arrive at the entry portal I feel a sense of relief that we have arrived at our home away from home.
Two elegant flights of stairs lead to the main floor with the bedrooms.
The view from the upper portico is breathtaking.
The Villa Buoninsegna was built in the second half of the seventeenth century by Count Pietro Buoninsegni, who is said to have left his ancestral home in Poggio Santa Cecilia over a love quarrel. When the quarrel was patched up, he returned home, leaving the Villa Buoninsegna to be inhabited by a series of tenant farmers, or mezzadri, who managed the estate and split its production. The farm registers listing agricultural products handed paid to the manager are still held by the current owners.
After World War II, Italy's mezzadria system was dismantled and farmers moved to the cities to work in factories.Count Duccio Buoninsegni sold the ancestral home in the 1970s and restored Villa Buoninsegna, furnishing it with fine furniture and paintings. New owners fully restored the Villa in 2003, preserving the original structure while converting it to a guest residence.
This afternoon, we all enjoyed sitting at the dining room on the second floor to connect with family and friends via our computers.
The main floor breakfast room is also very peaceful.
And the breakfast is bountiful with top quality local products. Even the apple juice is artisanal.
I love the colours of the vines that are growing on the villa's walls. Fall is here.
Sadly, tonight is our last night in this lovely oasis. It has made such good memories.
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