In the hills of Florence, less than half an hour from the city, estate with historical villas for sale. The buildings (mostly restored) include two stunning manorial dwellings and several rural outbuildings to be recovered for a total of 14 bedrooms. The villas are surrounded by well-kept 5,400-sqm gardens and 24.1 ha of agricultural land with vineyard and roughly 1,500 olive trees.
Major services are available in the nearby town (3km; 5'), and the historic center of Florence is less than a half-hour drive away. The proximity to the A1 highway also makes it easy to travel throughout Italy, while Tuscany's most famous art cities can be reached in just over an hour (Castellina in Chianti, Arezzo, Cortona, Montepulciano, Pienza...).
VILLA SAN MARTINO
Villa San Martino (904 sqm – 9,727 sqft, 8 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms) is a large historic building that most likely dates back to the late 9th century (as evidenced by an inscription found in the attic of the building). In 1125 the property figures as the location for a wedding celebrated between two important Florentine families. The villa in its present form was built in 1561 incorporating the old tower and is first surveyed in the 18th-century Catasto Lorenese. In 1802 the villa was further refined with the construction of a private chapel dedicated to St. Anthony. Between the 19th and the 20th century, the estate was owned by the noble Rigacci family, important officials in the government of Leopold I: they converted the villa first into a holiday resort, then into a permanent residence and built the beautiful garden all around.
In the 1980s the villa underwent a careful conservative restoration of the facades, which were entirely covered with the typical lime plaster used in the area. At the same time, the frescoed bands decorating the ceilings inside were also restored and preserved.
The villa is currently divided into three units that are used as the master's residence and guest apartments, respectively.
The main dwelling (657 sqm – 7,069 sqft, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms) opens with a large reception hall connected to a reading room with bathroom. Entering the hallway, one goes to the private office space (also connected to the reading room), the formal dining room, the stairwell, and the first bedroom located in the corner of the building. Halfway down the corridor a small cross room serves as an exit to the central courtyard and gives access to the kitchen. The staircase in the hallway goes up to the second floor: here one arrives in a spacious game room with a pool table that leads in turn to the master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, a large bedroom with a loggia, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. At the corner of the building, a large room with wooden beams is currently used as a storage room but could easily be converted into a large living room or bedroom. A trapdoor in the game room gives access to the attic, which is very useful as a storage.
A secondary staircase inside the villa, on the other hand, descends underground to the cellars, consisting of seven rooms that are also accessible from the outside.
A secondary door on the ground floor leads to apartment A (51 sqm – 549 sqft, 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom) consisting of living area with kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom. Another door leads to apartment B (142 sqm – 1,528 sqft, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) on two floors. On the ground floor is a small entrance hall and a kitchen. Going up to the second floor, however, one finds two living rooms, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The aristocratic chapel (54 sqm – 581 sqft) has independent access and is a single nave with double-height ceiling. Behind the altar, a door opens to the old sacristy while a side staircase gives access to the raised choir.
The old barn (124 sqm – 1,334 sqft) on two floors houses several rooms that could be easily adapted and converted into a charming guesthouse.
Completing the property are the pigsty (
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