Podere Sant’Angelo Tuscan Holiday Homes

For Italians the Maremma is synonymous with unspoilt nature, good traditional food and a slow way of life that hasn’t changed much over the last 50 years. The area has a mixture of rolling hills inland and flat former marshlands along the coast which is lined with sand dunes and pine forests.

Albegna apartment is located on the ground floor of the main farmhouse, a 300 year old stone barn nearby houses Capitorio and Zolferate apartments.

Albegna apartment is 50m2 and consists of a large bedroom with a double bed and a fold down single, a bathroom with a walk-in shower and a living room with a double fold down sofa The fully equipped kitchen corner is located here and has four gas rings, a fridge and a traditional stone sink. Glass doors open onto a covered west facing porticato with breathtaking views across the Albegna valley. This is a great place for outdoor eating and relaxing on the sofa. For sunbathing there’s the private garden and sun loungers.

Capitorio apartment (50m2) also looks westwards across the valley and has a private terrace for outside dining. Sun loungers are provided for sunbathing. The traditional Tuscan interior features chestnut beams, high ceilings, terracotta tiles, a fireplace and a traditional kitchen corner made of terracotta tiles with a stone sink. The large bedroom has a double bed and a fold down single, the bathroom has a walk-in shower, the living room has a double sofa bed and the kitchen corner, glass doors look out over the valley.

Zolferate (50m2) opens to the north with views of Monte Labro and the private garden full of aromatic Mediterranean plants. Like Capitorio, Zolferate has a traditional Tuscan interior with chestnut beams, fireplace and terracotta tiles. The living room has a fold down double sofa bed and contains the fully equipped kitchen corner with stone sink. The private terrace is a lovely place for outdoor dining.

All apartments can accommodate up to four guests. Good Wi-Fi access is available throughout the property. The whole property is located within a well-tended garden full of plants commonly found around the Maremma. At 700m it doesn’t get too hot in the summer, and it cools down nicely in the evenings.

Through several initiatives we’re trying to facilitate more sustainable visits to Podere Sant’Angelo. By 2024 we’ll have the following in place:

• electric power from 100% renewable sources
• low consumption LED lighting throughout
• double glazed windows
• eco- friendly products used for cleaning
• eco- friendly cleaning products provided for guests
• low water consumption shower heads
• reduced usage toilet flushing
• waste recycling
• low impact gardening techniques (watering limited to pots, no insecticides/ herbicides used, local indigenous plants used)
• information supplied to guests on local food producers

We have plans to install solar panels to reduce our reliance on LPG to produce hot water and heating.

There are several trails that start near Podere Sant’Angelo and so don’t require a car. Our guests enjoy these and other trails in the area. Southern Tuscany’s extinct volcano, Monte Amiata, is criss-crossed with trails through its amazing beech forests. Guests enjoy visiting the medieval hill-top villages in the area, many of which date from pre-Roman Etruscan times. The Val d’Orcia, the UNESCO world heritage area, with its long winding cypress lined roads leading to hill-top farms is a big hit. The Etruscan villages around Pitigliano to the south are another attraction. For wine lovers Montalcino, home of world famous Brunello red wine, is an interesting place to visit, as is nearby Sant’Antimo Abbey, southern Tuscany’s most beautiful historic building. The coast is just over an hour away and has some of Italy’s most beautiful and mostly undeveloped beaches The five mile long beach in the Parco Maremma nature reserve was recently voted the third most beautiful beach in Italy, again this is just over an hour from Podere Sant’Angelo.

Overall, Podere Sant’Angelo near Roccalbegna is an ideal ‘off-the-beaten-track’ place to re-connect with nature in a peaceful setting that also has lots of opportunities for exploration and discovery.

The owner of Podere Sant’Angelo, Graham, grew up in the North West of England and studied at St Andrews in Scotland. He then left the UK to live and work in many different countries. After spending a lot of time in some of the largest cities in the world, he now appreciates living in close contact with nature.

He’s been enjoying life here at Podere Sant’Angelo for more than fifteen years. It gives him enormous pleasure to share his experiences here in the Maremma with his guests. He’s happy to advise on where to visit and where guests can eat well. He knows lots of enjoyable walks around the area and is happy to share these with guests too.

What makes Podere Sant’Angelo such an amazing place for a holiday? There’s the peaceful, relaxing location, the proximity to amazing hill-top villages and some of Italy’s best beaches along the coast. The astonishing night sky never ceases to astound, the milky way stretches over the house with its shooting stars.