Villa Chicci is one of the many historic summer residences once built in the area by members of the local bourgeoisie, who were keen to escape the heat of the city and enjoy a vacation spent walking, reading and relaxing in the country.
The villa dates from the 17th Century when Elena's great-grandfather and great-grandmother settled after they had it built. After that, the villa changed hands in 1917, but came back in to the hands of the Cicchi family. There were still some generations before one of the family members decided to change their lives re-attach themselves to the house as a resident. Since the villa is too big for today's family, Elena decided to open a part of the villa as a holiday home for travellers who want to experience Italy in areas different from those in the holiday centres on the coast.
Read more about Villa Cicchi
You will find many original features including antique photos, old books and furniture that all help to re tell the story. Elena is also is happy to tell the story of the manor in a deeply inspiring tone. You can take a trip down to the basement which is an experience: in these areas, a tradition is to make the so-called wine Cotto :. The wine is produced in small barrels, that were closed tight and the burnt wine was left to rest for at least a decade and preferably longer.
You can enjoy relaxing days at Villa Cicchi by the pool on the nice sun terrace right by the villa. The garden slopes upward and is long rather than wide. You will be thrilled to hear that their restaurant received very favourable reviews and is featured in several food guides. Weddings are often held here for this reason but they are in an area away from the pool and terrace.
There are six rooms that are rented to guests and they are all decorated to create a vintage atmosphere, yet will all of today's necessities. They all have a private bathroom with a shower and a toilet, a hairdryer and a television. One thing you will notice after checking in is that the hallway is quite narrow - but when you get into the rooms, you have plenty of space. It is possible to add extra beds in almost all of them.
What sets the standard rooms from the others, is that the frescoes have not been restored. They are also somewhat smaller than the others, but have the advantage of being closest to the exit to the terrace of the pool.
Superior rooms have frescoes on the ceilings and the distinctive high antique beds from the 1800's. There are three of them and one has the opportunity to be 'connected' with the junior suite.
The Junior suite belonged to the head of the family. It is located on the corner of the villa and faces north and east and is furnished in baroque style. This is space to add extra beds.
