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--Italian Vacation Villas

Casale Santo Stefano is a wonderful villa with great views located in one of the most beautiful areas of the Lucchese countryside.

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The city of Lucca should be viewed from its 16th century walls and towers

Tuscany is unique in the world. It is an area blessed with a diversity of landscape, a temperate climate, artistic and cultural masterpieces, unique architecture, well-developed transportation links and natural parks. The fifth largest region in Italy, Tuscany’s landscape of hills and mountains, interspersed with valleys carved out by its major rivers, changes dramatically as it rolls down to the plains near the Tyrrhenian Sea. The countryside is beautiful, and sentinel cypress trees, soft amber and yellow-hued country villas and farmhouses, and old stonewalls greet the visitor everywhere. Different types of trees—oak, cypress and evergreen— appear, often surrounding a hamlet or isolated farmhouse. They are interspersed with vineyards, olive groves and fields of grain or sunflowers. On top of many hills, villages and towns, dating back to medieval times enjoy spectacular views of the splendid landscape. And throughout the region there are major historical centers of art and architecture such as Florence, Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Pienza, Pisa, Montepulciano, Monte Oliveto Maggiore and Pistoia.

Lucca is one of the many centers of olive oil production in Italy

The Tuscany holiday villas and farmhouses shown in this section of our Website are located in and around the unique city of Lucca. Surrounded by the well-preserved 16th century ramparts that once served to defend it, Lucca has preserved its characteristics since Roman times. With its ramparts that serve as a recreational area for its citizens and its inner city closed to most traffic, Lucca offers much to the visitor on foot or by bicycle. While on holiday, one can explore the city’s numerous churches, including its grand Romanesque cathedral, wander through its narrow, winding streets and alleys lined with alluring shops, and visit the Piazza del Anfiteatro, once the site of a Roman coliseum, that preserves its ancient form. Lucca has a museum in the house where Giacomo Puccini was born, and holds an annual opera festival in June as one of several arts events. There is a well-known antiques market in Lucca on the third weekend of each month

	Visitors to Lucca enjoy renting bikes and exploring the city's streets and pathways along the walls

Leaving the city gates, there are excursion possibilities to nearby interesting historic Tuscany villas, to Pisa and its famous Leaning Tower, to the foothills of the Apuan Alps, and to the seaside beach resorts of Viareggio and Forte di Marmi. Given its location and well-developed transportation system, longer day trips can easily be made from Lucca area villas to the Cinque Terre, to Carrara where Michelangelo quarried the marble for his statues and where sculptors still carry out their art, and to Florence and Siena. The area is renowned for its fine olive oil, its wines and its many gastronomic specialties. Lucca also offers numerous possibilities for those interested in hiking in the well-known mountain area of the Garfagnana, or exploring the beautiful countryside by bicycle.