I don’t need to say much about the charm of Tuscany—it’s well known: beautiful landscapes, amazing culture, friendly people, and delicious food and drinks.

Plenty of reasons to spend your holiday there.

Our house, La Nostra Favola, is in northern Tuscany, in the Apennines between Pistoia and Montecatini, at an altitude of 770 meters.

Summers in Italy can get quite hot, so the elevation of our house is a real relief. Many Italians head to the mountains in summer for the same reason.

Our house is in the municipality of Marliana, in the small village of Avaglio. From the village, a narrow road climbs a bit higher and ends at five houses—one of them is ours. The last 300 meters are unpaved and, in some spots, only wide enough for one car, which is quite common in Italy. Our property is just over 2,000 m² and includes a few hundred meters of forest. The entire plot is fully fenced.

There are several ways to reach our area. If you’re flying, there are three airports. The closest is Florence, about 45 minutes away, but it has limited airline options. Most people use Pisa airport, which is about an hour’s drive and has lots of charter flights. The third option is Bologna, about 90 minutes by car.

Driving from the Netherlands or Germany is perfectly doable. We usually go via Switzerland and Milan, then let the navigation decide the rest. There are three main routes: via Bologna and then Florence, or towards Bologna and then turn off to La Spezia, or via Genoa. The last two routes follow the coast, and before Pisa, you turn toward Florence. After the Pistoia or Montecatini exit, you head into the mountains and drive to our house. Both routes take about the same time, but the road from Pistoia is wider and is our favorite.