Coming Soon....

Oh I am so excited!! I am so pleased to anticipate you this great property which will be ready for your stay in about a couple of months. Let’s see .. from May yes! you could rent this great place for your holiday. This is really the latest in comfort! This is really something difference.

Ok I am telling you everything… from the beginning.

 This detached villa is dates back to the early seventies… about 40 years ago …

At the end of 2009 the owner, a friend of mine called me for an advice: “does it make any senses restoring the villa to rent it to your clients? do you think they would like it? How should I do it ? ” He wanted to understand which kind of restoration works he needed to do. 

My answer, in these cases, is always the same: do it as it was for you! … As you should rent or even buy live it with your family! The most comfortable and nice you do it the best answer you have from the vacation villas rental people.

Well, after our first meeting things have really grown up!

I knew he is going on.. he continuously kept me updated but I could not imagine which level of quality he gets ! I went there two days ago for a visit…. and I was impressed. Amazed.

First of all some words on the Location. It joins one of the most sunny location of the hill of Piano di Mommio just above the beaches of Viareggio in Versilia. A few steps from the village itself of Piano di Mommio where you can walk  to the groceries,  supermarket and pizzerias.

The beaches are about 4 km away. It means you can drive there in less than 10 minutes.  

Lucca is about 20 km – 30 minutes driving. Camaiore a nice small town to visit is less than 10 minutes driving away as well as the great town of PietraSanta.

After that now I try to explain with this my bad English what you will find once here at villa.

A huge terrace with wonderful panorama of the valley leading to the beaches.

An unusual - personally designed - pool with a Jacuzzi area

A spacious and modern living room and a “avant-garde” fire place and a fully equipped kitchen

Four bedrooms and two bathrooms and up here..

From all the windows what you can admire the typical Tuscan landscape made of olive oil trees countryside and an unforgettable quietness. Every window is a painting…. nothing less than a real painting.

Ok.. I know.. until here actually nothing new!!

But this great owner went beyond and really though your comfort and have provided the villa with A sauna a small A small space provided with Jim items and a Turkish bath!!! And of course Air conditioning in every rooms and wifi will be not missing. Have you understood??  This is a private S.P.A. The latest in comfort in a so traditional landscape!! Never seen something like that in our countryside.

Not only – Another important news is that the owner belongs one of the most antique and famous Bagno in Viareggio and he is very pleased to offer a whole day at his Bagno where you could join our typical local way of beaching…

And now enjoy some pictures I took straight away! Use your creative fantasy to understand how it will be once ready. 

What a satisfaction!

This morning I woke and got up very early...  it so soo cold.... freezing here!
I lighted the fire in the fireplace... I prepared a good long coffee and sat on my lounge with a plaid and the laptop on the knees..... see below what i found in my mailbox...
Wow! That's the reason I love my job. I love make people happy!!!

"Hi Debora:

It's been a very long time coming, but I finally wrote a report to TripAdvisor about our wonderful experience in Lucca, made possible by you. You may not even remember us but my sister, Maribeth Stein, was your main point of contact.

Here is what I wrote. Please feel free to share it with your travelers and please send a copy to Duccio. Thank you.

In the fall of 2010, I and four other women rented a 3 bedroom apartment for our 10 day stay in Lucca. To rate this trip on a scale of 1-10, it was an eleven.
We booked our reservation online through Debora @ Lucca Holiday Homes. Debora was fantastic. She was very response to our many online inquires pre-departure, and was very attentive once we arrived. She greeted us at our apartment, she connected my cell phone to receive calls from the States, and she made dinner reservations for our first night. Our landlord, Duccio, also lives on the premises and has a total of 3 apartments for rent. We occupied the downstairs, 3-bedroom, 3-bath unit. It was spacious, with modern bathroom and a large living space. The kitchen was small, but it was perfect for our needs. Duccio never intruded, was extremely helpful with recommendations, and was the nicest landlord you can imagine.
Our experience was incredible. Our apartment was "within the wall" of Lucca and I would highly recommend staying within the wall if you enjoy food, wine and shopping. The only downside was the noise, particularly if you need to have the windows open. We traveled in late September so the weather was to too hot.
I cannot say enough good things about our entire experience. Debora and Duccio were fantastic and the city of Lucca is everything you want Italy to be.
Carol G"

Thank you Carol!!

these are some pictures of the apartemnt where they stayed. 

Not Everybody may know…

Today I would like to spend some words about the breathtaking countryside around Lucca.

I must to do it as you know what to expect. The typical inquire I daily receive is for a villa with garden, pool and panorama located near Lucca and within a walking or cycling distance to a small village in order to but bread and groceries for the day. Preferably walking distance to a restaurant – not expensive – also. Wi-fi and air conditioning is very appreciated, often a “must be”.
Well, I am very sorry to say that something like that… almost… does not exist… not around Lucca… (except for very few exceptions in a unordinary price level).
In the common imaginary Lucca means Tuscany and Tuscany means Siena and Florence. Yes it is true. Lucca Siena and Florence belong to the same Region, Tuscany… but the surrounding countryside they offer is completely different one from each other…
that’s’ right the reason why Tuscany is consider one of the most beautiful land of the world… as its landscape is continuously changing… and one is better than the other.. but at the end you don t know which one you prefer. In one word you fall in love of Tuscany wherever you are holidaying….

Lucca’s countryside is very rural but it isn't like the most famous Tuscan sceneries of Siena or Florence's countryside, which is quite flat, with yellow rolling low hills with larger roads leading you from one small village to another one… but it is in fact the opposite. Usually between the Villa and Lucca there isn’ t anything.. no small villages spread all around where you can walk or cycle for a visit or for a coffee…

So first of all you must have a car, otherwise you'd literally be stranded. You will need it for everything, from going to the local restaurant to going grocery shopping or reaching the city. There is no form of public transportation in most areas, so you cannot depend on that. Unless you are professional cyclist or a mountain biker you cannot stay in our countryside without a car.

The roads usually run uphill amongst olive oil trees and vineyards, sometime also inside a wood, and they are narrow and steep most of the time, with lots of narrow bends and in complete countryside.
The entrances to the villa's are usually, again, very narrow and sometimes steep.

I am not trying to put you off, but just warning you and trying to give you a good idea of what it's really like, so you can be well prepared. I don t want you to spend a lot of time looking for something that cannot be found. So if you wish to holiday in a villa in Lucca’s countryside you probably have to do without the walk to the town in the morning... but in a short driving distance you find everything you may need...

Let me tell you! I was born in Lucca and grew up in the countryside and now I live within the city's walls.. I am very happy but I often miss my countryside, my wood, my olive oil trees and the panorama over the valley leading to the town..  but I am also very fortunate as my parents live still there and i can escape from everything in a "few" minutes driving....

I honestly stronlgy reccommend you to try the experience in our contryside ... you will enjoy an unforgettable atmosphere. In fact, the up-side to all of this, is that it is literally an escape from 'civilization', you have breath-taking panoramas (from some of the Villas you could see the big ferry boats leaving Livorno’s port about 40 km south of Lucca!!) , fresh air, complete peace and quiet and a beautiful countryside. It is the real Tuscan experience and not the touristy one. And most importantly, although it seems like you are in the middle of nowhere, Lucca with its art, all its squares, churches, stores, shops, groceries and restaurants is only 10 to 15 minutes away, so you are still close by, while still enjoying the beauty of the countryside.… You usually could not walk to the usually but you will drive to Lucca in 10 minutes.

Another important thing I want you to know is that in these areas there is usually no air conditioning (only fans) because there is no need. The countryside is very ventilated and has an opposite temperature to the cities, in fact you may even be a little cold at night without a light jumper on.

Usually it is almost impossible to find heated pools .



Often there is no internet broadband signal… even though works are in progress and day by day the most of the areas in the countryside are going to be provided with wifi. But don t forget to ask it… if you forget to mention it in your questions you may be disappointed!!

A Guided Tour of Pisa

During the 4 years I have been working as a tour guide I have always found myself trying to convince people that in Pisa there isn’t just the leaning tower (not only tourists but also Italians!). The city is to blame in many ways, because they count on the advertisement of one of the most famous monuments in the world and couldn’t care less about the rest of the city…as an obvious result, so do most of the tourists that come to visit. I have noticed that many people don’t even know that the famous leaning tower is nothing more than the bell tower to one of the most stunning cathedrals in Italy and that it is located in the so called Miracle SQUARE…hence, there are another 3 monuments and 2 museums in the same square; of these three monuments, all of them hold a historical and/or an architectural record and are all breathtaking. The fact that the square is surrounded by an array of cheap-looking, touristy market vendors that sell the same ‘made in China’ souvenirs (that nowadays you can find everywhere in the world) does not help the projected, world-wide, image of it at all. To make things worse, the main streets, that lead in to the square, are again filled with foreign, ‘in your face’, knick-knack vendors, bars and cafes that are way past tourist-traps, one of the most ‘historical’ McDonalds… and typical New York, Little Italy style restaurants… with the waiters desperately trying to pull you in, so they can feed you one of the most expensive pizzas that are around. So I fully understand the first impact people have when they arrive in Pisa…speaking of arriving, the station closer to the tower is Pisa San Rossore… You can literally read on people’s faces what they are thinking when they get off the train…’Where on earth have we landed? In the middle of nowhere?’, ‘Which way do we go now?’, ‘Where is someone we can ask for directions or even a map of the city?’… So at this point, you are probably thinking, why in the world is she trying to convince people to come to Pisa??!! One of the miracles of the so called Miracle Square (which by personal experience only works on people who are interested in history, art, architecture etc. and not by Cheap knick-knacks or McDonalds) is that it will enwrap you into a cocoon of beauty and amazement. Once you are in front or inside these architectural wonders, with someone (hopefully me) explaining and showing you all the details, that otherwise you’d miss, you will automatically forget about the surroundings of the square. So I can totally guarantee that you will not regret one little bit visiting this beautiful square accompanied by a tour guide, who will not only explain and make you appreciate the city, but will also save you from all these tourist traps and in my case, will come and pick you up from the station, so you don’t get lost! Finally, even if after all this, you are not totally convinced by my reasons, you still can't miss seeing one of the most famous monuments in the world! If you'd like to read further information on Pisa follow this link: http://www.mlftuscantours.it/en/itinerari/citta/pisa By Maria L. Felice