Poggio a Vento was the 'casa da signore', home of the lord, of a castle documented in 1179, when it was owned by the monks of the nearby Badia a Passignano.
During the 15th century it became a village of peasants and was abandoned in the Sixties. Our father discovered the magic of the place and was spellbound by the spectacular view he saw from the top of the hill. The building was very decayed, but its walls, doorways, arched windows, every detail of the medieval architecture survived and has been brought back to life with a careful restoration under the control of the government as the whole tiny village of Poggio a Vento is on the Italian monument list.
The oldest part of the house, dating back to the Middle Ages, has two large bedrooms, with windows opening onto the Chianti hills.
Both have been decorated with our old Tuscan furniture adding new pieces chosen among the best products of Florentine woodcarvers.
We got permission from the government to create modern en suite bathrooms, tiled with glazed terracotta produced in this area. Terracotta, so typical of Tuscany, is the material of the old bricks we have found in the house and reused to pave the rooms.
The monks of the Middle Ages used our dining room in the past: the large room, where we placed a sitting corner, has fireplace, doorway and washbasin with decorations in 'pietra serena', the stone used in Florence and surroundings since the Renaissance: they washed their hands for hygienic and rituals reasons before lunch and dinner.
Our fully equipped kitchen has an ancient fireplace; old marble encloses the modern cooker and sink, in harmony with the rest of the room.
The first floor also has beamed ceilings, whitewashed like in old times when lime was used to disinfect: it was a separate apartment for a family of farmers. We have created two very large bedrooms with en suite bathroom, each furnished with our antique wardrobes and chests of drawers. The one overlooking the garden is large enough for our old 'emperor size' wrought iron bed; in the other one we placed a carved wooden bed with baldachin. The last small, cosy room has two wrought iron twin beds. If you want to watch TV, read or rest indoor, the sitting room, with a comfortable sofa and armchairs, will be the ideal place.
The garden, separated from the village by a high medieval wall, opens on the hills of Greve in Chianti, Panzano, Castellina and Radda in a wide, spectacular view. A corner with a dining table, deck chairs on the meadow and a pool allow you to live unforgettable moments in the open air: breath the clear Chianti air around you!
