All was clean, comfortable and well kept.

by Marti, U.S.A.

Originally published on Slow Travel

###Location

The rental is in the village of Civitella Marittma, southwest of Siena. The village is easy to access and within two hours of many worthwhile destinations in Tuscany and Maremma.

###Nearby Amenities

We were able to walk in the village to shop for meat, groceries, breads, and sundries. There were two small cafes for coffee and one very nice restaurant. A larger village, Paganico, with more options for shopping and dining was about 20 minutes drive from there.

###The House/Apartment

The building was old, but not historical. The village is simple, built on a hilltop, well maintained. The house was quiet, with occasional cars or people walking by. The parking was a short walk away. There was a stairway up to the entrance and a step down inside from the entrance. Nice kitchen, bedroom, bath with shower, sitting room with two sofa sleepers, and a small utility room with a washing machine.

###Garden

There is only a small sitting area at the top of the stairs leading up to the entrance. Potted plants at the entrance.

###Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

All was clean, comfortable and well kept. There were fresh flowers in a vase, a basket of local food items, a cell phone to use, a small library of paperbacks, guidebooks and maps, and clean linens.

###Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The bad was comfortable, as was the sofa sleeper. There was adequate storage for our bags and clothes and the bathroom was clean and very functional.

###Kitchen

We cooked several meals in the kitchen and found it to be very usable. The propane stove worked well. There are limited pots and pans. The kitchen was simply outfitted, but very functional and we enjoyed cooking and eating there.

###Problems or Bonuses

The village was incredibly charming and we enjoyed walking around, exchanging greetings with villagers and enjoying the architecture and beautiful overlooks of the valley. We are spoiled by having clothes dryers at home and had trouble drying our clothes on the line when the weather turned cool and rainy. One evening we were awakened at midnight by a group of village men walking and singing in beautiful harmony. It turned out to be a May 1 custom involving leaving bay (laurel) tree branches at the doorways of eligible maidens and serenading them. Very charming!

###Agency and Representatives (and price)

The owner and her husband were extremely informative, friendly and helpful. We locked ourselves out once and the owner’s mother came to get us back in (it would have been helpful to have more than one key or a spare hidden outside somewhere).

###Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

We would definitely recommend this rental. In fact, we found out about it from friends who had stayed there and recommended it. People need to be able to walk on fairly steep grades to walk around in the village and need to be able to climb stairs.

###Things to do in this area

We went out every day in our rental car and enjoyed visiting Siena, Lucca, Pisa, the coast, Montalcino, Montepulciano, some wineries, and an olive oil press. We spent a few days in Florence before the week in Civitella. We had many wonderful meals in the area. The people are gracious and understanding of tourists with limited Italian language skills. We can’t wait to go back.