Hiking with Kids in Tuscany

Holidays with kids on a farm in Tuscany may prove to be a good choice if you wish to find an alternative to crowded seaside resorts. 

Sometimes you do not need to travel far from where you stay in order to offer kids a bit of adventure.

One early morning last summer we decided to go searching for blueberries in the woods surrounding our agriturismo.

All ready for a blueberry hunt

Baby Donatella is in the backpack while Punto decided to follow us

Our three little girls Valentina, Adriana, and baby Donatella, Miriam, our cuginetta from Germany (our former aupair who came to visit us for a few days), our old dog Punto, Raffaele and I.  

It was a pleasant sunny morning during one of the rainiest summers in Tuscany. 

Fields were incredibly green.

Bright summer morning in the fields at Il Poggio alle Ville

While searching for blueberries, I encouraged Valentina and Adriana, our eldest daughters, to look around and spot flowers and plants they had never seen before.

The simple beauty of nature

Just before entering the woods, we found a small bush with some blueberries, not too many. We tried to pick up as many as we could while Donatella was sound asleep... :-)

Very few but tasty

While entering the cool and refreshing forest, Valentina and Miriam became hungry and impatient, and started eating the blueberries that were meant for a pie… :-)

Hiking is fun

It is difficult to describe the perfume of the woods that morning… If I close my eyes and breathe right now, I can still feel the shooting and regenerating light air embracing all my body.

Mysterious woods

Punto enjoyed bathing in the little stream crossing the woods – it was difficult to determine him to come back.

Punto said: This is fun for me, too!

At one point, we saw a flying insect, big and shiny. 

It took me a while to understand what it was: a magical dragonfly. 

It was not easy to photograph this amazing dragonfly

Valentina and Adriana were so excited 

By the time we returned to the agriturismo for a swim in the pool, there were few blueberries left in our bowl. 

Instead, we had beautiful memories of a lovely hike in nature with our children to cherish and treasure. 

View of some over some fields at Il Poggio alle Ville in Mugello, Tuscany

Beautiful Old Tuscan Doors and Windows

My love for old Tuscan doors and windows started from the very first weeks of my new life in Italy nearly 18 years ago. I was always looking for postcards with windows surrounded by geranium pots or old wooden doors of charming countryside houses to send back home to family and friends. 

For all my childhood I lived in a big city and everyday I longed for a place in the countryside where I could go to play and run in the fields. My grandfather had told me stories of his family’s large farm, but the arrival of communism after the Second World War brought to an end the concept of private property. Hundreds of hectares were confiscated and decades of hard work vanished like smoke in the air. 

Little did I know that my childhood dreams would come true in different country… 

Here I am now helping to care for a place rich in history and simple beauty like Il Poggio alleVille.  My “new” countryside…

Old stable door with bright geraniums and a small lemon tree 

It is the entire merit of Nicoletta Gabbrielli, who carefully photographed our agriturismo last summer, that I realized how many beautiful doors and windows there are here too.

One of the two entrance doors in Villa Montagna

The contrast between the lively geraniums and the old door is quite special

Entrance door of our small chapel from 1720

During the renovation works in the mid-1990s, my mother-in-law (a former biologist specialized in wood restoration) insisted that all old doors inside the houses must be kept in place, restored and admired for their sheer beauty.

Old Tuscan door inside one of the farmhouses

Restored stable doors are quite fascinating

Nicoletta took some wonderful shots of internal and external windows in the sun.

Warm Tuscan sun on old Tuscan windows

She also captured some hidden doors of former stables that somehow I always ignored. 

Her photos helped us rediscover our place under many aspects, and we are truly grateful.

One day, behind this door, there will be a small museum

Just imagine two grandparents having a chat on this bench...

And remember: When one door closes, another opens. :-)

Farmhouse La Colombaia - under the staircase the doors of an old barn

500 Amore Mio: Our Four-Wheeled Mascot

A few years ago, Raffaele decided to move me from my home in Fiesole to Il Poggio alle Ville. He had little time to drive me around but missed me a lot.  The idea of spending the rest of my days in the countryside made me nervous – I’m an old city guy… 

I had never expected I would end up photographed and caressed by so many people...

My first hot and dry summer at Il Poggio alle Ville

Guests like to look at me from many angles and share their photos on Facebook. Some of their friends back home even suggested I should be bought and taken abroad! Raffaele of course would not allow that – Lucky me!

Thank you Remco for this nice shot! 

Willemien even made me look younger in this photo

I'm always part of the photo

Never thought I would enjoy the company of a big brother, but I actually do. We don't see much of each other in summer, but in winter we spend quite some time together. 

 

Last winter my big brother

One day, I finally got to meet my grandson. He’s a fine chap, very smart, well educated… These young kids are probably too hi-tech for my taste.

Here we are: my grandson and I

He's taller than me, handsome and good looking. I'm just charming (so I've heard).

Ronald and Barbara made it possible for me to meet my grandson for the first time

I told you - I get to be the star in the end

After all this time at Il Poggio alle Ville, I find it difficult to imagine going back to city life. Life here is easy, I relax in the sun, I attend all pizza parties and, most of all, I am part of memorable photos of dear guests.

So excited I made it to a wedding album

If I am to be restored, maybe I can even take you for a ride - but I can't compete with these guys...

Truly honoured by such a great company

Next time you come to Il Poggio alle Ville for your holidays, do stop by for a chat and a glass of wine.
We can enjoy the wonderful Tuscan sunsets together.

A New Beginning: Hope and Trust in Mother Nature

It is still Easter time for us since we celebrate both Catholic and Orthodox Easter in our family. A time of renewal and a time of faith. A time when Nature reconfirms its new life cycle giving us hope that there will be a fruitful year, especially after last year’s disastrous autumn when we were not able to produce even a few drops of our organic extravirgin olive oil. 

All over Tuscany, therefore in Mugello as well, olive trees were severely attacked by a parasite that enjoyed the unusually humid summer we had last year. All olives were destroyed and fell to the ground...

View from Villa Montagna over part of our olive trees - photo by Jaja Samaniego

Therefore we have to patiently wait for this autumn for a new production of this delicious and precious product, also called here in Tuscany “the green gold”.

The organic olive oil is "the king" of our products - photo by Nicoletta Gabbrielli

At Easter, children are reminded that the olive tree is a symbol of peace, of reconciliation and of eternal life – have you noticed that no matter what season you visit Tuscany all olive trees have the same green-silver colour?!

Valentina chose vibrant colours for her doves carrying an olive tree branch

Adriana, who's just three and a half, loved working with watercolours for her Easter dove at school 

Last autumn, Kriska and Johannes got married at Il Poggio alle Ville and our olive trees created the delicate atmosphere of a perennial shelter for their promises of eternal love and understanding.

Kriska and Johannes on the morning of their wedding - photo by Jaja Samaniego

Our "Adopt an Olive Tree" Programme is meant to enhance the awareness for this amazingly generous tree and to encourage everyone to be more involved in taking care of nature and fully appreciate the benefits that derive from organic agriculture.

Our historical guest Theo and Elly from the Netherlands with their adopted olive tree

One can learn how to prune olive trees or just come and enjoy harvesting

We wish you all to be able to dedicate a bit of your time to enjoy this particular time of the year and collect all the Energy Nature has to offer.

An old and graceful olive tree - photo by Jaja Samaniego