La Corte di Lorano

A remarkably relaxing family villa in Tuscany, La Corte di Lorano is secluded but not reclusive. Sharing the seven hundred acre estate with similar sturdy stone buildings and with a castle, the 16th century villa takes its name from the striking internal courtyard it encircles, which now provides privacy for an al fresco dining area. A few steps below the house, a twelve metre swimming pool is sunk into lawned surrounds, and a poolside pergola looks out to views of gently rolling hills, forming a patchwork of fields and sunny vineyard slopes.Within the villa, spacious rooms include a country style kitchen/diner, a huge sitting room, sectioned by a series of arches and furnished in a cool colour palette, a comfy TV room, and a first floor piano room with a big fireplace and access to a terrace with table tennis. Among the airy and uncluttered bedrooms are an elegant master suite in a privately separate wing, and a useful family suite comprising a double and a twin room which share an en suite shower. Cook service could add extra leisure and an authentic taste of Tuscany, and local shops in Badesse are 6km away.