Villa Cetinale

Designed by the architect Carlo Fontana, in the Roman Baroque style, this majestic house was built in 1651 for Pope Alexander VII, and encircled by glorious gardens and the ‘holy wood’, both replete with statuary by Giuseppe Mazuoli. While these remain today, they are joined now by a swimming pool and sunbathing lawn, a games room housed in the limonaia, and a tennis court (shared with nearby villa La Cerbaia).  Within the villa, elegantly vaulted ceilings top beautifully furnished rooms on several levels; the sitting room, with its big stone fireplace, forming a social centrepiece; the kitchen in comfortable country style; and the frescoed dining room looking out to lovely views. Rich fabrics and romantic four-posters feature in several bedrooms, toys await in a cheerful room for children, hand-painted furniture and myriad artworks are liberally sprinkled throughout the house, and chef, maid and manager services add a further level of leisure and luxury.  Just 14km from Siena, Villa Cetinale is 5km from shops and a restaurant in Sovicille and centrally placed for sightseeing in several medieval towns.