Quite literally, we reached the end of the road. Not another yard to drive. Not another utility pole beyond this last one, indicating the end of electricity. We had arrived.

My family was spending two weeks in Italy to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary. We spent the first week at the outstanding Villa Cascina Martinenga in Cereseto, in Piedmont. Now, after a five-hour drive south on the Autostrada, including a lunch break at an insanely bustling Autogrill, we pulled up to our second villa mid-afternoon. The owners of Villa Carpineto and their black dog, appropriately named Nera (that’s Italian for black), greeted us and welcomed us to their hilltop villa on the outskirts of Castellina in Chianti, a small municipality in Tuscany of fewer than 3,000 people (down from its peak in 1936 of 5,100).

Before we even unloaded our car, I needed to stop and treasure the moment. One of my decades-long travel dreams had been to stay in a Tuscan villa, and now that I had finally achieved it, I wanted to soak it all in before addressing the tasks of who was staying in which bedroom. Once again, it was clear that we had selected the ideal villa from our renting agent, Parker Villas.

Villa Carpineto encompasses a good deal of acreage on the top of a hill with sweeping views of the surrounding countryside. Uncrowded roads lined with Italian cypress trees crisscross tidy green crop rows. In between the fields, and atop a hill covered in trees here, atop a hill there, villa after villa boasts equally gorgeous views. I wondered if the people there were looking at me, thinking the same things, as beguiled as I was.

The villa features clay tile roofs, an abundance of brick and stone staircases that lead to different levels and sections, and straight and arched brick and wood lintels over windows and doors of all sizes. An unusually low door attracted my attention—now granting access to the laundry room, it once was used to bring pigs inside. Filled flowerpots add bursts of colors, and lanterns attached to the corners of the building throw light down onto the stone patios once evening arrives.

Throughout the interior, smooth brick-tile floors in a herringbone pattern keep you cool. Under a brick ceiling with wood beams, the living room has plenty of comfortable seating in front of a fireplace with a large hood, next to an umbrella stand with a handful of portable roofs that, hopefully, you’ll never have to use. Downstairs, you’ll spend time in the kitchen, slicing up some fresh mozzarella and tomatoes and drizzling it with extra virgin olive oil, and then serving it in the adjacent dining room with stone walls, where someone else will have just brought in grilled chicken and zucchini from the large barbecue for the rest of your feast.

The villa’s wonderful location enables you to explore the region in trips that take less than two hours to reach your destination. You can easily head out to Orvieto to see its magnificent cathedral; Pisa to marvel at its iconic trio of the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery, and the Pisa Cathedral; Siena to circle around the famous Piazza del Campo and have dinner at Antico Osterio da Divo, which serves an unmatchable risotto in a wheel of cheese that gradually melts away as you eat; and Volterra to see its Roman theater ruins and its artisans crafting gorgeous pieces in alabaster. And, of course, the town of Castellina in Chianti is just down the road, past a restaurant that serves a wild boar so tender you barely have to chew it. In this small but popular town, you can check out the Church of Saint Salvatore, which houses one of the world’s best skeletons; the imposing fortress; the abundant wine tasting; and the Via delle Volte, an underground tunnel with stone walls that was once an open-air road and today houses specialty boutiques, artisan shops, and restaurants, all with the benefit of cooler temperatures and a respite from a hot Tuscan summer sun.

When you return from your day trip, you’ll naturally gravitate toward the exceptionally wide inground swimming pool that beckons you with its cool clear water, surrounded by a ping-pong table, chaise lounges, chairs and tables with green-and-white striped umbrellas, low-rise trees, and purple flowers that attract butterflies.

Then, after you’ve finished yet another remarkable dinner, you’ll inevitably head outside again for a stroll around the property. Curvy stone retaining walls break up the grassy grounds into lovely shady sections with unobtrusive lampposts to illuminate your walk. Every night, I would watch the sun set, brushing the sky with pastel colors that seemed to linger for hours until fading into twilight, and let euphoric bliss wash over me—a feeling of transcendence induced by everything around me.

A variety of trees are scattered around the villa’s property, including nectarine trees with fruits patiently ripening and, of course, those iconic Italian cypress trees found throughout Tuscany. Sandra Oh had it right when she said, in Under the Tuscan Sun, “There’s something strange about these trees. It’s like they know.” Indeed, here at Villa Carpineto, they seem wise in their elegant skinniness, knowing how privileged they are to be standing here in swoon-worthy Tuscany, and knowing that everyone looking at them feels the same way.

I’d Love to Hear From You!

Have you been here? Have I inspired you to go? Let me know!