Castiglion del Bosco
Villa Biondi
10 guests · 5 bedrooms
TuscanyVilla estate
Viesca, Tuscany
An estate near Reggello in the Valdarno, with private villas and access to estate facilities. Check inclusions for each stay.
On Viesca
Viesca,
from Smaranda.
Viesca is a restored hamlet in the hills above Reggello, on Florence's quiet south-eastern side where the Valdarno rises toward the Vallombrosa forest. This is the Tuscany of the Florentine weekend rather than the tour itinerary: olive terraces that produce some of the region's most prized oil, the abbey of Vallombrosa in its thousand-year silver-fir forest above, and Florence itself only forty minutes down the valley. The hamlet's modern history belongs to the Ferragamo family, who restored the estate as their own country retreat before opening its villas.
The corner rewards guests who want Florence available but not adjacent. The pattern mirrors our Dimora Ghirlandaio villas: city mornings by car or the Figline train, afternoons back at the pool with the Pratomagno ridge for a horizon. Art in miniature is closer still, the young Masaccio's San Giovenale triptych hangs in its museum at Cascia di Reggello, ten minutes away, and the serious retail of The Mall outlet at Leccio is a fifteen-minute open secret.
Check the estate arrangements for your villa
When choosing an estate stay, separate facilities belonging to the individual villa from facilities shared across the estate. Ask which pool, gardens and dining spaces are private, what requires a reservation and what is included in the rental. Photographs of an estate do not always describe the exact spaces available to every accommodation.
For a group using more than one villa, confirm the distance between them and where everyone can eat together. Decide whether the appeal is spending most of the week on the estate or using it as a base for day trips, then compare the services and journeys against that plan. The room layout and the terms for your chosen dates should guide the final choice.
When to come
May, June, September and October. November is the olive harvest, and Reggello's new-oil festival is the genuine article; Vallombrosa's forest is the region's coolest refuge in high summer.
Towns worth knowing
- Reggello
- The olive-oil town; its November festival celebrates the new pressing.
- Vallombrosa
- The abbey in the fir forest; Milton walked here, and the summer cool is real.
- Leccio
- The Mall outlet, for the fashion houses at outlet arithmetic.
- Figline Valdarno
- Market town with the useful train: Florence in under thirty minutes.
Best for
- Florence weeks without sleeping in the city
- Olive-oil pilgrims in November
- Walkers in the Vallombrosa forest
- Quiet luxury on the Valdarno side
Practicalities
Florence airport is about fifty minutes, the city forty by car; the Figline Valdarno station makes the city a train day. The Vallombrosa road climbs seriously; count it as a half-day outing.
Other villas to consider
The whole collectionThese villas are outside Viesca. Compare their locations with the places you want to visit and confirm the journey from the individual property before choosing your base.
Compare nearby areas and alternative bases
Planning the week