Storybook Tuscany spreads out below this restored villa’s wisteria-shaded terraces. Cheery, light-filled and leisurely manicured, this bright, breezy home was updated from its humble beginnings by accomplished interior designer Ilaria Miani. The Rome-based visionary’s celebrated restorations reveal an expert eye for preserving authentic detail and a knack for creating unassuming living spaces brimming with easygoing luxuries. 

Think intimate swimming pools and lazy grounds, sun-dappled alfresco dining nooks, lush cottage gardens, and soft, tranquil bedrooms to lay your head. 

A resoundingly successful preservation project, this villa for rent in Tuscany at the southern limits of its UNESCO-classified Val d’Orcia, is tucked into a verdant hillside. Terraced flowering gardens and a lazy poolscape surrounded by mature trees are hidden from the home’s resplendent view terraces, all overlooking land once ruled by ancient Etruscans, who created the mesmerizing village of Chiusi on a neighboring hilltop.

Bright shades of butter to lemon yellow, vivid royal blue, tropical green and cherry candy red give the bedrooms their personalities, each unique space also whitewashed and brick floored, set with statuesque framed beds and sweet antique furnishings. Bathrooms are en suite, and the villa’s common areas are charmingly understated yet elegant, with a rustic country estate feeling, especially in the ancient stone kitchen and living areas where the home’s history is on full display in handhewn timbers, undulating stone floors and a massive open hearth, delightfully soot-stained with use.

Exterior spaces continue the sunny, cheerful vibe. Timeless stone terraces covered with vines look out onto 30 private acres of woods, planted gardens, the saltwater pool and picnic area, and an orchard, vineyard and hilltop villages silhouetted on the horizon.

Read more about designer Ilaria Miani here.

AROUND

Located in the southernmost part of the Val d’Orcia, near the boundary with Umbria, this villa for rent in Tuscany occupies land once ruled by ancient Etruscans who reputedly stashed treasures in the underground city of Chiusi, a subterranean maze that is open for guided visits today, only a few miles from the property. 

The nearby village of Sarteano is also an Etruscan historical monument, with ancient tombs joining more recent, medieval castles and fortifications. Hot springs and lakes in nearby Ciancano and Chiusi boast curative waters, and a hike and bike path, the Sentiero della Bonifica, extends for 62 kilometers, joining Chiusi with Arezzo. 

This is classic Tuscany, where hilltop villages such as Montalcino, San Quirico, Pienza, and Montepulciano were classified as UNESCO World Heritage landmarks in 2004. The Val d’Orcia’s unrivaled beauty is a postcard-perfect scene of rolling hills, roads lined with towering cypress trees, and ancient villages rising from every crest. The DOC wine regions of Brunello di Montalcino and the Vino Nobile de Montepulciano are worth exploring and the cities of Siena, Perugia, Assisi and Florence should not be missed. 

On a more local scale, villages offer abundant markets, charming tasting rooms, and artisanal studios and boutiques, and of course there’s no shortage of delicious traditional trattorias, cafes, and restaurants. Cycling tours are popular in the region. Equestrian opportunities are available, and the region also offers plenty of walking and hiking options along well-marked regional footpaths and tourist circuits.

LOCATION

Zingoni, Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy. Nearest airports: Siena, Florence

BEST TIME TO VISIT: May to October