Description:

ITALY, TUSCANY, LUCCA, LUCCA

In the hills to the west of Lucca, an area rich with historical villas, one of the most beautiful areas in the Lucca province.

The property enjoys a fantastic view over the plain of Lucca, and is about a quarter of an hour from the centre of Lucca and half an hour from Viareggio on the sea.

The origin of the building is very old and it developed around a Longobard tower. You can still still remnants of this era in the property.

Later the building was expanded in medieval times (X - XI century) but the radical restructuring took place in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The noble families of Lucca build the magnificent villas we can still admire today, in the most attractive locations on the Lucca hills. This beautiful villa was built by the Menocchi family then linked with another noble family of Lucca, Mansi.

The Renaissance architecture of the building is clearly visible in the size and decoration of the exterior windows and the double central staircase which leads to the 'noble floor', perfectly proportioned and symmetrical on the facade.

Inside there are beautiful stone fireplaces and original wood. Behind the villa there is an harmonious loggia, with the remains of the original frescoes. It may be assumed, as per the classic design of the period for these Lucca villas, that the loggia originally came up to the top of the roof.

Perhaps in the seventeenth or eighteenth century the height of the arches was reduced. For the excellence of its architecture, the building was described by Samminiati, an intellectual architect of the XVI century, as a 'faithful and wonderful example of a typical Lucchese villa.'
Then in the 1800s, the villa belonged to Prior Barsocchini who transformed it into a convent with its division into small rooms. The religious figure is commemorated by a plaque on the facade.

The villa has a floor area of about 1300 square metres, outbuildings of about 550 square metres, (220 sqm residential area and 330 rural use) for a total of 1850 square metres and about 10,000 sqm (a hectare, or 2.25 acres) of land. There is also a swimming pool.

The villa is equipped with 10 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 5 fireplaces.

The villa is on three floors and comprises:

Ground floor: large entrance hall of about 70 sqm, with a vaulted brick ceiling, another room with a huge central fireplace in a rustic style. Games Room. Large kitchen with fireplace and wood oven with adjoining pantry and access to the garden. Three rooms with bathroom, one of which was obtained in the cellar while another is the old store for the sale of oil.

Noble floor or first floor: This floor is accessed by a staircase that goes up into the XI century tower and a grand hall of 150 sqm with a majestic stone fireplace, rustic style, in the centre. From the living room, the doors open onto a superb ancient loggia, partly frescoed, where five beautiful arches overlooking the garden and surrounding hills - an ideal place for relaxing the body and mind.

From this loggia you enter the garden via an imposing typical sixteenth century external double staircase. On this floor there is another living room, a study with bathroom. Another area is located in the tower, with its original fireplace and well preserved wooden floors.

Second floor: a great hall with beautiful monumental fireplace. The particular type of ceiling lighting, in modern style, highlights the large wooden beams and rafters with ancient truss providing a spectacular effect. On this floor there are also six double bedrooms, one with fireplace, with bathrooms, three of which have a Jacuzzi bath and shower. All the rooms have spectacular views over the Lucca plain and the surrounding countryside.

The villa is well furnished and the furniture is on sale too, but separately. Most of the furnishings are antiques. They are simple but of high quality.

The annex: completely renovated, is about 130 sqm. It consists of two floors:

Ground floor: open space divided into a living area with kitchen with wood stove and fireplace.
First floor: one bedroom with bathroom.

Other buildings: barns and private chapel to be restored. The chapel, about 90 sqm, is being restored into a house comprising hall, dining room, kitchen and a bedroom with bathroom.

Furthermore, there is already a project to renovate the stables and create an additional living space. It could become another building adjoining the villa with six bedrooms with bathrooms. These two buildings have a total area of 400 sqm.

Gardens and grounds:
The villa is surrounded by about 10,000 square meters of land, of which approximately 4000 sqm. are parkland and the rest are planted with olive trees (about one hundred trees in production) behind the villa.

In the park an ancient Renaissance bath, originally used as an ornamental pond, has been beautifully restored and is now being used as a pool of about 9m x3m to cool off on hot summer days. In the garden there is a rainwater tank of about 500 litres which serves for the irrigation of the garden.

The current owners have made a completely and meticulously preserved and restored villa. The renovation includes - the magnificent fireplaces, the new structures which have enriched the building, and the beautiful roof truss in the hall on the second floor. At the same time there has been a functional transformation of the cellars on the ground floor and the attics on the second floor, service areas of the villa. These have become perfectly habitable for every purpose, adding rooms, numerous bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens.

The works carried out have used traditional materials, like wood and brick, old plaster with natural pigments Majolica has been used for floors and bathrooms of the second floor. The heating system is under floor heating and conserves energy, essential in a structure of 1300 sqm. The hot water is supplied by solar panels with high efficiency.

The property could be lived in the way it is. The building structure, in fact, has already been completely renovated and is perfect in every detail. The main house could be used as a residence and the other one as a guest house or to rent to tourists. The remaining parts of the building would remain in service space.

The property could also be turned into a bed and breakfast or tourist residence with several rooms and accommodation. This should, of course, be performed trying to minimise its costs since the building is already restored.

Lucca 8km
Pisa 28km
sea 20km
Florence 78km