linenandlavender.blogspot.com: Firenze

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Infinite possibilities...

November Topic Assignment:

Name the thing/person/place you've always wanted to experience.

Dream that money is no object.

Tell the world what you've always wanted to do, but just haven't done yet.

Anyone who knows me, knows I dream of owning an estate in Italy. The location I imagine is on a hillside with an expansive view. The setting offers a feeling of seclusion yet within close proximity to several beautiful villages in an area just outside of Firenze.

Mind you, I don't just want to live there, I want to share this with others and do what I love to do: Create an extraordinary atmosphere for guests to enjoy...the ultimate in relaxation and rejuvenation. I see a peaceful place that uplifts and inspires; a unique combination of amenities, services and activities born of my own travel experiences and passions.

Rather than leave it as a swirling, abstract dream, I began writing down intricate details describing every aspect imaginable from what types of people would be working with me to bring this to fruition to the features in every room.

I have pages and pages describing the vision I have for this place. In my mind's eye I have seen the view from every window, the food, the festivities, the books in the library. I have sketched elevations and floor plans (it has an internal courtyard) and I have imagined every detail of the kitchen, the baths–even the poolside furniture. I can see what is growing in the gardens, the mature trees and the proximity to the olive grove with meandering paths that lead to meditation spots on the property. —It makes my heart sing to visit these pages!

Though it may seem to the contrary after reading the above, I am open to other locations. I've always been drawn to Italy, but I am looking for properties that inspire me–wherever they might be in the world.

Like many of my fellow bloggers, I adore France and know it would be a wonderful place to realize this dream. I have often said I have a sense of familiarity for many things French and have wondered if this is explained by a past life there? Maybe. Maybe that is why Italia has been calling to me so much in this one . . . new vistas to explore?

In any case, there shall be no absolute conclusions. I am open to France, Italy and . . . who knows where else?

Why put limits with infinite possibilities before us?!

In the hunt for my ultimate dream property, I came across the enchanting historical estate I share with you today called La Tuiliere

Yes. It's in Provence, -no where near Firenze- but twist my arm...I think I could make a go of it here if I really had to. ;)

All images and descriptions provided by Frank Knight Properties

Considered to be one of the finest small estates in Provence, La Tuiliere dates from the late sixteenth century. The house has an unrivaled setting at the head of a beautiful south-facing valley, and is surrounded by over 40 acres of superb terraced gardens, meadows and woodland.

La Tuiliere

Four Reception Rooms ◆ Seven Bedroom Suites ◆ Two Bedroom Cottage ◆ Pigeonnier

◆ 25m Heated Pool ◆ Tennis Court ◆ 40 Acres

◆ Dining Hall Ancient beamed ceiling, terracotta tiled floor,

stone fireplace, access to Circular Staircase.

◆ Kitchen with barrel-vaulted ceiling, excellent range of

limed oak cupboards with granite worktops; circular

granite sink, Lacanche cooker, historic bread oven.

◆ Long Gallery A very large room with an impressive barrel vaulted

ceiling and Louis XV stone fireplace, fitted

bookcases.

Ground Floor

◆ Dining Hall Ancient beamed ceiling, terracotta tiled floor,

stone fireplace, access to Circular Staircase.

◆ Grand Salon South-facing. French windows to terrace

and garden, stone floor, beautiful open fireplace with

carved stone overmantel.

◆ Study French window to formal garden, Louis XVI

fireplace, terracotta tiled floor.

◆ Guest Cloakroom and storeroom.

◆ Kitchen with barrel-vaulted ceiling, excellent range of

limed oak cupboards with granite worktops; circular

granite sink, Lacanche cooker, historic bread oven.

◆ Second Kitchen/Utility Room, larder, boiler room.

◆ Back Hall with Cloakroom.

◆ East Staircase leading to Long Gallery.

◆ Games/Cinema Room.

First Floor

◆ Long Gallery A very large room with an impressive barrel vaulted

ceiling and Louis XV stone fireplace, fitted

bookcases.

◆ Principal Bedroom Suite. Double-height bedroom facing

due south with wonderful valley views. Louis XV

moulded plaster ceiling. En suite bathroom, separate

shower and WC.

◆ Bedroom 2 having en suite dressing room with

ornamental fireplace, and en suite bathroom.

◆ Bedroom Suites 3 and 4, with private bathrooms.

◆ Studio Apartment (Bedroom 5). Independent access to

Entrance Courtyard, Sitting Room with stone fireplace,

kitchenette, Mezzanine Bedroom and bathroom.

Connecting door to East Staircase.

Second Floor

◆ Bedrooms 6 and 7, each with en suite bathroom.

Cottage

◆ Sitting/Dining Room, open-plan fitted kitchen, glazed

door to Entrance Courtyard.

◆ 2 Bedrooms and bathroom, independent heating.

◆ Private Walled Garden.

Gardens and Outbuildings

◆ Walled Entrance Courtyard with Pigeonnier Tower and

Dovecote.

◆ Stone Pillared Open Barn with parking for 4 cars.

◆ Summer Dining Room to seat 14.

◆ Pool House with bed/sitting room, shower room.

◆ Superb 25 metre heated Infinity Swimming Pool.

◆ Spectacular Terraced Gardens with magnificent Long

Borders, ruined Castillon, and 50 metre Formal Canal.

◆ Two Architectural Garden Follies and Obelisk

◆ Extensive Parkland with olive grove, meadows and pine

woods; exceptional distant southerly views.

◆ All-weather Tennis Court.

◆ In all about 40 acres.

.MEMBERS

(click to go to Splenderosa/Marsha Harris (founding member) for a complete list

of participants and links to their posts on this month's topic.

Appennino by Giambologna

Giambologna's largest work, the mountain god, Appennino (1577)

Hidden Tuscany

by Massimo Listri and Cesare M. Cunaccia

Between 1568 and 1586 Bernardo Buontalenti built a great palace at Pratolino (Garden of Villa Demidoff at Pratolino Park) for Francesco I and Bianca Cappello. It was completed under Ferdinando I, and the residential building that resulted was sumptuous and rich in architectural inventions, in the late Mannerist style.

In the garden Bountalenti displayed a phantasmagoric corpus of scenic inventions and play of water. There was an abundance of water in the area and it fed the park of Pratolino via an aqueduct that was five kilometers long.

Buontalenti's imagination was directed at both the amusement and the amazement of the spectator. While the apparently bizarre play of water no longer exists, some treasures that reflect the grandiose nature of the project remain: the gigantic statue of Appennino by Giambologna, for instance, that hides a secret room in its head.

In his Voyage en Italie, Michel de Montaigne described the construction of this new divinity of the Mannerist pantheon: "they are building the body of a giant whose eyeball is three cubits large." —excerpt and image: Hidden Tuscany, Unusual Destinations and Secret Places

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More about Giambologna (here)

Appennino sculpture detail edited by lb for linenandlavender.blogspot.com See the full post here: http://www.linenandlavender.blogspot.com/2010/02/appennino-by-giambologna.html

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Hotel Feature: Villa San Michele Florence Italy

Villa San Michele

Villa San Michele is named after the church of St Michael the Archangel. The original building was a monastery, founded in the early years of the 15th century for the Franciscan monks. The land on which it stood had been donated by a Florentine family, the Davanzatis, who also contributed to the monastery's upkeep by gifts of woodlands, further buildings and money.

The present building, with its façade attributed to Michelangelo and its imposing loggia, dates from 1600 when it was enlarged and completely renovated by Giovanni di Bartolommeo Davanzati.

The monastery remained the property of the Franciscans until 1808 when the monastic orders were dissolved by Napoleon and, in 1817, it returned to secular use. By this time, many of its most treasured possessions had been dispersed throughout Florence's churches and art galleries. The triptych in the Academia attributed to Niccolò di Piero Gerini and another above the high altar in the church of Santa Trinità both originally stood in this hilltop sanctuary.