lauretta - apartment in tuscany: volterra & san gimignano

HOLIDAY APARTMENTIN TUSCANY NEAR CERTALDO. Leaving the main road, a country lane lined with cypress trees and surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, wheat fields and woods, leads us to Caselsa. The unique world-famous San Gimignano with its “beautiful towers” lies behind us and to one side is the medieval village of Certaldo Alta, Boccaccio’s birthplace also famous for Della Robbia’s ceramics, Benozzo Gozzoli’s frescoes, Pier Francesco Fiorentino and other well-known medieval painters. Caselsa’s name comes from the River Elsa which flows through the valley. It was the last house to the North of a large farm and originally only consisted of a single “Tower” built explicitly as a look out for approaching strangers. Over the years the building was enlarged several times and in fact the various periods of construction are easy to see. In 1992 the whole building was completely renovated and divided into 7 apartments, each equipped with all the modern comforts (Satellite-TV, Internet access) and with a swimming pool (6x12m), barbecue. Each apartment has its own garden equipped with a table and chairs. It takes less than an hour by train or car to the major historic centres: Florence, Siena, Volterra, Lucca and Pisa.