Coreglia Antelminelli, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

The municipal town of Coreglia Antelminelli was first noted in 1048 and was of paramount importance in Medieval times during the battle between the Guelfi and the warlord, Castruccio Castricani.
In more recent history, Coreglia became famous for its plaster figurines during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. In 1883, Carlo Vanni set up his school of plaster art in his "palazzo". when Carlo Vanni moved to Vienna, he donated a large number of prints and statues to the town. In 1975 the musuem Museo della figurina di gesso e dell'emigrazione, was opened.

The museum is not the only feature of the town, there is also Castruccio Castricani's tower next to the church. This was originally a lock-out tower but has now been adopted as the bell tower now.

For us, one of the main features of Coreglia is the arch leading out to the upper parking lot which frames the view of the Monte Tre Potenze which, in the winter is snow covered. It is a great "barometer" to know how much snow is on the ski resort of Abetone. Looking down, through the same arch, there is the stunning Piastroso valley.

The house itself is in the middle of the town and has two entrances, one into the more recently restored, lower part and the other into the hallway up to the upper apartment.

The ground floor is characterised by a spacious entrance hall leading to the cantina floors which has the storage rooms and the boiler room. One of the rooms is used as a wood store. The boiler was installed in 2015 and runs on pellets currently. There are also solar panels for hot water.

The first floor is also a ground floor apartment if accessed from the back door due to the topography of the land. The apartment has a huge living room with fireplace and kitchen. There are two bedrooms and a very large bathroom with both shower and bath in it.

The upper apartment was restored in 2007 and has two bedrooms, one bathroom with a shower, a separate dining room and kitchen.