Liguria, La Spezia, Italy

Well restored property set in a ligurian hillside village of pastel coloured houses.

The property is accesed directly from the main piazza and accomodation comprises: open plan living room, kitchen with fireplace and pizza oven, snug / tv room, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a large terrace. Downstairs there is a restored Taverna room with sink, and a cantina.

The property has been well restored with good services, central heating and air conditioning.

Possibility of purchasing land away from the village.

There is a great 'agiturismo' restaurant with swimming pool just a short drive away. The town of Ceparana (5km) has good amenities, restaurants, coffee shops and medical centres.

The village is set in the hills above the sea and the views are wonderful. The village is just in Liguria on the border with Tuscany, and has easy access to the sea and the beaches, and also to the mountains. There are numerous country farm restaurants to discover nearby, serving local specialties and excellent walking trails abound. The large port of La Spezia is close by, with a new marina full of impressive yachts, where it is easy to hire a boat for a day trip around the Gulf of the Poets.

Sarzana is a vibrant medieval market town with large elegant central piazzas and cobbled lanes meandering through the town flanked with coffee shops and antique stores. During the summer months Sarzana often hosts festivals from dining in the piazza to concerts to open air events along the lanes. There is a wonderful atmosphere on summer evenings when there are many street antique markets throughout the town, often with musicians playing and the castle is open. Sarzana also has a station with direct trains to Pisa, Florence, the Cinque Terre and Genova (Genoa) and a general market takes over the town each Thursday.

Both the coastal areas of Versilia and the Gulf of the Poets are easily accessible. The golden sandy beaches look out to the islands, to Portovenere and the castles of San Terenzo and Lerici. The Gulf of The Poets, a pearl of the Mediterranean, with character villages, craggy coves and sandy beaches, is enchanting. It has been home to many poets and writers over the years including Shelley, Byron and DH Lawrence. There is great sailing around this coastline, with the Cinque Terre, Elba and the Tuscan islands all within easy reach. Both Lerici and San Terenzo are dominated by the castle with the old villages of pastel coloured buildings huddled on the steep hills dropping down to the sea and the marina. There are many colourful shops and restaurants and it is an ideal place to relax and explore. The easiest way to get around the gulf is by boat which run between Lerici, La Spezia, Portovenere and on to The Cinque Terre. These five villages are strung along the terraced cliffs and form a UNESCO World Heritage site which, until recently, could only be reached by boat or by train. Anyone visiting the Cinque Terre should take a walk along the cliff paths which link one village to the next, stop in one of the bars or restaurants and try the anchovies marinated in olive oil and garlic, served with bread and delicate white wine made from the grapes which grow up the steep terraces above the villages.

The airports of Pisa, Parma and Genova are each an hour away.

Distances: Cinque Terre 30km La Spezia 16 km, Sarzana 25km, (Cinque Terre) 30km, Forte dei Marmi 45 km, Pietrasanta 45 km, Lucca 75km, Pisa (airport) 80km.