Tuscany, Lunigiana, Comano, Italy

Stone two bedroom village house, full of character and charm, with terrace and small garden.

Accommodation comprises: Open plan kitchen / living room, with a bathroom / laundry room on the ground floor. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and a bathroom with shower. The house is light and bright with lovely outdoor space, perfect for eating 'al fresco' in the summertime.

The property is on the edge of a little hillside village with a friendly, welcoming community, and an excellent, family-run restaurant serving traditional home-made dishes. Waymarked trails lead in every direction through the chestnut woods, perfect for hikers, mountain bikers, and horse-riders, or just for a shady stroll. You can also follow the lane down to the next village Crespiano for a second popular bar / restaurant; in fact the area is dotted with excellent farm restaurants with fresh produce in very pretty settings.

The village is on the Taverone valley between Licciana Nardi and Comano, with plenty of spots to cool-off in the nearby river and streams.

Licciana Nardi is a town in the Taverone valley with a lovely, cobbled 13th century pedestrian village lane flanked with local shops. Central in the town is the Piazza del Municipio which hosts the 16th century Malaspina castle and the many festivals such as the Chestnut Festival in the autumn and the sports 'Olympics' in the summer. The castle is linked to the baroque church by a covered bridge and overlooks the pretty piazza. There are also a bank, schools, restaurants and medical facilities. The nearby village of Monti has a castle on the hill above and also offers a good selection of amenities.

Comano is at the head of the Taverone valley with a backdrop of the breathtaking Apennine Mountains. There are many walking trails leading from Comano and the surrounding villages to the hills. The town hosts an annual festival of horses in the summer and it offers a good selection of shops, restaurants and sports facilities.

Lunigiana is a magical part of Tuscany. The rolling landscape is liberally sprinkled with castles of Medici or Malaspina vintage and for lovers of the coast the spectacular Ligurian coastline is close by. The golden sandy beaches around Lerici and the pebble coves of the Cinque Terre are ideal for swimming and sailing in the summer. The area is criss-crossed with marked footpaths for walks to the hills and mountains. The airports of Pisa, Parma and Genova are all just over an hour away.

Distances: Crespiano 5 km, Licciana Nardi 10 km, Comano 10 km, Aulla (train station and supermarkets) 15 km, Lerici (beaches) 40 km, Cinque Terre 45 km, Lucca 90 km, Pisa (airport) 95 km.