Tuscany, Grosseto, Grosseto, Italy

Certified organic farm holiday property dating from 1865, comprising two stone farmhouses, 480 square metres, a natural swimming pond and 28 hectares in the Maremma, Monterotondo Marittimo REF. GRO306 In the most authentic part of the Maremma – the area that looks out over the Metalliferous Hills and where you can sense the sea thirty minutes away without yet seeing it – Casale Il Laghetto is difficult to categorise — and perhaps this is precisely its greatest asset. Two stone farmhouses dating from 1865, fully restored between 2001 and 2005 with further work carried out in 2019. The journey here is an experience in itself: the access road crosses a period military bridge that blends seamlessly into the wooded landscape — the first gateway to a place that reveals itself slowly, like all things of value. The main farmhouse houses the owners’ residence on the first and second floors, covering approximately 140 square metres: two spacious living areas comprising a lounge and dining room, a kitchen-diner with an outdoor area equipped for al fresco dining, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Exposed beams, natural materials, walls that bear the marks of time: the elegance is authentic, never contrived. Unobstructed, sweeping views across the valley accompany every room. On the ground floor of the main farmhouse, two two-room flats, each measuring approximately 40 square metres, with private outdoor areas overlooking the woodland garden, form the accommodation. The second farmhouse completes the offering with a three-room flat of approximately 50 square metres, two two-room flats ranging from 34 to 39 square metres and a studio flat of approximately 25 square metres — each unit with its own entrance and private outdoor space. Six independent flats in total, with a total capacity of around twenty guests. The complex includes a covered wooden structure set amongst the greenery, currently used for meditation, yoga and holistic practices; a workshop for the processing and storage of olive oil, also equipped for the production of essential oils; and technical rooms and storage areas for agricultural management. The 28.37 hectares form a living ecosystem: a 3.27-hectare organic olive grove with around 200 trees — about a hundred of which are in full production — a synergistic vegetable garden, a food forest, an orchard with heritage varieties including almond, apricot, plums, elderberries and pears, 5.47 hectares of woodland and 9.84 hectares of pasture. At the heart of it all lies the natural swimming pond: a rare and precious feature, designed as much for relaxation as for the farm’s biodiversity. The energy setup reflects careful choices: a 6 kW photovoltaic system with a 10 kW storage battery, solar thermal panels, a biomass boiler and a high-efficiency fireplace stove, an electric vehicle charging point, an artesian well, a rainwater harvesting system and cisterns with a total capacity of fifty thousand litres. Energy class A.