An historical medioeval castle, partially reserved to guests: three houses(Casa Ventura, Capanna, Loggia) and the Tower,
a true defensive Donjon, with private furnished gardens around. The buildings have been carefully coaxed into comfortable dwellings
for today, with state-of-the-art bathrooms and kitchen equipment, with central heating, and furnished with a remarkable collection
of tuscan antiques, permitting to retain those enthralling details which really make you enjoy the originality of the ancient
sienese style, and experience the beautiness of the true, wise, italian taste. It's fascinating to feel how the changes taking
place in time in this ancient castle of Poggiarello, adapting itself to contemporary use with grace, are always keeping to the
forefront the dignity of its past, whispering intimate details to those lucky to stay in it today, preserving its precious
heritage.
The owners, a fascinating banker/local historian and his sons, who have made extensive studies of the district,
are also living here, caring the castle since 1968, but the family is documented in the place from almost 1600, and can provide
interested guests with tales of local history and good suggestions, readable also in the Castle's blog, at
www.stiglianopecci.splinder.com. The hill of the castle it's just above the village of Stigliano, placed on the first slopes
of the woody Metalliferous Hills, into the Merse Valley, 20 kms away from Siena, only a 10 min. drive along the 223 state
road.
One feels the long work along centuries the Stigliano ancestors did to shape this beautiful, relaxing landscape. Guests
may walk or ride mountain bikes to further explore this quiet oasis of peace and natural beauty.
The ancient tower and the other
buildings of the castle enclose a delightful courtyard, opened to terraced gardens with a pool with panoramic views toward the
Siena's skyline in the foreground, and the Chianti Mountains.
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At the Stigliano's back there is a vast wild area, with plenty of
wildlife, and interesting tracks to the ruins of Sienavecchia, or to the lonely castle of Castiglioni, named 'only god knows
where it is'. A good restaurant is in the village below, just a short walk away, and other restaurants, in wich are offered
the local tradition's dishes, are in Torri, Orgia, Brenna, and Rosia, the villages nearby. In the river Merse, located in a
protected area(4 kms by car or, along ancient tracks, half an hour on foot), it's possible to find isolated spots, ideal for
swimming. For touring and exploring, the rich heritage of Tuscany is on your doorstep, with good trunk roads within a short
drive from Stigliano. The villas of Cetinale, Le Volte, and Celsa are closeby, as well as the medioeval cloister of the Torri's
monastery, and the treasures of Siena and the the ruins of the San Galgano's abbey(with the sword in the rock) and the other
medioeval historical cities of San Gimignano, Volterra, Massa Marittima, Cortona. All facilities are in Rosia, 4 kms away,
or in San Rocco, 6 km. away. A day trip to Pienza, with its renaissance architecture, could touch the renowned wine areas of
Montalcino and Montepulciano; Florence itself it's only an hour far away by car.
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