The Villa

Getting There

Our "Villa" in Tuscay was a two or three hour drive from Rome. We picked up our rental car from Avis at the main train station in Rome. It was a VW Diesel Passat Wagon with a manual transmission, actually, a pretty nice car and just big enough for Skip, Josie, Lorri and I and four tons of suitcases. I got to drive while Skip navigated and the girls sat in the back seat cringing, having hot flashes and getting carsick.

It took a little while to find our way out of Rome but once we did, it was pretty smooth sailing. The driving in Rome wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They drive aggressively but not recklessly. All the cars are small and the streets are packed with them as well as a million or so scooters and motorcycles, all at the same time. If you keep up with traffic, signal your intentions, and follow through, you don't get honked at too much.

With a little luck, we were able to find the Autostrada and headed north. We stopped at an "Autogrill" service area for a pit stop and map check. We decided to get off the Autostrada (a two-lane limited access toll road) about halfway to our destination to take some back roads and explore the countryside. We made our way to Viterbo then toward Lago di Bolsena, near which we stopped for a nice pizza and wine lunch for four for 15.50 Euros - not bad. I think the town was Santo Lorenzo Nuovo but I'm not sure.

After lunch, we continued north on "S2" until we found Montalcino, then we followed the directions to the Villa. The Villa is about five miles south of Montalcino off the dirt road that leads to Argiano Winery and Argiano Castle. It's about a half mile north of Argiano and a quarter mile to the west off the dirt road. It's easy to miss. We know, we missed it.

The Villa Fontanelle

This is a sketch from my journal of the front of the villa from the south east. I spent a little more time on this one than the others. It was a beautiful day so I took a dining room chair, a small table, a couple bottles of Moretti beer and sat out on the lawn soaking it all in.

The back of the Villa is sort of "U" shaped facing west. The middle of the U is a huge patio where we spent a lot of time appreciating the views, watching the sunsets and maybe having a glass or two of wine.

Some of us relaxing on the back patio after the journey from Rome.

These are photos of the front of the Villa taken Sunday morning

Skip & Josie, Greg mixing a martini, John & Greg having a good time...

Click on the image below to see a Google Earth image of the location of our Villa near Montalcino. Montalcino is just to the north and a little east of this image.

Sunday at the Villa

One of the three cats that made their home there and a couple photos along the dirt road (the road to Tavernelle?). The photo on the right is the driveway that leads to the Villa.