Day one of the Tuscan adventure began with nothing more strenous than driving to and checking into our villa. After a two day drive, at a leisurely pace I might add, we arrived in the village of San Cascione de Val Pesa, and to the restored castle of of Il Castello di Bibbione, the ancestral home of Niccolò Machiavelli (yea, that Machiavelli).
In the year 1511, Niccolò Machiavelli bought the castle and surrounding farmland using it as a hunting lodge. The Machiavellis’ remained in possession of the complex until 1727, when the last heir, Francesco Machiavelli, died leaving his cousin, Giovanni Battista Rangoni, a noble descendent of the Machiavellis, heir to the name and inheritance, title and heraldic arms of Machiavelli. Rangoni , taking on the name of Rangoni Machiavelli, passed this home down through his descendants. Today’s owner has turned the castle and surrounding buildings into a winery, holiday villas (there are several) and a wellness centre/wedding chapel.
Although we were one of several guests staying at the villa (there were several buildings), it was remarkably secluded and quiet.
Our first few Tuscan days included R&R in our new digs…base camp for the next 2 weeks.
The sign of Chianti – the wine of the area….a rooster!
View of the Tuscan countryside from the villa, Il Castello di Bibbione.
Poolside….
Il Castello di Bibbione at sunset.
In case you find yourself Tuscany bound, the villa's website: http://www.castellodibibbione.com/
3 comments:
Oh, this made me so wanting another trip to Tuscany. What a gorgeous place! Hope to meet you guys there sometime. Becky
anytime...we'll meet you there
Hi, my finacee and I are getting married at Castello di bibbione in May. I'm putting together a website for our wedding (Chopsticksintuscany.com) and I stumbled across your site while doing some research. You have some fantastic photos and I was wondering if you would mind me using some on my wedding site, strictly for non-profit purposes. If you are ok with that, I would be more than happy to credit you with a link back to your site. Hope to hear from you soon!
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