Peace & tranquility in the Tuscan hills

Three self-catering or B&B apartments for families and couples. Come here to relax, experience Italian life, eat well, sleep well and ‘put your feet up’ well. Alice, Gavin and their family would love to welcome you here.
Join us for a holiday or a weekend escape, share our table for lazy breakfasts and long relaxed dinners with plenty of laughs. Take yourself off for hours in the hammock with a good book or come to us for advice on where to explore whether it’s the new infinity pool up the lane,  fabulous wild swimming or some of Italy’s finest Renaissance art and medieval towns you want to explore. Whatever your needs, we can assist, share a drink and a chat or simply leave you in peace.
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Eat

We can arrange breakfasts and evenings meals according to your requirements.  We grow and produce much of our own food and we’d love you to join us for informal dinners or help you make the most of the local produce in your own kitchen.

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Relax

The new pool, the hammocks in the shade, the terraces for sitting and reading a book all day - you can relax as much as want. We love when guests join us for an aperitivo in the evening - Aperol Spritz by the pool became quite a thing last year!
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Explore

Go for half hour strolls or 3 hour hikes, tour the area on bikes, go exploring in your car and see the best the Montefeltro and nearby areas have to offer with tiny hilltop villages, sweeping views, medieval architecture, fabulous food and wild swimming.

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Our open plan apartments are perfect for couples, families or groups of friends.

La Piccionaia is larger with a double bedroom, two double sofa beds and a wood burning stove that is perfect for cosy winter stays.

Il Granaio is smaller with a double bedroom, kitchen/living space with double sofa bed and a private terrace.

Il Piccolo Sogno has a double bedroom with lounge and private terrace, it has a second room with desk space or childs bed.

There are more shared terraces around the property, a small cooling off pool, hammocks under the pines and lots of outside play equipment for kids - visible from our new balcony so parents can join us for a drink and keep an eye on the children as they play!

Stay

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Stay

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Book Now

Our three apartments are perfect for couples, families or groups of friends. 

La Piccionaia is a larger open plan apartment with a double bedroom, two double sofa beds and a wood burning stove that is perfect for cosy winter stays. 

Il Granaio is also open plan but smaller with a double bedroom, kitchen/living space with double sofa bed and a private terrace.

Il Piccolo Sogno is our newest and largest apartment with a large double bedroom, smaller child's or double bedroom (or use as an office!), huge sitting room and dining area with log burning stove and sofa bed and a fully equipped kitchen.

All apartments have their own private bathrooms, of course, and private entrances.

There are more shared terraces around the property, a small cooling off pool, a 12m infinity pool up the lane with attached kids pool, hammocks under the pines and lots of outside play equipment for kids - visible from our new balcony so parents can join us for a drink and keep an eye on the children as they play.

Now open - a new huge infinity pool!

Stay

Both our open plan apartments are perfect for couples, families or groups of friends. 

La Piccionaia is larger with a double bedroom, two double sofa beds and a wood burning stove that is perfect for cosy winter stays. 

Il Granaio is smaller with a double bedroom, kitchen/living space with double sofa bed and a private terrace.

There are more shared terraces around the property, a small cooling off pool, hammocks under the pines and lots of outside play equipment for kids - visible from our new balcony so parents can join us for a drink and keep an eye on the children as they play!

Learn More
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Book Now
Family Alice and Gavin Parkinson

About Us

We - Alice and Gavin - have been living here since 2012 and have restored the original old house (which had since become a store room and pigeon loft) and attached haybarn/cow shed into our lovely two apartments La Piccionaia and Il Granaio.  We’ve built a life here here with all our three children Giorgio, Emilio and Lucia having been born in Italy and we really enjoy sharing our love of the simple rural Italian life with our guests.
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About

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We - Alice and Gavin - have been living here since 2012 and have restored the original old house (which had since become a store room and pigeon loft) and attached haybarn/cow shed into our lovely two apartments La Piccionaia and Il Granaio.  We’ve built a life here with all our three children Giorgio, Emilio and Lucia (now 10, 8 and 7 respectively) having been born in Italy and we really enjoy sharing our love of the simple rural Italian life with our guests.

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Where

Perched 700m up in the wooded Appenines where truffle grow and wild boar roam, tucked away in the far eastern corner of Tuscany halfway between Arezzo and Rimini on the Adriatic.

 

The closest airports are at Perugia and Rimini, then Ancona, Bologna and Florence.

The tiny hamlet of Valenzano is just 3km up a steep windy road away from ancient market town of Sestino at the head of the Foglia valley and is ideally located to explore the surrounding regional parks, go cycling, walking or looking for mushrooms in the mountains or visit the abundant Renaissance art in Urbino and Arezzo.

The easiest way to find us is to put 'Valenzano, Sestino, AR' into Google Maps (or click on teh map below).

If arriving from Bologna or anywhere north of Pesaro on the Adriatic coast you will come through Sestino.  Almost opposite the Ferramenta Magi is our turning:  coming from Bologna it’s a right hand turn near the beginning of town, coming from Pesaro it’s a left hand turn near the end of town signposted Borgo Pace (there’s a brown tourist sign towards Parco Ranco Spinoso too).  You need to follow this road (the SP51, sometimes marked Strada Provinciale del Passo della Spugna) for 3km.  Do not take the right turning to Lucemburgo, but carry on a little further.  For the apartments La Piccionaia and Il Granaio there is a right hand turn towards Valenzano - go 50 meters or so then please pull into the yard on the left where we'll meet you.  For the apartment Il Piccolo Sogno don't take the turn to Valenzano but instead carry on a few hundred meters and take a sharp right onto a gravel lane.  Go along this for about 150m, passing my Mum's house with olive tree on your right and then immediately is my cousin Tanja's house (above the apartment).  The parking space is best backed into and is just a little further on down the steepest bit of the road past the house.

If arriving from Fano, Ancona, Arezzo or Sansepolcro, you will need to go through Borgo Pace and take the SP51 towards Sestino. Please note there are a few kilometers of this road that are ‘white road’ – unmade without tarmac.  Don’t worry, you are still on the right road! We’re 10km from Borgo Pace.

*Please note:  the roads around here are very windy and in some cases narrow.  They are all perfectly safe, it just takes some people by surprise!

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Where

Perched 700m up in the wooded Appenines where truffle grow and wild boar roam, tucked away in the far eastern corner of Tuscany halfway between Arezzo and Rimini on the Adriatic.

The closest airports are at Perugia, then Ancona and Bologna.

The tiny hamlet of Valenzano is just 3km up a steep windy road away from ancient market town of Sestino at the head of the Foglia valley and is ideally located to explore the surrounding regional parks, go cycling, walking or looking for mushrooms in the mountains or visit the abundant Renaissance art in Urbino and Arezzo.

If arriving from Bologna or anywhere north of Pesaro on the Adriatic coast you will come through Sestino.  Almost opposite the Ferramenta Magi is our turning:  coming from Bologna it’s a right hand turn near the beginning of town, coming from Pesaro it’s a left hand turn near the end of town signed Borgo Pace  (there’s a brown tourist sign towards Parco Ranco Spinoso too).  You need to follow this road (the SP51, sometimes marked Strada Provinciale del Passo della Spugna) for 3km.  Do not take the right turning to Lucemburgo, but a couple of hundred metres further on your right is a turning towards Valenzano and us.

If arriving from Fano, Ancona, Arezzo or Sansepolcro, you will need to go through Borgo Pace and take the SP51 towards Sestino. Please note there are a few kilometers of this road that are ‘white road’ – unmade with tarmac.  Don’t worry, you are still on the right road! We’re 10km from Borgo Pace and you will see the left hand turning to Valenzano and us.

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families at cavalenzano

Reviews

Alice cooked for us several times and the food was nothing short of superb - including the breakfasts with lots of fruit and home made pastries.
Steve, Birmingham
Their hospitality is incomparable. The house is beautiful and the view amazing.
Sólveig ásta, Reykjavik
We spent the two days in the hammocks soaking up the views and that is very unusual for us. No need to go anywhere else! Alice is an amazing cook and prepared a lovely dinner.
Sue, Cambridge
This review is long overdue... we have been struggling to put into words how great this place is. From the moment we were greeted by Alice & Gavin we felt at home, and by the time we left it felt like they were old family friends. They were always on hand to offer advice on where to go and what to do. Nothing was too difficult. And the food! THE FOOD! Mostly grown by Gavin, and expertly prepared by Alice - just what you want in the Italian countryside. Our son had a great time playing with their three, and we had great fun drinking wine and home made aperitifs with them. 😊 We will be back.
Michael, Hemel Hempstead