The Estate La Badia
„I had a farm in Tuscany....“ The famous line "Out of Africa" could just as well apply to this estate owned by the Mozzoni Paravicini Crespi family in Lucignano between Arezzo and Siena, only one hour south of Florence.
At 400 metres above sea level, this organic farm produces olive oil and raises the wiede-horned white local cattle, although only part of its five hundred hectares is devoted to agriculture. The rest is covered with Mediterranean bush and woodland where the cattle can roam free and seek the shade during the summer months.
The estate was acquired by the Mozzoni Paravicini Crespi family in the 1960's. They already had a large organic farm in Northern Italy and a busy life in Milan and the feeling here is that they sought to create a bucolic ideal of a simple lifestyle in harmony with nature and the local farmers.
Scattered all over the farmland are fifteen farmhouses, one more lovely than the other, overlooking a magnificent Tuscan lanscape of rolling hills dotted with umbrella pines and cypress trees punctuating the horizon. The first farmhouse to be restored for guests is Il Mulino or the Mill.
Map & Getting there
La Badia lies 30 km south of Arezzo. The closest village with shopping facilities is 5 km from the estate is Lucignano, a typically Tuscan hilltop village famous for its streets arranged in a circle.
- Lucignano, the closest village 5 minutes
- Monte San Savino 8 minutes
- Sinalunga 12 minutes
- Arezzo, the closest station 30 minutes
- Chianti 45 minutes
- Montepulciano, Pienza & Cortona 30 minutes
- Florence & Siena 1 hour
- Orvieto & Perugia 1 hour
- Pisa 2,30 hours
Activities & Places of interest
- The nearest village is the medieval Lucignano on a hilltop, famous for its eliptic streets. Here you will find grocery stores, cafés, newsstands, banks and simple trattorias. A detailed list of restaurants recommended in the vicinity can be found in the farmhouse.
- But you will not want to miss the surrounding villages such as Monte San Savino, Foiano, Sinalunga and Castiglion Fiorentino as well as the medieval hamlet of Gargonza, all of which will conform in their picturesque perfection to everyone's dream of a hilltop Tuscan village.
- Arezzo is the next largish town. You will not want to miss the frescoes by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica San Francesco. If you are at the Mulino on the first week-end of the month, you might also want to visit the antique market on the main square.
- Florence et Siena, Tuscany’s most important cultural milestones, are easy to reach from La Badia.
- A walk through the estate La Badia is an enriching experience which brings you closer to the surroundings. Just follow one of the paths that lead uphill from il Mulino. You will come past the main house of the estate, many yet to be restored farms, a small lake, wild animals and the famous longhorned Tuscan cows. The views stretch accross the estate towards the Orcia valley and the silhouette of the castle of Radicofani in the far back.
- Fashion addicts can splurge out at the famous Prada factory outlet, which lies on to road to Florence.
- Two excellent SPAs can be found in the surroundings. Rapolano Terme (18 km from La Badia).