Across Chianti and the countryside around Lucca, old mills, farmhouses and villas sit among vineyards, olive groves and woodland. Some have been restored over generations; others still carry the marks of their agricultural past and await another chapter. From a medieval mill threaded with waterfalls to a Lucchese villa with its own chapel, these seven houses draw on many centuries of Tuscan history.
A wisteria-covered villa in Florentine Chianti
This 750sqm house curls around an internal courtyard, where wisteria and climbing plants spread across its walls. It sits within a small village in Barberino Tavarnelle, with views across the Chianti hills towards San Gimignano. Inside, the rooms are largely awaiting renovation, with former guest apartments upstairs and another 200sqm of cellars and ancillary spaces below. A walled garden extends behind the house, while a separate four-hectare parcel contains a swimming pool.
A thousand-year-old tower in Chianti
An ancient tower forms part of this 600sqm property near Gaiole in Chianti. The house and a former barn face one another across a vine-covered courtyard, while a stream runs through more than two hectares of grounds. A small bridge crosses the water on the way to a swimming pool hidden among mature trees. The seven-bedroom property sits around 20 minutes from Siena, with Radda, Vertine and Castellina also nearby.
A 19th-century rural hamlet on 52 hectares
Near Castellina in Chianti, this collection of stone buildings dates to the 1800s and spreads across 52 hectares of woodland, olive groves and agricultural property. The main house occupies a converted barn with terracotta floors and exposed beams. Several additional farm buildings bring the total internal area to more than 900 square metres, including 19 bedrooms across the estate. A garden and swimming pool overlook the surrounding hills.
A stone farmhouse and 300 olive trees
In Marliana, in the hills of Valdinievole, a country lane winds through olive trees, cypresses and holm oaks before reaching this stone farmhouse. The 320sqm main house has five bedrooms, including a self-contained apartment reached by an external walkway. A separate 70sqm guesthouse adds another bedroom. The three-hectare grounds contain around 300 olive trees, an acacia grove and a swimming pool set below the lawn.
An 18th-century villa with its own chapel near Lucca
A few kilometres outside Lucca, this 18th-century villa sits behind an Italian garden, its pale façade reached by a double stone staircase. The 660sqm house is spread across three floors, with seven bedrooms and six bathrooms. An adjoining 130sqm orangery and a small private chapel stand within the 0.8-hectare grounds, alongside a vegetable garden, olive trees and swimming pool.
A medieval mill surrounded by waterfalls
Water runs through the landscape of this former mill near Castellina in Chianti, passing through streams, ponds and natural waterfalls around the old stone buildings. Dating to around 1400, the 820sqm mill has been restored as six independent apartments, retaining exposed beams, fireplaces, terracotta floors and stone kitchens. Almost 10 hectares of vineyards, olive groves, fields and oak woodland surround it, with a travertine swimming pool set into the grounds.
A 16th-century family estate outside Lucca
A private chapel, former limonaia and 16th-century villa are scattered across this 5.9-hectare estate in the countryside outside Lucca. The main house dates from the late 1500s and retains its historic arrangement, from vaulted cellars to a piano nobile and attic rooms. A restored farmhouse and old barn sit elsewhere in the grounds, among a vineyard, 100 olive trees and 2.7 hectares of woodland. There’s also a swimming pool tucked into the landscape.
