Poggio Arioso Agro tourism farm is only twenty minutes from the centre of Florence. In the authentic Chianti region, it stands on a hill at the top of a long avenue of cypresses surrounded by vines and olives. Next to it is the 17th century patronal villa with its garden and wine cellar, .
What to do and see at Poggio Arioso
The location of the Poggio Arioso farm complex means that as well as a farm holiday, you are within reach of many Italian artistic and architectural masterpieces in Florence (20 minutes away), and Siena and Pisa (45 minutes away)
For those who wish to visit Florence, there is something for everyone. Whether in guided tours or exploring on one’s own, all can enjoy an artistic side to their holiday as well as walks in the countryside. The residential part, with its elegant and well maintained spaces next to the 17th century villa and garden, within easy reach of the city, is ideally placed for art tourism. Quiet and cool, it is a real “country hotel”, and a comfortable and affordable alternative to staying in the city.
The countryside
The hills around Poggio Arioso are unmistakeably Tuscan in flavour. The sloping limestone hills are well suited to the traditional cultivation of vines and olives. Holm oak and cypress trees populate the higher parts of the hills, while lower down olive groves and vineyards are interspersed with romanesque churches, patronal villas, and hamlets carved out of the rocks. The traditions of this evocative landscape command respect, and have a firm scientific basis. Organic farming with green manure, careful pruning and a general limitation on chemicals and stimulants, are traditional customs which have a secure future. The vineyard is almost completely organic and is monitored by “Bioagricert”
The olive and wine harvest at Poggio Arioso
For those who love the land, it is a hectic and rewarding time, when the rows of vines and olives come alive with people, gathering the fruits of the year’s work. During your stay at Poggio Arioso you will have firsthand experience of a world that has not changed for centuries.
There are guided tours of the wine cellar, the vineyards and the olive groves, and wine and olive tasting sessions. A special time for this is in late November and early December, when you can also sample typical Tuscan dishes.
A tiny art gallery
The apartments and interiors of the farmhouse are something of a gallery in themselves, providing a setting for the works of Roberto Cipollone, known as Ciro.
His gift is to bring assorted old objects to life, particularly rural tools and implements. A series of rusty door locks becomes the outline of a small village, small off cuts of wood are transformed into precious manuscripts, and coloured slats become pieces of fruit or vegetables. Every corner has been touched by Ciro’s colourful imagination