This beautiful hillside villa, built in the late 1700s, embodies all the positive characteristics of Tuscany. An arched gate and a cypress-lined road, for instance, mark the entrance. The private drive is flanked by vineyards and olive groves, as well as a secular towering pine tree and an old stone well. The interior of the house, which has been used as a weekend country retreat by the same family for five generations, is elegantly furnished.  The villa also hosts a private chapel, built in the same period of the house itself: the villa was originally used as a stop-over by pilgrims as they trecked from one Franciscan monastery to another (the Franciscan monastery “Le Celle” lies just outside Cortona and is estimated to be roughly an hour walk away from the Villa di Tecognano).

The gardens were recently updated by an accomplished landscape artist. The main garden features a wide variety of roses, many of which climb over arches or up the stone wall, and is graced by a period cherub among the shrubs. The middle garden highlights a parade of lemon trees in gigantic vases, framed by arches and fragrant jasmine.  Just outside of the property there is a stone path leading to Cortona. Much of this path was laid by the ancient Romans and still today winds over the hills and weaves through a hillside forest, making this an a lovely 45 minute walk. From the Villa di Tecognano the view stretches to the ancient walls of Cortona and also out across the underlying Valdichiana valley all the way to majestic Mont’Amiata.