Badicroce is unique. If you are looking for a very special Tuscan holiday experience, then you've just found it.

Beautiful Badicroce began life 900 years ago as a Benedictine monastery. Down the centuries it has changed - but only for the better! Now there's every modern comfort alongside all that atmospheric history. This is a wonderful location for those who want to get away from it all. Your own private gated hunting lodge, set in 2,500 acres of entirely private land: yet nevertheless handily located for exploring Tuscany and Umbria. The little village of Palazzo del Pero, with a bar, a restaurant and a sprinkling of shops, is 6 km away. Arezzo is a swift 18 km away with its museums, art, stylishly sophisticated shops and its monthly antiques fair. Fabulous Florence is just over an hour's drive away as is the capital city of Umbria, ancient Perugia. For magnificent views, perfect privacy, serious spoiling and handy access to the sights of both Tuscany and Umbria, you couldn't be better placed than at Badicroce!

The game reserve of Badicroce is enormous - and you can roam at will. The area teems with wildlife. You can hunt (in season), you can fish in the lake and the streams, or you can walk, bird watch and swim in the hunting lodge's private lake. There's even a small boat, just for fun! The clean air will delight your lungs, the views will delight your eyes, the peace will soothe your soul - and you'll be as cosseted as a genuine Tuscan milord.

Rosanna the housekeeper is a truly excellent cook, so you don't actually need to get involved in that exceedingly rustic kitchen. She'll prepare breakfast, supply packed lunches if you are going out to spot deer and birds, she'll cook light suppers or hearty Tuscan dinners - whatever you want, whenever you want. If you do prefer to cook yourself, you'll find the kitchen has everything you need. It's a very practical place - with 2 ovens, plenty of fridge and freezer space, a food mixer, microwave, toaster and coffee maker, a huge panoply of battered pans and plenty of baking dishes and mixing spoons. As we've already said, if you are living the life of authentic Tuscan nobility, the kitchen is not a place you'd expect to visit all that often - except perhaps for a lesson in making the kind of pasta that will seriously impress friends back home. The formal dining room with its elegant china, the cheery breakfast room and the table in the atmospheric courtyard are all suitably charming options for lingering over the outstanding local produce - most especially as cooked by Rosanna if you get my drift ...

The rest of this exceedingly fine hunting lodge is a delight, as you can see from our photos. The main lodge offers 5 bedrooms on its upper floor - 2 double bedrooms and 3 bedrooms with two single beds. All the bedrooms have the space and individual character you'd expect in an authentically noble Tuscan home. There are a further 2 bedrooms, each with two beds, in an annex by the entrance to the courtyard and no more than a step or two away from the main house. The reception rooms are furnished with antiques, comfy sofas and a collection of frivolous artifacts based on the hunting theme - ducks, deer and hare abound!

The owner's charming and capable daughter lives in Florence. Should you wish to consult her about a special wine tour or a trip into the world of Italian high fashion (she has enviable contacts!), she'll be delighted to guide you into her privileged world.

Relax into the life of a Tuscan lord - step right out of the hurly burly world and into the serenity that is Badicroce!