Rental Cottage near Chianti Tuscany "Podere La Rota" with Summer's Leases

Accommodates 2
Available February - mid December

Farm produced organic olive oil and home bottled wine for sale. Riding close by

Sorry, no pets!

1 double bedroom,
bathroom with bath/shower,
sitting room with wood burning stove,
dining room,
kitchen with dishwasher and washing machine.

Lavish welcome/breakfast pack, stereo, TV, DVD (PAL), broadband (wireless), mountain bikes, air conditioning in bedroom (charged at cost), huge private terrace, shaded parking.

Click on + button to see exact location. View Larger Map for distances and route planning to/from Moncioni


The charming sitting room with stereo, books and maps	The dining room (rarely used in summer!)

The kitchen has everything you could need	The comfortable bedroom is air conditioned

The elegant bathroom	The enormous terrace is a feature of La Rota

The view from the terrace by day	Watching the sun go down ...

If you love walking, peaceful rusticity, outlet shopping, organically grown olive oil and all the more conventional joys of glorious Tuscany then this cottage is for you!

Podere La Rota is a delightful cottage set among peaceful olive groves, barely a ten minute stroll from the village of Moncioni, which is slap in the centre of Tuscany’s “golden triangle” formed by Florence, Siena and Arezzo - at La Rota, you are comfortably within an hour’s drive of all three of the tempting must-see points of the triangle and you are also on the doorstep of the fine red wines of Chianti. If you prefer to let the train take the sightseeing strain, it’s just ten minutes drive down to the busy town of Montevarchi, where you can park and hop on a train down to Rome or up to Florence. Montevarchi also boasts an excellent Thursday morning market, where you’ll find fresh fruit and veg plus clothing and household bargains galore and there’s an antiques market on the last Sunday of every month too. For fashion enthusiasts, just 15 minutes drive will get you to Levane, where the Prada outlet is discreetly tucked away. The area abounds in outlets selling fabulous shoes, glassware and cashmere to name but few. And the outlets for Armani, Fendi, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana are all in a 40-minute drive from this beautifully furnished cottage (you’ll find full details of the locations of the high fashion outlets in all Summer’s Leases House Books).

The walled village of Moncioni is tiny, but you’ll nevertheless find a bar, a post office, a well stocked “sell-everything” shop and an elegant restaurant. If you want to drive into Chianti to dine at the ancient and atmospheric Osteria di Starda, there’s a secret back route which is a wonderfully scenic ten-minute drive from your cottage. Serious walkers couldn’t pick a better base than Podere La Rota with maps in the house showing the many local footpaths, or you might prefer to settle for a gentle saunter in the sylvan surroundings of Podere La Rota’s 30 acres of woods and olive groves.

Attention has been paid to every detail of this pretty cottage: from the comfortable furnishings in authentic Tuscan style to the superbly well equipped new kitchen and pretty bathroom. Once again the owners have tried to think of everything by providing useful things like a hair dryer, sun bathing towels, a range of CDs if you forget to pack your own favourites, a bookcase with maps, books and guides, even a sewing kit and a free welcome snack & breakfast pack to ensure you start your holiday in style. And now there’s even covered parking to keep your car out of the Mediterranean sun! Your own private terrace is equipped with sun loungers, huge shady umbrella and a table for candle-lit dining under the Tuscan stars. Podere La Rota’s large white dog Livia and three cats will no doubt drop by to check up on what you are doing, unlike the owners who are discretion itself - they’re there and a mine of local information if you need them, otherwise you will be left to enjoy your gloriously peaceful surroundings in perfect privacy.

If you want something special in Tuscany, you’ll be delighted with La Rota!

Guests coming to stay from the end of October onwards can choose to join in the annual olive harvest


Olives on the tree in November	First you spread a huge net below the tree ...

... then you comb the olives off the branches ...	(with Livia's supervision)

... then gather up the net and pour the olives into boxes ...	... for taking to the mill

Here the olives are washed ...	... and pressed for an hour or so ...

... and the oil separated from the water ...	... ready for filling 5 litre tins or bottles

There's absolutely no obligation on you to opt for the olive picking option but if you do, this is what's offered:

5 mornings' olive picking (gloves and equipment supplied)
Light lunch (pasta and fruit with wine)
A trip to the mill at the end of the week to watch the olives you picked being pressed into delicious extra-virgin olive oil
2 bottles of "your" olive oil to take home

We think this is a pretty unique opportunity to see what goes into the olive oil producing process, so why not join in the fun?

We had a wonderful holiday in this beautiful haven hidden away in the hills of Tuscany. The breathtaking views coupled with the very well equipped and sensitively decorated house made this a memorable holiday. We arrived at Podere La Rota to a warm welcome from Livia and a fridge filled with delicious food. An equally warm welcome from Ali and Bob and we were convinced that this was going to be a relaxing and truly enjoyable holiday.

It was difficult to tear ourselves away from Podere La Rota but we did manage trips to Siena, Arezzo, Cortona and some local villages. We arrived home to glorious sunsets which we enjoyed while sipping the excellent Podere La Rota wine and food enhanced by the delicious organic olive oil produced from the olives groves on the estate.

Podere La Rota felt like home as Bob and Ali's generosity extended to inviting us to help ourselves to cherries from the cherry tree in front of the house. Their courtesy and discretion allowed us to unwind and immerse ourselves in the delights of Tuscany.


view from the terrace	view from the house

Helena & Greg, Kildare.

You always take a chance coming back to somewhere you have been before, especially when we loved our first visit to Podere La Rota so much. However, our second stay here was even better than before and we can't wait to come back again!

Unlike last time, we spent almost the entire week on the terrace, enjoying the view and the wine!

Whether you want to do the same or to tour the surrounding countryside, or take a day trip to Florence or even Rome, Podere La Rota is the perfect destination for a Tuscan holiday and we cant recommend it highly enough.

Grazie de tutto!

Love, Angie and Ryan.


Ready to go to Starda	Ciao Livia!

Angie Fawkes, Edinburgh.

Even though the weather didn't cooperate, from the moment we arrived, Podere La Rota exceeded our already high expectations. Bob and Ally took great care in the restoration of the villa to make it feel like a home away from home. The wonderful welcome package was greatly appreciated as were the cakes delivered Sunday morning by Ally. Bob and Ally went out of their way to make sure that we were comfortable and that all of our needs were met. We'll never forget their hospitality as well as Livia's, who adopted us as we stepped out of our car and watched over us until we left. Of course, our leftovers kept her at our door at all times.

Our week at Podere La Rota was the most relaxing and enjoyable vacation we have ever had. If we are able to return to Tuscany, we will definitely stay at Podere La Rota again.


Kim & Ernie @ San Gimignano	Livia waiting for dinner

Ernie & Kim Kurtz, Pennsylvania.

With this trip being our first trip abroad, we wanted something special. We decided to spend a week in a villa, and when we found this one on your website, we knew we found the one. We never expected it to be as wonderful as it was. The drive up the mountain, was...fun, but the drive was worth it. As soon as we pulled into the drive and were greeted by Bob and Livia, we knew we got more than we expected. The villa was beautiful, the welcome pack was more than appreciated, and the view was breathtaking. Ally was so nice, and made us both feel so comfortable. Livia always made it feel like coming home again after a long day of sightseeing. This was definitely a vacation i never wanted to end, and am more than envious of Bob and Ally for actually getting to Live there!


Jessica & Livia	Josh & TomCat

Jessica & Joshua Pape, Arizona.

When Bob showed us around the beautifully equipped, charming, comfortable little house we immediately felt at home. We ate on the veranda from the very lavish welcome dishes and even a bottle of sparkling white wine they had left for us. Livia the white Maremma sheep dog also joined us. It was the start of a perfect week. Bob and Ally couldn’t have been kinder and more welcoming. The kitchen lacked for nothing and we ate in almost every evening. This was quite a change for us as we normally love eating out on holiday but the view was so lovely that we didn’t think we could find a better restaurant. Livia couldn’t have been a nicer companion and every morning she joined Tom on a walk in the valley. Being greeted by her made us feel we were coming home.

I couldn’t find anything negative to say about Podere La Rota, it was magical from beginning to end and just writing about it has made me wish I was back there right now. Thank you Summer’s Leases, we hope to enjoy many more holidays with you.

Tom & Julie Pinckheard, Bath.

This is the 7th Summer’s Leases house that we have stayed in and they get better and better! This was only the second week of letting of this new house but everything was in place including a superb welcome pack and the odd bottle or two of cold white wine in the fridge - just the welcome for weary travellers! The electric fans were a great help (well, it had been 40°C in the shade!) when we finally dragged ourselves off the terrace to go inside having admired the superb views for several hours over a leisurely meal.

Crispin Davies, Kent.

Our third consecutive year at La Rota emphasises the esteem in which we hold this hidden gem. Roll-on 2010!

Jerry and Maria Gumeniuk, Bradford.

Podere La Rota exceeded all of our expectations. The cottage itself is incredibly well appointed. The kitchen is modern and spotless with everything you need to take care of yourself in style. Living and dining rooms are comfortable and well-equipped. The bedroom is huge by Italian standards and the renovated bathroom is an elegant and luxurious treat.

Then there’s the deck, which overlooks olive trees and grape vines and medieval villages and Tuscan hills. It’s a minor miracle. No, a major miracle. If the sun is shining, it’s hard to convince yourself to do anything but sit on the deck and enjoy. Certainly our plan to explore the hill towns was cut back considerably - although we managed the easy drives to San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Cortona, Volterra and others.

Each morning we did a good long walk in the hills, and each afternoon we sat on the deck with a glass of wine and a before dinner treat. Our plan to find a great little restaurant each night was also scrapped. Why bother? We prepared our own meals five of the seven nights, and ate leisurely on “our deck” enjoying “our view.”

Bob and Ally are great hosts. We had lots in common and got a chance to share our concerns about war and peace and social justice - and to provide each other with all kinds of sensible suggestions for improving the world. Their stories about developing and running La Rota - sometimes frustrating, sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing - were always entertaining.

And, of course, there’s Livia.

Podere La Rota is the kind of place that, without being the least bit pretentious, makes you feel spoiled.

We’ll be back.

David Chudnovsky, Ruth Herman, Vancouver.

We found Podere La Rota to be a home from home of the highest quality (in fact we’d swap our home for the cottage in a flash). First impressions really do last and from the moment we stepped on to the patio we fell for the location in a big way...

I had planned to ask Clare to marry me whilst in Rome or maybe Florence, but one night as we sat on the patio watching an amazing sun set with a stunning view across the valley, I knew that no more romantic setting could be found anywhere in Italy. The big question was popped and thankfully (with no little help from the surroundings) Clare said yes. We found the cottage to be an ideal base for traveling around this beautiful part of the country or as a haven to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We can’t wait to go back.

Andrew Young and Clare Turner, Billericay.

Price per Week (Saturday to Saturday)			Equivalent guide prices
Rental period		Euro	UK pounds	US dollars
February 6 - May 22	2010	€ 490
May 22 - June 19	2010	€ 550
June 19 - July 10	2010	€ 590
July 10 - August 28	2010	€ 650
August 28 - October 23	2010	€ 550
October 23 - December 11	2010	€ 490
Prices in green indicate Olive Picking Holidays possible - see tab Our prices include everything except air conditioning and heating in the cooler months (charged at cost) Podere La Rota is charged in euro See our booking conditions