Dardano was beautifully situated in a semi-rural environment very accessible to fantastic restaurants and amenities. We loved the ‘minimart’ not far up the road in Montella! We bought many wonderful ingredients (Pecorino, Parma, amazing beef, pastas) for our evening feasts under the grape arbor. The pool was refreshing and a fabulous retreat from the summer heat. Cortona is a quick drive up the hill for excellent dining and exploring.

Don’t miss the Franciscan Cell Hermitage (Le Celle) 5 km from Cortona built into the face of Mount Sant’Edigio. It was magical there. We also loved cooking some traditional Tuscan recipes (Coniglio, Baccalà& Tiramisù) with Carla and her mother-in-law Stella. Many laughs and good times had in the kitchen! We LOVED our trip to Tuscany and are eager to plan our next one.

Under the grape arbor	Cooking with Carla and Stella!

Patty Ripley and family (Bruce, Samara and Quinn) and Tom and Karen Lane, British Columbia.

We loved the setting and placement of Dardano. Close to so many of the Tuscan hill towns that day trips were only about 1 to 2 hours away. Dardano was very quiet and peaceful. We loved sitting out on the porch to have our breakfast and dinner.

On the porch	The view

Sheila & Philip Azzara, California.

The house was wonderful - and more spacious than we thought the web site had led us to believe. It comfortably held 6 people (including 2 children) and made for a great base of operations as we packed in a tour of that area of Tuscany. Our hosts were very attentive and friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay (our first holiday of this type).

Will recommend Dardano to other friends and work colleagues.

Haydn Parry, Kent.

We loved Dardano. It really was better than we had hoped. The area outside the house was lovely for sitting and one was always able to find some shade. It was a lovely place to come back to after a hot day’s sightseeing and it really did become our home for two weeks.

Honestly one of the best holidays we’ve had. Carla was very helpful and informative telling us about places to visit and where to eat. We are very glad we found you.

Tom Pinckheard, Bath.

We loved every minute there, it was perfect!

Excellent value for money.

Audrey Gleeson, Ontario.

There is hardly anything more that I could have wanted from a rental in Tuscany that Dardano did not provide. The setting in the middle of an agricultural plain, surrounded by red poppies and sunflowers was an incredible sight. I was not prepared to be in a house filled with so much history and rural charm. It is idyllic!

Your agency and your staff were outstanding. The rental and the payment went smoothly. The directions to the rental were perfect and meticulous in detail. The photographs and descriptions of the property were completely accurate. I would have no reservations about using Summer’s Leases for my future vacation rentals.

The owners of the property, Carla and Paolo, were perfect hosts. Every detail, from welcoming flowers and wine and a nice historical tour of the house to the absolute guarantee of privacy made our stay enjoyable. Dardano is well furnished and equipped with everything you would ever need. A car is essential, but driving distances to grocery stores and other services are minimal. The house was in a perfect location for our explorations of Cortona, Lake Trasimeno, Assisi, Perugia, Deruta, and Pienza and Montepulciano on day trips. We made short train trips to Florence and Rome. After a day of journeys, we just sat back on the front porch with a glass of Vino Noble and watched evening unfold complete with the sound of frogs and owls and the magic light of fireflies!

Thank you for a perfect rental experience. You all are great.

Ed Bedecarrax, Washington.

We found the property to be exactly what we were looking for. It was a rustic atmosphere with a wood burning fireplace in the kitchen which added to feeling of home and comfort. Although the kitchen/sitting area was not large, it was enough for us as our days were spent traveling and not much time was spent indoors. We were quite surprised to find that the bedrooms were quite large and the farmhouse could have accommodated 1 more couple besides the 5 of us. Although the time of year was not idea for outdoor living, there were 2 different areas that could accommodate evening dinners and one tiny alcove that we used for morning coffee.

As for Carla and Paolo, we cannot say enough about their welcome to us. We met Paolo our first night to obtain the key and found a welcoming bottle of wine and fresh sunflowers waiting for us. Since we had not been able to pick up some staples before we arrived, Paolo graciously drove one of our party to a nearby grocery to pick up a few things and to show us where it was located. We met Carla the next day who was glad to answer any questions that we had and recommended places to shop, purchase supplies and dining in Cortona. She also took the time to look over our map and planned destinations to let us know what was worth visiting and what places could be set aside.

Debbie Davis, Ontario.

A fantastic property, thoroughly enjoyable, wonderful location, would gladly recommend to anyone. We had a great holiday.

Matthew Brown, Belfast.

We stayed one week at Dardano in June and had a great time. The house was very clean and tidy, large with a beautiful setting - it was perfect for us. Great location just outside Cortona - a terrific, interesting little town. We would definitely recommend Dardano and Summer's Leases to our friends.

Our hosts were the nicest people and really made our vacation special. They were friendly and helpful - people we would choose to be friends with! We made dinner at Dardano for my son's birthday and invited the owners to join us. We thought we had a pretty nice menu for the party - huge steaks from the corner market, wine from vineyards near Assisi and a lovely cake from town - but then Paolo and his wife came with a big box of food for the party and no one was interested in what we had made!

They brought a gorgeous tiramisù and wine from their vineyard and then proceeded to make a pasta bolognese (sp?) WONDERFUL! We had the best time trying to talk in English/Italian and enjoyed their company so much. We had a five-course dinner under the grapevines in our little candle-lit dining room under the stars - it was a highlight of our two weeks in Italy!

We all had a memorable, fun vacation - and hope to be back in beautiful Italy soon.

Rosanne Lewis, Hampshire.