Majestic Villa With Pool For Sale In Pisa, Tuscany

This majestic and elegant manorial villa, a real house museum, is located in an extremely panoramic position in the Pisan countryside, in a unique and unaltered natural setting just a few kilometers from the sea. The property actually consists of three villas (totaling more than 4,300 square meters of floor space) and is an excellent starting point for both a private residence and a luxury boutique hotel. The buildings are accompanied by a 42,000-sqm park and over 26 ha of agricultural land with olive grove (800 trees).
The property is located in an area dotted with historic and valuable villas, less than a kilometer from a small town where basic services can be found, also within walking distance. Renowned art cities such as Pisa, San Gimignano, Lucca, and Florence can be reached in about an hour, while Pisa International Airport and the sea are both less than a half-hour drive away. The renowned seaside location of Forte dei Marmi is also less than an hour away. The birthplace of tenor Andrea Bocelli is about 20 km from the villa, in the town of Lajatico.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS
Villa Rey (1,000 sqm – 10,760 sqft, 7 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms) is named after its first owner, Macchiaioli painter Augusto Rey (1837 – 1898), who built and decorated it in 1895. The building is located upstream from a valley of meadows, olive trees, vineyards, woods and small lakes that juts out toward the sea.
On the ground floor are a very scenic double entrance with a wide gallery almost twenty meters long, from which open a dining room, a library, the large, richly decorated kitchen, and two large halls. Pièce-de-résistance of the ground floor is a huge frescoed and decorated reception hall.
Going up to the first floor, one has access to a monumental central gallery from which one then can enter six large rooms: two living rooms, a dressing room, and three finely decorated bedrooms with large en-suite bathrooms. A panoramic terrace completes the floor.
On the second floor we find four more spacious bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom, a large gallery and Augusto Rey’s old personal studio (about 60 sqm – 646 sqft) now converted into a home cinema with a wall screen and state-of-the-art hi-tech system. Lastly, one ascends to the crenellated turret, excellent for a sitting room or bedroom, with its private terrace.
Descending instead to the pool area, the villa also has a fitness area with direct exit to the terraced garden. The wellness room houses a 37°C heated pool with a whirlpool and Roman waterfall, a Finnish sauna, changing room and bath. The 20  6.5 m swimming pool is on the same level, made of stone with a breathtaking view of the valley, and has a whirlpool corner and outdoor hot shower. A large dining table for breakfasts, dinners, and poolside aperitifs is also located on the paved solarium.

Around the building, on the terraces, an elegant Italian-style garden has been created, decorated with well-kept hedges, statues, columns, and complemented by a magnificent belvedere overlooking the surrounding countryside. The villa is then accompanied by a beautiful English-style park (43,000 sqm – 10.6 ac), dotted with ornamental flowers, decorative plants, and terraces that allow every corner of the green to be experienced. Avenues and graveled walkways furrow the entire park, allowing walks even on hot summer days thanks to the shade provided by the trees.
Right in the garden there is also an orangery (300 sqm – 3,228 sqft), made of glass and steel and completely removable, where events and receptions can be held even in winter.

A short distance from the villa, within a small block of apartments located below the villa, is a small apartment (50 sqm – 538 sqft, 1 bedroom and 2 bathrooms) consisting of living area with kitchen, bedroom and two bathrooms. This unit can be used either as a guest accommodation or as a house for the janitor. In the same complex is also a convenient private garage (25 sqm – 269 sqft) with a small attached storage room.

South of Villa Rey is Villa Santernetti (1,500 sqm – 16,140 sqft, up to 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms), a large manor house complex dating back to the 18th century and frescoed by painter Giovanni Battista Tempesti (1729 – 1804). The building, composed of large rooms spread over three floors, needs complete renovation to be inhabited, which ensures maximum freedom for buyers regarding finishes and intended use of the spaces, which could be easily remodeled to create a guest accommodation facility with many rooms and lounges available.

Heading north, however, one arrives at Villa Torre Alta (1,500 sqm – 16,140 sqft, up to 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms), a beautiful 16th-century stately home embellished with frescoes by Roman painter Pietro della Valle (1586 – 1652) and previously owned by the noble Pappalardo family. The property has elegant reception halls with stylish decorations and fine elements, but needs renovation and modernization of the facilities. The internal layout of the building lends itself very well to both a private stately home and an elegant B&B with common areas available for guests.

EXTERIORS
All around the park of the villa, the property includes about 26.6 hectares (65.7 acres) of agricultural land, mostly covered by woods and also suitable for walking and/or spending day outdoors. In terms of production, the property can count on a large olive grove (about 2.1 ha) with 800 trees capable of producing an excellent Tuscan extra virgin olive oil.
A small vineyard (about 2.5 ha) that was on the property and is clearly visible in the Catasto Leopoldino of 1825 is being restored.
Finally, the meadow and arable areas (7.1 ha) could be used to plant a small vineyard (in a very suitable land) or expand the olive grove.
The landscape surrounding the villas is characterized by rolling hills, often covered by woods, against which stand elegant 19th-century villas or medieval towns surrounded by those vineyards and olive groves that embody the most authentic spirit of historic Tuscany. These unspoiled landscapes of rare beauty have always been beloved since ancient times as backdrops for works of art, and it is not surprising that in the 19th century the Macchiaioli often depicted the Pisa area in their paintings.

ADDITIONAL PURCHASE
If interested, an additional 70 hectares of land with some farmhouses and shares in an authorized and exclusive hunting reserve are available for purchase, all for the price of 700,000 Euro.

CLOSEST CITIES AND TOWNS
Closest services (1km; 2’), Casciana Terme (11km; 15’), Pontedera (22km; 25’), Pisa (29km; 30’), Livorno (33km; 35’), Volterra (46km; 1h), San Gimignano (55km; 1h 10’), Viareggio (60km; 50’), Lucca (65km; 55’), San Casciano in Val di Pesa (69km; 1h), Florence (79km; 1h 15‘), Piombino (86km; 1h 10’), Follonica (90km; 1h 10’), Monteriggioni (100km; 1h 30’), Gaiole in Chianti (115km; 1h 50’), Siena (116km; 1h 40’), Montalcino (184km; 2h 15’), Montepulciano (184km; 2h 15’)

CLOSEST AIRPORTS
Pisa G. Galilei (26km; 25’), Firenze A. Vespucci (76km; 1h), Grosseto C. Baccarini (134km; 1h 40’), Bologna G. Marconi (163km; 1h 50’), Perugia San Francesco (235km; 2h 45’), Roma Fiumicino (303km; 3h 20’), Roma Ciampino (324km; 3h 40’)