Villa Carnicelli
Gragnano di Capannori, Lucca, Italy
8 guests
5 bedrooms
4 bathrooms
- Stylishly Comfortable
- A property designed with great style and with amenities that offer a relaxed stay.
- Estate
- An extensive property, usually in the country, made up of multiple units rented together
- Countryside
- Out of town, in rural or agricultural settings
A Noble Home Brought Back to Life with Contemporary Minimalism
This historical villa on a hillside in Lucca was built in 1700 as a home for the noble Carnicelli family, and was recently purchased, restored and named by its new owners in their honor, with eco-friendly upgrades.
A Noble Home Brought Back to Life with Contemporary Minimalism
This historical villa on a hillside in Lucca was built in 1700 as a home for the noble Carnicelli family, and was recently purchased, restored and named by its new owners in their honor. It has an imposing, symmetrical facade with a split-level entrance, that wouldn't look out of place in a Wes Anderson movie. Inside, it's an exciting blend of old bones and contemporary lines.
The palette is warm, earthy and light, and furnishings are minimalist. We love the 200-year-old cotto floors, original wooden doors and beams that are juxtaposed with the simple lines of the light fixtures and furnishings, as well as details like the shelves full of amber apothecary jars in the kitchen.
Surrounded by olive groves and other ancient trees, the villa was brought back to life with sustainability at its core. It was restored using materials that are environmentally friendly, sustainable and plastic free. The plastering, both inside and out, is organic, and the heating system and vacuum cleaning system are located inside the home's walls, meaning less dust and cleaner air.
This villa for rent in Tuscany is 450m² in size and can accommodate eight adults in five bedrooms and four bathrooms, with a professional-grade kitchen. (An additional two guests can be added if necessary.)
Additional features
An in-house chef is available to provide lunches and dinners, using simple Tuscan and Italian recipes with a modern, multicultural touch. The focus is on fresh flavors and, to that end, she uses herbs from Villa Carnicelli's own garden to bring dishes to life. She speaks fluent English, German and Italian. There is an additional charge for this service; please inquire for further details.
The entire building is equipped with a high-speed wifi connection by STARLINK, velocity of 300Mbps. The system can be switched off during the night upon request.
Around
Gragnano di Capannori is a small hilltown with about 1,500 inhabitants and two notable attractions: the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, and the Sanctuary of Madonna del Belvedere.
It's about 8 miles from the ancient, medieval city of Lucca, which, with its centuries-old Ducal palaces, churches and fortifications, and Roman amphitheater, has much to explore. It also has amazing cafes, shops and restaurants along with fresh local markets and, if your timing is right, you can check out the monthly antique market, a sprawling cacophony of antique items and curios on the third weekend of the month. The drama of history is everywhere and tightly contained within the ancient, fortified walls. Don't miss Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, the ellipse of medieval houses built around the amphitheater ruins that comprise the central region of the city.
The house is conveniently located for day trips to Florence, Pisa, the Cinque Terre, Portofino, Santa Margherita, Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano and Pienza and the lesser known but equally beautiful Ligurian seaside villages north of Tuscany.
Location
Gragnano di Capannori, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Nearest airport: Pisa International (20 miles).
Best time to visit
This villa is open 20 April to 9 November 2024. In 2025, it will open from 12 April to 8 November.
Photos
Amenities
Here’s what you can expect during your stay:
- Washer
- Dryer
- Kitchen
- Professionally-equipped kitchen with large ILVE gas cooker with 6 gas burners
- Internet
- WiFi
- TV
- Smart TV
- Heating
- Wheelchair Accessible
- Pool
- 5m diameter
Additional Information
Discover more about this property.
- Bedrooms
- 5
- Full Bathrooms
- 4
How long would you like to stay?
Minimum 2 nights
Location
Discover more about where you’ll be staying.
Gragnano di Capannori, IT
The Guestbook
See what our community is saying about Villa Carnicelli.
What can I say? The villa, the host, everything was perfection and 10/10. Francesca and her family have truly build an oasis to enjoy Tuscany. Her hospitality was even greater - she Organizer amazing trips for us and personalized every piece of it. I have had many Hotel, Airbnb and other hospitality services all over the world but this was one was certainly in the top 3. Whoever plans a visit to Tuscany and is considering Villa Carnicelli - just go for it and you won’t regret. You might be fast as this level of hospitality will surely spread and it will most likely make bookings in the future mir difficult due to high demand. Thank you for everything Francesca. Tanti saluti, Kimbo, Maylin, Fabi und Reiki
Top Ten Reasons to Rent Villa Carnicelli 1. Perfect base to explore Tuscany The Villa is close to Lucca, which is an amazing Renaissance city, which is just as interesting and less touristy than other cities in Tuscany. Florence is 1hr 15 min from Lucca on the regional train, so is an easy day trip. 2. As non-touristy as you can get While you are within an easy day trip of beautiful places like Florence, these places are overrun with tourists, especially in summer. Staying at Villa Carnicelli is the opposite. I don't think we saw a single tourist in the small villages nearly the villa. You really get to experience a more genuine version of Tuscany. 3. New, beautiful renovation The villa was just renovated in a beautiful combination of original details (e.g., wooden ceiling beams) with new finishes (e.g., beautiful local stone floors). The mattresses and brand new and comfortable; the linens are new and organic; the pool is new and well-maintained; the kitchen is set up for serious cooking. The pictures are beautiful, but they don't convey the attention to detail and quality. For example, the washer and drier are brand new top-of-the-line Miele. The stove is an amazing European brand that has a variety of different types of gas burners for different purposes. Bathroom fixtures are top-of-the-line German engineering. The garbage bins in the pantry are fancy European bins that allow you to sort recyclables easily. The knives in the kitchen were either new or newly sharpened. When was the last time you stayed at a rental house and everything they had was as nice or nicer than your own home? 4. Great for families We visited as a family of five plus our son's best friend. There were plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms and lots of privacy. Kids could disappear into their bedrooms or one of the common rooms (meditation/yoga room, tv/family room, music/living room, dining room) so it was easy to manage several groups of teens plus have some space for ourselves. 5. Good spirits live here Hanging from a tree in the back yard are a set of wind chimes that provide a soft, somewhat spiritual, background melody. They are not the annoying, harsh kind of wind chimes that you might have heard--they are simply magical. They set the tone for the villa. You can hear them from the yoga/meditation room upstairs, which contributes to the "good spirits" vibe of the place. They also have a huge collection of vinyl records and an amazing audiophile stereo to play them. Nothing like listening to Simon & Garfunkle on vinyl while sitting in a beautiful room in a villa in Tuscany. 6. Nearby sports for teens We came with several teenage boys who were sometimes more interested in sports than museums. We went to Lucca with a basketball and asked around for public courts. It turns out that there is a basketball court behind a church called the Parrocchia di S. Filippo (Waze will take you there if you are interested). The boys were able to play pickup basketball with local kids on the two days they visited. An amazing, fun time and great cultural exchange. I suspect you could find a soccer pitch in Lucca just as easily. 7. Fully stocked chef's kitchen The kitchen is huge and well-equipped and stocked with virtually anything you would want. Francesca, the daughter, is an expert in food science, so they have many healthy ingredients. For example, they have farro flour, which is a healthy gluten-free alternative to wheat flour. They also have saffron. What rental house stocks saffron? They also have a large herb garden where they grow rosemary, basil, and many other herbs that you can use in your cooking. 8. Amazing restaurants nearby In case you don't want to cook, there are amazing restaurants within walking distance of the house. There is one "slow food" restaurant that had the most amazing Lucchese pesto--made with basil and a mix of other local herbs. There is also a one Michelin start restaurant that features a fusion of Japanese and Tuscan cuisine. Plus there are many other small local places to eat that are detailed in the information packet that come with the villa. 9. Close to an amazing beach The villa is about 45 minutes away from an amazing beach town called Lido de Camaiore. We visited a beach club called Brunello e Ada and it was amazing. The setup is different from American beaches. You rent a small cabana with a shower where you can change and lock up your stuff. You then also get a tent and with many beach lounge chairs and another small box where you can lock valuables. If you look at some reviews, it will say the water is dirty. That's not true, it just has some brown kelp that makes it look dirty, but the beach is super clean. You can also rent fun pedal boats with a slide so you can go far out from the shore to have fun. The kicker is that you can have an amazing, reasonably priced meal here as well. Try the spaghetti allo scoglio (mixed seafood in tomato sauce)--nothing better to have right on the beach. 10. The owners care deeply The owners are good people who care deeply about their villa, and care that people have a good experience there. It comes through in every detail, every interaction, their willingness to go out of their way to help you have a good time. It's hard to describe what this is like but I will give you some small examples. Francesca texted us advice on how to bake a cake with her healthy ingredients. The instructions to the villa are printed and bound in a leather booklet. The house keys come with nice leather pouches. The pool has floating lights that you can use in the evening. These sound like small things, but they add up. In short, our trip to Villa Carnicelli was nothing short of magical, and we intend to come back as often as we can.
I highly recommend staying at this beautiful home. Our stay at Villa Carnicelli was even better than we expected. The home is thoughtfully and expertly designed, full of spacious and comfortable rooms, an incredible kitchen with high-end appliances and cookware, beautiful outdoor spaces and pool, and amazing views. Our group of 6 adults and 1 child had more than enough room to spread out and relax. I especially appreciated how Francesca and her family set up the home with child safety features and crib because they knew we had our 1.5 year old son with us. Francesca is a responsive and generous host, and she and her mother both welcomed us to their beautiful home. Francesca provided us a book of recommendations and information about the area, and she also promptly answered every question we had whenever I texted her. In addition to being a beautiful property, the home is in a great location, with fantastic restaurants in walking distance and easy access for visiting many lovely towns nearby. We had a great time visiting nearby places like Lucca and Pescia with our son, and some in our group even ventured as far out as Siena. We hope one day to return to this special property!
We have no words to say how wonderful this beautiful home is or how much joy it brought us, but we will try. Every detail of this home was clearly done with so much care and love. We could go on and on because this was the most wonderful accommodation we have ever stayed in, and we are avid world travelers We love the house and its history. We love that it is sustainable and uses organic products. This was a perfect vacation because of your home. Thank you for making this an unforgettable and luxurious adventure for us—we are forever grateful.