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The Cooking School Villas

Villa Aquilea is a treasure. For centuries, a agriturismo producing  wine and olive oil in the hills above Lucca, the villa has a rich past. You feel it the moment you walk in the door. This continues today as guests bask in the sun, relax together and explore Tuscany's unique countryside.  www.villaaquilea.com

Villa Selva is a 15th century restored farmhouse located on a 1000-acre estate, Tenuta di Forci, in the Tuscan hills above Lucca. Tenuta di Forci is a working estate, still making its own wine and pressing its own olives after a thousand years. Locals will tell you it's the best olive oil in the area, and its wine is a favorite with guests. Forci also produces pecorino cheese and ricotta, a wide range of honeys and vinegars, and a smooth grappa.  Beautiful walks may be taken throughout the estate and its vineyards and olive groves.

The old barn, with its traditional latticed terra cotta windows, is the site of the cooking school kitchen, a spacious rustic room with modern equipment. You only have to take a step outside to cut herbs and vegetables for your dishes or pick fresh lemons or apples.

Both villas have all the amenities expected by 21st century guests: telephone, internet access and modern and numerous bathrooms. Wood-fired ovens are used for our weekly pizza night and wood fire roasts. Each villa has its own pool with views over the valley.

The villas have telephones, also for international calls (with a calling card), a computer with ADSL or satellite modem for free unlimited email and internet access as well as wireless WI-FI system -- you can log onto the internet directly from your laptop.

Accommodation

Furnishings at Villa Aquilea are elegant and simple – combining local antiques and comfortable newer pieces. Exposed 16th century chestnut beamed ceilings overarch terracotta floors gleaming with the patina of age. Tuscan pigments; rich ochre, burnt siena and cobalt blue are used throughout the villa contributing to the timeless and relaxing ambience.

The villa has five double bedrooms, (some with adjoining bathrooms), two laundries and two fully equipped kitchens. The main kitchen leads onto a wooden outdoor dining setting on a sundrenched terrace under a wisteria-covered pergola. Here, the views are beyond compare: spectacular sunrises, filtered morning light, vineyards and olive groves, moonlit nights with the lights of Lucca and local villages glowing in the distance.

Much thought was given to retaining the feel of  Selva's 500-year-old rustic Tuscan farmhouse. The house is furnished with antiques, and the high ceilings are of terra cotta and wood. The overall impression is one of comfort and light.

Villa Selva consists of two floors, the ground floor containing two bedrooms (one with a vanity area) and 1-1/2 bathrooms and egress to a large leafy pergola and garden area. The bedrooms on this floor can be either two doubles or one double and a twin.  The second floor has two bedrooms that can be either double or single beds, two full baths, hallway and a sitting room with fireplace and egress to a covered entryway overlooking the valley and the upper garden area.

Bedrooms and bathrooms are freshened daily.

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