About Us

Sara and Allen (here pictured enjoying the landscape) are both historians attached to academic institutions in Florence. Il Poggiolo has been in their family since 1968, and they have made it their permanent home since 1980.

Poggiolo History

Il Poggiolo (meaning “small hill”) is a place name that dates back to the later Middle Ages. The little valley that runs along the access road was already called Rondinaia (the home of swallows) in the 15th century. In summer evenings you can still see the swallows fly in sweeping circles above the valley floor.

In the later 18th century, Il Poggiolo was an agricultural holding farm belonging to the Catholic Church. In the first half of the 20th century it was sold to a bourgeois family from Montevarchi. As was customary at that time, the family used it as a country retreat and gentrified part of  it into a villa, where they occupied separate apartments now called the Casa Colonica.

As in most Tuscan middle-size agricultural holdings, both owners and farmers lived in the same building, upstairs, while the oxen, pigs and sheep were stabled on the ground floor. This accounts for the often large size of the Tuscan farmhouse, and the often different quality of architectural details – such as superior stonework in the owner’s quarters. The vineyards, olive groves and fields were cultivated by sharecropping farmers until 1964 (when sharecropping was abolished in Italy), and then subsequently by salaried agricultural workers, and then finally by ourselves.

The neighbours still remember the farmer family who lived here during the Second World War, when an unfortunate incident resulted in the villa being set on fire. All the neighbours ran to help, forming a bucket brigade from the well (which is now dry, but the small structure with a tiled roof still exists). Burn marks are still visible on the wooden window frames in the northwest bedroom or the Casa Colonica.

Next to the villa stands the fienile (barn). This building was used for a variety of purposes: storing tools, drying grain and corn (to feed livestock), stockpiling charcoal, and baking bread every week in a domed brick oven. Like most farm buildings, the barn was adapted and expanded according to need, which accounts for its rambling layout. Il Poggiolo produced fine quality wine and olive oil until 1987, when the current owners made the difficult choice to abandon the land in favour of an equally taxing occupation – that of the professional historian. Il Poggiolo is, nevertheless, still surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Currently, the lower fields are cultivated for alfalfa and hay.

Why we love the Valdarno

The part of the Valdarno (Arno valley) that has become home for us runs from Florence to Arezzo. Unlike the Chianti (which runs roughly between Florence and Siena and relies heavily on wine production and tourism), the Valdarno has remained a year-round, economically viable part of Italy, specializing in small, family-run businesses (from pasta shops to shoe manufactories). At the same time, the towns that are scattered throughout the valley have carefully preserved their medieval centers, and are well-known to Renaissance enthusiasts for the celebrated artists and humanists born in the area : Masaccio in San Giovanni Valdarno, Benedetto Varchi in Montevarchi, and so on. The Valdarno thus benefits from a long and glorious history and still preserves many art treasures in its small museums and local churches. At the same time it boasts all the conveniences Italians look for in their lives: good food, good shops, good schools, good public transportation, good hospitals, etc. The quality of life is beyond compare.

While the Chianti has undergone a recent boom thanks to the tourist trade (with a population count that swells hugely in the summer season) the Valdarno has remained staunchly local, populated with families who have lived here for generations….and have no intention of moving anywhere else. This is the reason behind the excellent public transportation system, and above all the abundance of commuter trains run regularly from Montevarchi station, carrying people to work as far as Florence/Pistoia or Arezzo/Cortona, although most people work closer to home. The proximity of the Valdarno to a number of historically important cities such as Florence, Arezzo and Siena has also stimulated the proliferation of Outlet stores (Prada is the closest to Il Poggiolo), antique shops, and garden greenhouses. In a few zoned areas, small malls are to be found (the “Ipercoop” and “Brico Io” which is a miniature version of Home Depot).

As historians, we are particularly enamoured of the Valdarno’s long history. It has been a major artery since Roman times. The remains of feudal castles and watchtowers can still be seen on the hills, silhouetted against the sky. The towns all have historic centers, charming cafés and ice-cream parlours, fabulous small stores with personal service, and friendly people. Nothing is more divine, to our mind, than sitting at the café in the main square in San Giovanni at the fall of day, sipping an aperitif (Campari or Cynar), watching the swallows circle in the sunset glow above the 15th-century Town Hall, and listening to the children – a mix of the new Valdarno young, from Tuscany, the Indian sub-continent and Eastern Europe – united in blithely ignoring their mothers calling them to dinner.

This the Valdarno we love, the everyday provincial life of the “real” Tuscany, the life we are privileged to share.

About the Poggiolo Garden

Il Poggiolo has what is termed a “sustainable” garden, with sitting areas strategically situated for the best views, graced by flowering bushes and shrubs in spring, and valiantly enlivened during the dry Tuscan summers by flowers in terracotta pots. The garden areas do not try to create a park effect. There is not only a chronic water shortage in Tuscany, but any profuse lawn or flowerbed watering would bring hordes of mosquitoes… of which we currently have very few (and intend to keep it that way).

Part of the charm of Tuscany is the ever-changing views, and the mutation of landscape colours according to the season: from fresh Spring green sprinkled with wildflowers, to the golden hues of Summer wheat fields and sun-dried grasses, with acres of tall sunflowers as far as the eye can see. In Fall the vistas are multi-coloured, when the vineyards turn red and yellow, and in winter the ploughed fields reveal earth colours varying from chalk-white to russet brown. Whatever season it is, Tuscany can only charm the visitor, just as it has seduced us into becoming permanent residents…. for over 30 years!