Private Rustic Villa with Pool, F di Barga Tuscany

La Rocca is an old rural stone built Tuscan hillside farmhouse in 4 acres of private wooded grounds providing a large kitchen, sitting room, 3 double bedrooms, modern shower and bathrooms, 10m x 5m pool, entertainment BBQ area and verandah. Spectacular views, peace & quiet and yet close to Barga & Lucca. The old house, retaining much of its original character has low beamed ceilings, narrow stairs and steps. Access is by an old steep single track farm road with sharp bends and rocky outcrops. La Rocca is a rugged and rustic old detached Tuscan farmhouse, lovingly restored to provide a comfortable holiday home for up to 6 people. Situated on a south facing, rocky hillside, the house and pool sit in completely private four acres of wooded grounds. Internally the rooms are clean, simple and traditional showing their original log beam ceilings. The doorways are low, steps and stairs narrow and steep, all as to be expected from a small traditional rural Italian farmhouse. There may be some insects, certainly plenty wildlife outside, much sunshine and the occasional thunderstorm. The house is suitable for children over 10 and the more mobile. Only 15 minutes drive south of Barga, 35 minutes north from Lucca , just over an hour to Pisa and Florence and with the beaches at Viareggio also an hour away, there is a wide range of recreational activities available. Guests have access to all the house, outbuildings and pool. The house sits in 4 acres of wooded hillside with picturesque mountain paths leading off into the cliffs and valleys around. This is a old rural property, the doorways are low, steps and stairs narrow. The drive/access road is narrow, rough surface and steep in places, not suitable for low slung long vehicles. The use of the house is private and the owners will not be inoccupation La Rocca stands on the south side of the hills outside the dispersed village of Gromignana in the Garfagnana Valley. The valley is characterised by ancient hilltop towns sitting amid the wooded slopes. Barga, Castelnuovo and Castiglione are particularly beautiful traditional Tuscan towns, while Bagni di Lucca attracted Byron. Lucca, at the bottom of valley, with its spectacular large encircling walls is rich in both history and architecture, yet is thoroughly cosmopolitan. The immediate hillside is laced with ancient rugged cliff edge pathways and narrow roads dipping and rising in this spectacular landscape.. Gromignana is accessible by bus and has a small train station close by, about 2 km at Ghivizzano. The bus stops close to the house, but the train is 10 minutes by car. A car is essential, particularly as Tuscany is a large region and has so many worthwhile trips. Cars can be hired at Pisa and Florence airports. From Lucca take the ring road around the old city walls and take the junction heading to the Garfagnana. Follow the road Sp20 north for the town of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. The valley has to interweaving roads, both lead to Ghivizzano; (This takes about 20 minutes) Route 1 West side of the valley; At Borgo a Mozzano, the west route leads directly to Castelnuovo. Keep heading north passing the distinctive old arched bridge on your right. Continue with this road and take the right, a bridge sign posted to Barga. Drive through Calavorno and then next to Ghivizzano. Route 2 East side of the valley; At Borgo a Mozzano, the east side route leads to Bagni di Lucca. Keep heading north, passing the distinctive old bridge on your left. Continue with this road and take the left bfore Bagni di Lucca to Fornoli. Follow this road for Barga, but not beyond Ghivizzano. At Ghivizzano, approaching through Calavorno from the south, turn off right, beside the small square at ‘The Sport Bar’. Draive around the old town and opposite the upper (north) gate take the sharp left steep road up to Gromignana. (This takes about 10 minutes) As you approach Gromignana, the road branches right to Lucignana. At this junction, the small farm road to La Rocca leads off to the right. Take this road, drive with care through the trees and farm down through the forest. At the picnic table, take the concreted road to the right to the house. The nearest house is about 500m away and the nearest village 1km, with a small shop. A car, with traditional (not low profile) tires and ground clearance is essential, the nearest supermarket is 15 minutes drive. The access drive is steep and partly open sided and demands care. The area is very popular with racing bicyclists in the summer, while all the villages in the valley have evening festivals throughout the summer, with larger events in the beautiful towns of Barga and Lucca. The landscape around is steep, rocky and rugged. Wild animals live in the woods; fox, porcupine boar and many birds. In summer, being in rural Italy there are bees, wasps etc the occasional scorpion. For more see House Rules.