House buy in Siena Tuscany

In the heart of the verdant Chianti hills, this charming villa in a rural hamlet is for sale. The property was built in the 18th century on a pre-existing farm from the 15th century. The style of the villa is reminiscent of the typical country houses of Tuscan grand ducal families. Ranieri Mancini, the bishop of Fiesole was a guest here in 1777 on his pastoral visit to the nearby church of San Giorgio alla Piazza. In the early decades of the 20th century, the entire building complex was purchased by the current owners and underwent extensions and renovations. The villa has a compact, almost square volume, covered by a pavilion roof from the centre of which the dovecote tower appears. On the façade and on two short staircases is the arched entrance door, with its rusticated frame, overlooking the Italian garden and rectangular windows with stone frames. The interior follows the iconic style of country houses with the rooms situated around a central hall. The entrance hall has a large 16th-century stone fireplace with a carved lintel with the Lecchini family coat of arms and a coffered ceiling with large beams supported by scroll brackets. In the other rooms there are ornamental motifs in neo-classical style. Worth noting is a living room with rich 19th-century decoration. The dining room is decorated with paintings depicting rural life and landscapes. The Italian-style garden occupies both the square in front of the villa and the oratory. The current property comprises 30 hectares of land of which 5.5 hectares are Chianti Classico. The rest of the land is arable and woodland In the Italian garden we find the oratory of San Filippo Neri. This remains a consecrated church with its Latin cross plan and period façade. The entrance door is rectangular in sandstone with the architrave crowned by the Biancardi family coat of arms with the date 1781. This is of the typical bell shape and is framed in pietra serena. The interior of the church has barrel vaults and an elaborate stone altar with an 18th-century painting depicting the apparition of the Madonna and Child to St. Philip Neri. Above the altar is a fresco inside an oval alcove. The structure also bears the tombstones of members of the Bianciardi family on its walls.