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The names of Tuscan Houses

A characteristic of Tuscan hamlets was to give names to houses. This method, apart from being practical, was also a characteristic of strong ties with the land and the people who lived there.

I wanted to keep alive this antique tradition, searching through old topographic maps of Tuscany, for the original name of the hamlets and farmhouses which I restore.

The Fox's Den

My present property project in Castiglion Fiorentino is The Fox's Den. The recuperation and conservative restoration of an antique form of watchtower together with its house. In an open and dominant position with wonderful views of the Valdichiana and the hills of Siena, the house is approximately 400 qm in size and has a park of approximately 8,500qm. Also in this project I continue to respect the Tuscan traditions, chestnut beams and cotto tiles, stairs and walls in stone as well as offering the best and most up to date technology and building techniques existing regarding safety and antisismic regulations.

Why are you purchaising from this builder: are you sure that buying a restored farmhouse, it's anti-seismic?

Restorer by Passion

From an editorial

If Frances Mayes says that Fulvio Di Rosa is the right person to restore the antique farmhouses of Tuscany, we must believe her: she knows the region well, having written amongst other things, the best selling book "Under the Tuscan Sun". This is what Christopher Petkanas writes. Luigi Tanganelli knows it even better. Born to farming parents sixty years ago, he was in fact, born in the middle of the Valdichiana, a few kilometers from Cortona, the most famous Etruscan city in the world. Saying this, we do not wish to make any comparison with the famous engineer Di Rosa, whose capabilities we appreciate, but we have mentioned the introduction of the Tuscan restored Luigi Tanganelli with a phrase "stolen" to demonstrate his amazing capabilities in the art of conservative restoration, respecting the spirit of the land and the "sentiment of time" which can be relived in his works. In his restoration in fact, before making any decision, he always considers how the original farmers would think. Today, says Luigi Tanganelli, it is almost impossible to buy a property in Tuscany, very few properties are available, the specialised labour and original materials are rare to find and also expensive, and the never ending bureaucratic paperworks which exists to safeguard the spirits of the land, are all factors which discourage whoever wishes to go in to the restoration of antique farmhouses in the hills of the Valdichiana. This restorer offers some of his properties to a elite clientèle, as the of "Cà Mattero", where he actually lives, demonstrates. Presently he has started the restoration of a ruin, always in the little town of Castiglion Fiorentino, which he offers to a clientèle who are able to appreciate its historic value and landscape (given the beautiful position in a Tuscany which is still hidden). He also present the economic advantages in that the property is found right in this hidden part of Tuscany, which still has margins for growth in the value of properties. There are then the advantage of buying direct from a company, without having to pay an intermediary or incur architects costs. This is his works and "hobby"thanks to his farming origins, of which he is very proud.