A stone mountain house in need of total renovation, offers you the chance to live an alternative life-style. If you value the importance of:

• your own water supply from a mountain spring
• sloping mountain terraces where solar panels will soak up the sun to supply your energy needs
• 5 hectacres of land consisting of chestnut woods that slope down to a mountain stream.
• terraces on which to grow vegetables and an orchard containing trees that bear varieties of local apples unobtainable in the shops

then Monte Bono could be the place for you! A fifteen minute drive from Barga, a medieval hill-top town renowned for it's art. With open-air opera and jazz concerts in the summer months and it's numerous markets, shops, bars and good restaurants, Barga deserves the title of 'the gem of northern Tuscany'.

Just a short distance away lies the area known as Monte Bono, a haven of peace and tranquillity set amongst the mountains covered with chestnut forests. The property for sale is a typical stone house with cantinas for storage (or to convert to an apartment) a large live-in kitchen, study, ante-room and bathroom on the ground floor and three double bedrooms with the potential for a second bathroom and a further bedroom on the second floor. Next to the house is a long narrow stone barn which could be converted to further accommodation or used to house an indoor swimming pool. A private path leads down to a stream and half way down is another small stone barn which once housed goats (the manger is still there!) and which consists of a large room with a loft above. Here there is a flat terrace (precious in this area) which would make a lovely area to barbecue and put out tables and benches completely hidden in your own woods with only the sound of the babbling brook below.

The community of Monte Bono consists of one large Italian family and those who have married in to it. One of the biggest benefits are the wonderful neighbours who have lived there all their lives. One has two donkeys that freely roam along the road and may pay a visit! Mirella, on the other side was born in her house and is in charge of the church and organises the annual 'festa'. She knows every herb that grows and every square foot of the mountain. She will give you her water to drink from the mountain spring and one of her freshly baked loaves to take with you when you visit. The beautiful little mountain church has a congregation of only thirteen and yet still has a choir and organist. It is rare in Tuscany to live in an all-Italian community as so many of these properties have been bought and converted to holiday homes by tourists. Monte Bono has withstood the trend and anyone who wants to live there should appreciate not only the beauty of the area but also respect the culture and the simplicity of the people.

The property is the first property after the church around two bends. Once you are there you see no other houses and have the feeling that only you exist on the planet! Eagles circle calmly overhead and deer and wild boar roam the woods. The road only leads to two further homes and then ends - so no traffic. It is asphalted up to the church and then becomes a dirt road so a four-wheel drive vehicle is essential. Some fruit trees grow outside the main house and then the ground slopes down to the terraces where the family would have grown their vegetables and which provide an ideal position for solar panels.

The property has been uninhabited for thirty years and needs a complete renovation programme. The water needs to be reconnected and a sewage tank installed. The roof is sound and the walls solid. The beams are covered in a layer of paint and need to be sand-blasted to reveal the lovely rich chestnut wood. The floors, also made of chestnut, need to be replaced in part. The windows need to be replaced. The terraces cleared and the trees pruned and cleared of invading ivy. There is a lot of work to be done but the reward will be to return this beautiful old house and land to it's former glory and thereafter to enjoy a life-style that is sadly disappearing fast. Whether as an escape-from-it-all holiday home or an alternative permanent home there are few places in the world that can offer you what Monte Bono can!

If you would like to view the property, why not plan a holiday to this lovely part of Tuscany? We can help you find accommodation and will be happy to show you around.The property is 1 and a half hours from Pisa airport, 2 hours from Florence and 45 minutes from Lucca.