30 km from 5 Terre. Ancient villa with spectacular views of the Marble Alps — Property 9520

30 km from 5 Terre. Ancient villa with spectacular views of the Marble Alps

Casa Sbarra is a beautiful ancient villa with spectacular view of the marble Alps. Casa Sbarra has 16 rooms, central heating, 3 open fireplaces, a large kitchen (with wood-burning oven), a large panoramic terrace, spacious grounds, cellars and a large vegetable garden. There is also an old church (restored under the supervision of the fine arts organisation) which last year saw the wedding of the owner's daughters and is also available for your own wedding in Tuscany/Italy. The Villa is found in the small gracious village of Gabbiana near Bagnone in the hearth of the Lunigiana, region of Northern Tuscany, an area rich with history, ancient castles and traditional folklore. The entire villa may be rented - say 2 or three families or a group of friends of 8 to a maximum 10 people, to stay on a self-catering basis, so as less people that can rent only some suites inside the villa. Perfect for wedding receptions.

Location Gabbiana , 30 km from 5 Terre ( La Spezia) Massa Carrara Area < Tuscany < Italy

Gabbiana , 30 km from 5 Terre ( La Spezia) Massa Carrara Area < Tuscany < Italy

 marks the location of this property in Massa Carrara Area

Availability for the villa in Massa Carrara Area, Tuscany, Italy

Last updated on:

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Changeover day:

Saturday

Rental rates for the villa in Massa Carrara Area, Tuscany, Italy

^*Please Note: The owner of this property accepts payment in the original currency specified, before use of conversion tool. The conversion tool is provided for your convenience only. The owner may accept other currencies if specifically agreed in advance.

Notes to the rental rates

• Prices are for the whole villa and for groups up to ten people; self-catering; heating system not included; cleanings after leaving 10 euro each person.
  

Accommodation and Facilities for the villa in Massa Carrara Area, Tuscany, Italy

The review of Casa Sbarra

We wanted to be near Carrara, so we rented a villa high in the Apuan Alps in the tiny village of Gabbiana. A very narrow paved road winds its way near the Magra River up through Licciana Nardi into the mountain to the village of Gabbiana. Gabbiana, in the Lunigiana region of Massa Carrara, has a population of about 30 Italians, 4 donkeys, 2 dogs, chickens, and a few cats. The village consists of one Trattoria, a Catholic church and a handful of homes and apartments. The villa, Casa Sbarra, is an old five bedroom Tuscan family home built in the 18th century, furnished with beautiful antiques. In addition to the five bedrooms, there are two living rooms, a formal dining room, two bathrooms, a large kitchen with a gas stove, an old wood burning oven, and a small kitchen within the three floors of the villa. The villa can be rented in two sections, sharing the large kitchen, and can accommodate up to 10 people. A small tower room on the third floor overlooks the surrounding mountain.

The views are breath taking.

There is a tiny chapel, a small vineyard, and a lovely garden on the property. The chapel can be rented for weddings and often is. On our visit, the feast of the Madonna SS was celebrated in the chapel. We were invited to join in the celebration by Carlo and his wife Rosi, the owners of the villa. After the Mass in the chapel and the procession of the Madonna through the village, we attended a party in the garden where our hosts and village residents provided local food and homemade wine from the villa’s vineyard. We drank Atillio’s wine made from Trebianno grapes grown in the vineyard.It was wonderful. Atillio is Carlo’s brother and co owner of the villa, which was their childhood home. During our stay, Atillio showed us how to pick grapes and make wine in ancient wood barrels in the wine cellar. The feast, with its procession of the Madonna through the village, has been celebrated in the chapel for over 150 yrs. We ate several times in the Trattoria & their food & pizza was excellent

Local Food and Wine

Lunch of antipasti, pasta, a meat, dessert, coffee and wine was 8E per person. No menu, you ate what they made for the day. Dinners at night varied in price but no meals were expensive. Personal pizzas were about 5E or 6E depending on toppings which ranged from prosciutto, salumi, ham, mushrooms, artichokes, etc. Some of the Gabbiana Trattoria dinner items I remember were, cheese bread, eggplant stuffed bruschette, risotto with porcini, risotto with greens, ravioli with ragú, rabbit with olives, arristo misto of lamb and pork, lardo from nearby Colonnata, olives, local porcini mushrooms, (Gabbiana is noted for their porcini and a local resident showed us the porcini he picked in the forest and was drying in the sun). Desserts of rice cake and tiramisu are two I remember that were excellent. The house red and white wines were better than any table wine I have had. We bought Toscana vino de tavalo in the super market in Terrarosa for 2.40E for 1.5 liter bottle and it was excellent.