Italy

Restored farmhouse with a swimming pool on a 700-acre wine estate in the Valdera surrounded by hills, farmland and authentic villages

Hear the rooting of wild boar and the odd splash of the pool. For those who love fresh air, great food, and the sweet hills of Umbria

Citrus scents the air, loungers flank a spakling pool. Light, cool, simple rooms, vibrant hosts, garden and olive groves - divine food

This eco-friendly farmhouse in the hills of Fiesole is 10km from Florence. Good company, superb views of Tuscany, and food for the soul!

Three immaculate rooms in a 17th-century building; step out onto winding streets lined with trattorias, boutiques, fountains and monuments

Breakfast on homemade ricotta, bask on a cool white lounger, swim in the cove below. We love this young, friendly, rustic B&B

Escape to Real southern Italy, the superb Salento coast and spas - unwind under citrus trees, soaring ceilings, in the pool or roof-top tub

A fascinating restoration, a harmonious retreat from the heat, and owners whose enthusiasm is infectious – what are you waiting for?

A luxurious springboard for the wineries, villages and treasures of south Tuscany in the magical Orcia valley - if you can bear to leave it!

High-up, simple apartments, pools with fabulous views; kids play-things and donkeys, the glittering coast, Rapallo and Portofino down below

A very peaceful, family-run hotel on the shores of Lake Garda with rose and jasmine-scented gardens for summer dinners by candlelight

Leave crowds behind for this charming stone farmhouse in the olive groves of rural Umbria – bring friends and have it all to yourselves

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

Great gulps of ozone will engulf you at this architect-designed 1960s beach house - light, bright and sparkling, just like the ocean

Wonderful views over medieval Gubbio from this rural stone farmhouse with pool, cottages and apartments sitting in lush gardens

This lovely, beamy, uncluttered Tuscan farmhouse with separate apartment is an elegant lodging on a vast fruitful estate with pool, and lovely owners

A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls

Beautiful Noto is 4 miles from the Ionian Sea, and this creative renovation, with lush garden, stands above the throng. Heaven in Sicily