Tenuta di Camporsevoli

You climb up a dirt road for several kilometres to reach this hamlet which has dominated the surrounding valley for centuries – Etruscan vases and other articles have been found on digs. Choose to stay in an apartment or one of the farmhouses. There’s plenty of space between their outdoor areas and ample gardens with private pools for each of the farmhouses. The sweet apartments have antique furniture and beams with brick or wooden floors.

Bedrooms have sweeping views, whether up in the hamlet or from the farmhouses looking over the valley panoramas and wooded mountains on the horizon. Bathrooms are well equipped – newer in the big houses, some with double sinks.

Stroll through the hamlet on its small roads where potted red geraniums jump from the green landscape with centuries-old pines, cypresses and fir. All have good kitchens and generous welcome hampers including your first breakfast. Join a cookery class in the big house.