UPGRADE OF A CORNER OF FATTORIA DEL COLLE
DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI GIVES IN TO GLOBAL WARMING AND PUTS AIR CONDITIONING IN THE ROOMS AND APARTMENTS THAT RESEMBLE THE HOUSES OF TUSCAN GRANDPARENTS
By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle, Casato Prime Donne
The backs of Tuscan farms were traditionally used for artisanal activities: the blacksmith, the oil mill, the laundry… Fattoria del Colle is no exception and on the ground floor, behind the sixteenth-century villa, it had the olive grove, the workshop and the wagon shed and the wash houses. It seems like a more modest part compared to the facades but it is not.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VIEWS IN COUNTRYSIDE TOURISM
The big difference is the view. In front of the villa, the park with tall trees blocks the view while behind it, the gaze extends to Montalcino, the Val d’Orcia and the Crete Senesi. A landscape shaped by the hand of man and that has remained almost intact for centuries. The rooms and tourist apartments located in the back of the Fattoria del Colle are therefore more panoramic than the others but they have a problem: they are exposed to the sun during the hottest hours of the day because there are no trees to provide shade. An element that until twenty years ago was an asset but with the scorching summers of global warming has become a problem
THE OLD-STYLE HOSPITALITY OF THE FARM BECOMES TECHNOLOGICAL WITH AN UPGRADE
Guardia apartment – Fattoria del Colle, Trequanda, Toscana
In 2025, during the fire safety works, the apartments and rooms in the rear area of the villa underwent a restyling aimed at increasing comfort and making the spaces more welcoming. Air conditioning, Wi-Fi, bathroom renovation and replacement of some furnishings inside. Outside, a solarium was created with a jacuzzi, tables, chairs and umbrellas to spend a few hours outdoors in the quiet of the countryside. An upgrade that has transformed the back of the villa into the most beautiful and well-kept area of the entire farm. Here there is also the area for natural well-being with a Turkish bath, sauna, emotional showers, a room for couples’ massage and a tub for vinotherapy.
UPGRADE OF 4 ROOMS 2 APARTMENTS AND 1 VILLA
Now Fattoria del Colle has 4 double rooms, two apartments and a villa with air conditioning. One of the rooms is the one created for the amorous encounters of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo d’Asburgo at the end of the eighteenth century. Today it is also used to make newlyweds spend a truly special honeymoon. The farm is a small country hamlet with 106 tourist beds, a restaurant, a banquet hall, three swimming pools and three equipped parks. Its main characteristic is authenticity because it maintains intact the ancient building structures and the furnishings of small local antiques. Therefore those who stay have the impression of living in the house of their Tuscan grandparents.
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDING UPGRADE IS A MUST AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE
To prevent tourists’ air conditioning from becoming a threat to the environment, a second set of photovoltaic panels is about to be installed on a roof. The municipality of Trequanda, where Fattoria del Colle is based, has set up an energy community, which should allow for optimization of energy production and consumption. Environmental respect is a must that is being pursued with determination. Therefore the vineyards and olive groves are organic, and the restaurant’s vegetables come mostly from the estate garden. Starting this year, the disposable plastic containers in the tourist bathrooms have been replaced by refillable dispensers