Much more than we expected!! Incredible!!

Guest: Patty and Jerry (Wall, NJ)
Date of Stay: 11/10/11 Review Submitted: 11/19/11

We can't say enough good things about our stay at Casa Cantabria in Anghiari. Guisseppe met us at the Bar Cocomero and was incredibly helpful. We followed him down to our parking spot outside the town walls and then took a very short walk uphill to our apartment. The apartment was so much more than we expected - and we expected it to be wonderful!!! (The pictures in the listing are great, but in my opinion, the reality is much better.) Very clean, very tasteful, very well stocked with supplies, very comfortable, beautiful view, very friendly town, great books, internet - everything we could possibly need for the 8 nights we stayed in Anghiari. Thank you so much to Juliet for all her help in planning this dream vacation. We would definetly recommend this property to a friend or relative and in fact we were trying to think of how we could get our adult children to come over for a visit with us in the future. Excellent home base to visit Tuscany. I highly recommend following Guisseppes's book - we did so many of his day trips. We particularly liked La Pergola restaurant near Tavernelle. We were able to enjoy the Bringoli festival in Anghiari and went to an evening concert at the Museum. Everyone we met was so warm and helpful. We did day trips to Assisi, Radda in Chianti area (our favorite), took the train from Arezzo to Florence. Enjoyed the Busatti factory tour (Anghiari), an olive oil farm, and many local villages near Anghiari. Every morning we woke to a beautiful Tuscan sunrise with mist hanging over the valley - a view that will stay in my mind forever. We were able to make our own coffee and breakfast and plan our day ahead. Then we could head down to the town square for a cappucino (we looked at it as dessert for our breakfast.) We met several people from outside of Italy who have lived in Anghiari for 15 or 20 years. They all said they thought Anghiari was the best hill town in Italy. We would have to agree with that. Hope to return someday...

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, sightseeing.

Fantastic accommodation, charming town!

Guest: Tamara (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
Date of Stay: 08/09/11 Review Submitted: 08/30/11

I stayed at Casa Cantabria with my husband and 3 teenage children for a week and absolutely adored every moment. We loved the apartment itself as it is comfortable, clean, well maintained and provides everything a vacationer requires. The kitchen is well stocked with dishes, implements and a good base pantry. The library offers a plethora of maps and guidebooks featuring the surrounding towns, cities and villages. The bedrooms are comfy and views from all windows offer breathtaking vistas. The town of Anghiari is amazing! We enjoyed the market, museums, walking in the countryside and our twice daily trips to gellateria for sorbetto or gellato. Many facinating towns and cities are easily accessed from Anghiari. We had a car and each day chose a new town to visit but also incorporated daily swimming trips to the Tibor where we dipped in and even floated down the chilly waters of the Tibor river. I would definately recommend the town of Anghiari as a vacation destination and Casa Cantabria as wonderful homebase!

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Charming town and great apartment!

Guest: CHK (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
Date of Stay: 10/16/10 Review Submitted: 11/08/10

We stayed 1 week in the Casa Cantabria apartment. We were 2 couples that enjoyed a comfortable & roomy stay at this location. I liked that the bedrooms were on the 2nd level away from the main living area. It turned out to be a great home-base while we toured the Tuscany region. The apartment was spotless and had great amenities, including a well stocked kitchen, 3 comfy bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a nice sitting/dining area. We rented a car and were able to park it about 100 yards from our front door. From Anghiari we did day trips to Sansepolcro, Arezzo, Siena, Cortona, Caprese Michelangelo, Poppi, San Gimignano & Perugia. We drove to all these locations. It was a little unnerving at times since we were unfamiliar with the Italian driving style and roads. It certainly added to the adventure. We corresponded with Juliet many times before our trip and she provided immediate and very helpful information. She was very receptive to any questions we had. She also put us intouch with a helpful gentleman, named Guiesppe. We emailed with him and arranged for him to pick us up from the Florence airport. He drove us to Anghiari (cost about 130euros) and helped us get settled in to the apartment. He was also available for questions and suggestions during our stay there. We also met a gentleman, named Primo, who was a local food shop owner. He also provided great suggestions on where to visit and shop. We ate at a couple of restaurants in town, however found ourselves mostly at the cafes and pizzaria in the local piazza. We also did some of our own cooking with supplies bought in town and at the Coop Store(Sanselpocro). It was all good! The views from our apartment and walks through our town were beautiful and quintessentially Tuscan. We felt like guests and not tourists. I highly recommend Casa Cantabria and would stay there again.

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This is heaven

Guest: annie (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Date of Stay: 09/19/10 Review Submitted: 10/05/10

I stayed at Casa Cantabria with my sister and a friend during Sept./2010. I had "discovered" Anghiari on a previous visit to Tuscany and had promised myself that I would return. Before we even arrived, I enjoyed a lively and substantive correspondence with Juliet which revealed her deep sense of connection to this special place, a connection I can now proudly say I share with her. The accommodation itself is comfy, homey, and highly functional (although we never could get the SKY TV to work....but we really didn't care)...the kitchen is well equipped, the beds are great, there is even a dishwasher, but it is not like staying inside a Pottery Barn catalogue if that is what you are after. It is like staying inside the wall of a living, breathing medieval village. We loved doing our washing and hanging it out the bathroom window....we loved sitting in the square and having coffee in the mornings and evenings surrounded by lively conversations and card games (in Italian no less)...and shopping at the local grocers and just wandering aimlessly about. We loved spotting all the pint sized cats playing out their little West Side Story turf wars and chatting with the delightful Fiametta (not sure what was said but it was lively and heartfelt) We used Anghiari as a base to explore all the hot spots and must sees of Tuscany, but when all was said and done, we treasured most our time of simply feeling for a few days like we belonged in this amazing place. The view out my window with the sun rising over the fields was a tonic. My sister gave the best desrcription of this stunning view...not breath taking but breath giving. I have stayed in places with finer furnishings and higher thread count linens, but I have never slept better or woken more joyfully anywhere in the world. It was pure delight!!! Thank you Juliet and I do hope to return.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with young children.

This is paradise. When can I go back?

Guest: David and Michele (Amarillo, Texas)
Date of Stay: 05/22/10 Review Submitted: 06/30/10

Don't believe the photos. Anghiari's beauty cannot be captured by a camera. Imagine living in a gorgeous, ancient walled town, surrounded by valleys, mountains, Tuscan vistas, and flowers everywhere--wildflowers, gardens, container flowers. Then imagine that the only sounds you hear are birds and Italian, and an occasional rooster. And imagine the most lovely people in the world living all around you. This is Anghiari. My family of 6 (including 4 college-aged young adults) stayed in Casa Cantabria for 3 weeks. All of us fell in love with the place. We spent most of our nights in Anghiari, which provided a perfect base for overnight trips to Cinque Terre and Florence, and day trips to Siena, Assisi, Cortona, Greve, Arezzo, Sansepolcro, and more trips to Florence. Anghiari is on a bus line which will take you to the train station in Arezzo for an hour train ride to Florence. You can also rent a car quite easily from Avis right by the train station in Arezzo. We did both, and had good experiences with each. And staying home and enjoying the peace and beauty was equally satisfying. The apartment looks just like the photos. Everything is attractive, modern, clean, functioning. The city is 800 years old and the restoration is quite remarkable. Property manager Giuseppe Dini is extremely helpful and ingenious, and housekeeper Fiammetta lives right next door and is charming and fun. Plus there are not many tourists in this relatively undiscovered town. It is heavenly. Owners Andrew and Juliet answered all our questions by email and phone. They emailed a packet of detailed information which was quite handy. They couldn't be more helpful. And if the location, people and scenery are not enough, the restaurants will not disappoint. We had several wonderful meals at Ristorante da Alighiero, and discovered with regret on our last night that Silvia, chef extraordinaire, teaches cooking classes. We must return just for that. Silvia and Gianni are special and will make you feel special. Another favorite is Cafe Baldacccio in the piazza with the same name, which serves great coffee and fresh pastries for breakfast, then pizza, pasta, beer, wine, gelato, etc. the rest of the day. Owner Fernando is a gem. Granduca is great and our waiter Eugenio lived a few doors away. An easy walk to all. We loved the day trips but always sighed with relief to come "home" to the beauty and serentiy of our apartment and Anghiari. We would return in a heartbeat.

Owner response:We have now added an airconditioning unit for the sitting room for those occasional very hot days; the central heating works well for Fall and Winter guests. Our guests without cars found that visiting Perugia and Assisi was easy using a bus to San Sepulchro, and then the quaint single track railway which runs freqently to all the historic towns in the Upper Tiber valley, including Citta di Castello, Umbertide, Perugia and Assisi. All have great art galleries and antique shops. The choice of restaurants gets better and better; we agree that di Alighiero is the best, but La Nena with outside tables that provide a view over the valley is a close second, together with Per Bacco under the archway. Cantina del Granducca does good steak, and you can get an outside table on the balcony at Il Feudo del Vicario, housed in a fascinating old building. For shopping Busatti continues to have great fabrics, and the occasional sale, and Soldini is a great outlet shop for high fashion Italian shoes. For face cream my wife thinks that Ravagni's olive oil cream is unmatched, so one guest spent over $100 and was pleased with the results. Another shop has great designer handbags from Florence, so you don't have to battle through the crowds there. Finally it is worth mentioning the wild flowers and butterflies that thrive in this environmentaly unpolluted countryside. two of our guess are avid wild flower and butterfly experts, so they had a great holiday finding rare wild orchids.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

We have had the best vacation ever !

Guest: Barbara and Keith Byers (-)
Date of Stay: 10/08/09 Review Submitted: 06/12/10

What a beautiful home away from home! We have had the best vacation ever. We have travelled to Sienna, Perugia, Cortona, Assissi, San Sepulchro (love the CO-OP), Montepulchiano, Caprese di Michelangelo, and Tavernelle. Two days in Florence and two and a half in Rome. Anghiari is charming and we certainly helped boost the economy with purchases from Busatti, teh ceramic shops, the olive oil shop and many restaurants - Sylvia and Dianni at the Aligheri - (Tuscan bread soup is fabulous.) We had a fabulous lunch at La Pergola in Tavernelle, shopping at Corso di Lana (cashmere sweaters)in San Sepulchro, shoes at Soldini, leather goods at the leather school in San Croce in Florence, and David; I can't get enough of Michelangelo! We ae so glad we stayed two weeks, but still left sights unseen - Next time. Arriveriderci !

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I've never seen such a rewarding view

Guest: Jeanne Larcombe (-)
Date of Stay: 05/18/08 Review Submitted: 06/12/10

A dream of many years has come true for me on this, my first trip to Italy. The warm feelings and greetings from the people have made us feel so welcome and liked: we are greeted by our first name with the official kisses on our cheeks. Giuseppe introduced us to these couples from Canada at dinner last evening and we had a wonderful time with them. Saw them in the plaza today and they are looking forward to having as much fun as we have had. I've never seen such a rewarding view as we have here. This has been a blessing for me, thanks to my friends Charlotte, Jdeannie and Elise.

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Loving every moment in Anghiari

Guest: Jeanne Larcombe (-)
Date of Stay: 05/18/08 Review Submitted: 06/12/10

My twelth wedding anniversary and missing John but loving every moment in Anghiari. We've had a most wonderful Tuscan adventure with thanks to Giuseppe and Fiametta. the apartment is great, the people friendly, the food and wine great. This has been part of a dream come true. Tomorrow we leave for Rome and then Florence. Thank you for sharing your wonderful Tuscan home.

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We are all happy to have been here

Guest: David Kushner (-)
Date of Stay: 09/25/09 Review Submitted: 06/12/10

It's our last evening here after a week of hectic visting Tuscany. Shoshy, my wife, drove our Ford station wagon while my brother-in-law drove the Fiat. Parking here in Anghiari was a pleasure compared to Florence or Sienna where we circled endlessly loooking for a bit of space on a street.It was lovely to come back here to the house which soon took on a feeling of home. We learned to shop in Despar and the main street and dined either at home or in one of the delighful restaurants on the piazza. I walked about photographing the town; wherever you turn there is a lovely picture. Its worth exploring Anghiari if you have the legs for it. But climbing the hills and stairs has its delightful rewards; on every street there is either a surprise or something so unusual that delights the eye. We are all happy to have been here.

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Guest: Stuart, Martha and Bethany (-)
Date of Stay: 07/13/09 Review Submitted: 06/11/10

Our three days in Anghiari have been a delight - the restorative Tuscan sunshine and air, endless fields of sunflowers, the bubbling chatter of Italian neighbors in the lane below our open window, the company of friends both old and new. We enjoyed our excursions to Monte Santa Maria Tiburina. Other highlights included a visit to Ravagni's Olive Oil factory founded 1421, and San Sepulchro's White Nights celebration.

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