Tuscan Farmhouse on 1615 Castle Bastion

Sleep on a bastion from 1615.

Wake up with the Garfagnana valley running below your eyes.

Villa Amelia is a Tuscan stone farmhouse on the walls of Cascio Castle. Three floors, 8 beds, a 350 sqm garden on the bastion with hot tub and barbecue (must be lit outside the pergola). Inside, rustic Garfagnana style: fireplace, wooden beams, full kitchen. Outside, the Apuan Alps: villages, caves, trekking. A hideaway for close-knit families and friends seeking real Tuscany.

Villa Amelia spreads across three floors in pure rustic Garfagnana style, with a soul that changes at every flight of stairs.

🏡 GROUND FLOOR — The social heart of the house

You enter and immediately find the staircase on the left. On the right opens a spacious living area with sofas — this is where you'll find yourselves chatting late into the night. Moving on, a second, cozier living area with the large historic fireplace — a real one, working, that you'll light yourselves on cooler evenings — leads you into the fully equipped kitchen: oven, stovetop, fridge with small freezer, sink, moka pot for coffee and everything you need to cook for 8 people.

From the kitchen you step directly under the generous pergola with outdoor table for 12 for summer meals, and from there into the garden on the bastion.

Indoor dining table: 8 seats — long dinners guaranteed even when it's cool outside.

🛁 MEZZANINE — The bathroom

Climbing the first flight of stairs, on the mezzanine between ground floor and first floor, you find the only bathroom in the house, with spacious walk-in shower.

One bathroom for 8 guests: this is the typical configuration of historic Tuscan farmhouses, designed in an era when the bathroom was a shared space. It works perfectly for close-knit families and groups of friends used to coordinating. If you're looking for fully independent comforts, we're probably not the right house — we prefer saying it upfront.

🛏️ FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR — The sleeping quarters

On the two upper floors you find all the bedrooms:

- 3 double bedrooms

- 1 bedroom with two separate single beds

Two bedrooms are connected: a double and the twin-bed room. Ideal for families with children who want to sleep close to their parents. If you're two couples who don't know each other well, keep this in mind.

Total: 8 beds across 4 bedrooms.

🌿 THE GARDEN ON THE BASTION

Here lies the magic of Villa Amelia. The 350 sqm garden is built literally on the bastion of Cascio Castle walls, dated 1615. You walk on stones that are four hundred years old while the Garfagnana valley flows beneath you.

The garden is on a single level, fully fenced, with night lighting. Safe for children and pets.

Available:

- 6-seat hot tub (usable from May to September)



- Barbecue for long summer evenings (must be lit outside the pergola)

- Pergola with table for 12

- Covered veranda for outdoor meals even in uncertain weather

🌐 HOUSE SERVICES

Stable Wi-Fi throughout the house (sufficient for streaming and email), air conditioning, heating, washing machine, hair dryer, iron, smart TV in the living area, linens and welcome kit included (body wash, shampoo, hygiene kit with cotton and cotton swabs, toothbrush and toothpaste kit).

🐕 PETS

We welcome one small or medium-sized pet. Only rule: no sofas and beds — we say it with a smile.

⚠️ ACCESSIBILITY NOTE

The house spreads across 3 floors with stone stairs and no elevator. Not suitable for guests with reduced mobility or for those who struggle with stairs.

🚗 HOW TO GET HERE

Cascio is a village from 1615, 41 km from Lucca and 8 km from Barga-Gallicano railway station (Mologno hamlet). The road to the village is drivable with any type of car, including station wagons and SUVs. It's not one of those narrow Tuscan roads that make you break a cold sweat: you'll arrive relaxed, even with a rental car.

✈️ Pisa Airport: about 90 km

✈️ Florence Peretola Airport: about 110 km

🚆 Barga-Gallicano railway station (Mologno): 8 km

🚌 Bus stop in the village with direct connections to Gallicano and Castelnuovo di Garfagnana

🅿️ PARKING

One private parking spot awaits you right next to the house, just by the entrance. The most convenient way to unload your luggage.

A small note for those driving a low or sporty car: reaching the village is no problem, but maneuvering into the private parking spot might be a bit technical. Alternatively, there are other free parking spots just outside the property, a few steps away.

Good news: no ZTL (restricted traffic zone). You can drive all the way to the house without permits, fines or cartographic puzzles.

🔑 CHECK-IN — BIOMETRIC SELF CHECK-IN

Check-in is fully autonomous and digital. Here's how it works:

1. After booking, we ship the physical key-box to your home (yes, really by mail, so it's already yours before you even leave).

2. About 24 hours before arrival you receive the link for biometric recognition — a simple, quick procedure for the identification required by Italian authorities.

3. Once recognition is complete, the key-box code arrives automatically.

4. On arrival: place the key-box where indicated, enter the code, take the keys, walk in.

🕓 Check-in from 16:00

🕙 Check-out by 10:00

Detailed instructions with photos and directions will reach you a few days before arrival. If anything's off, we're here via chat to help.

👋 WHO WE ARE

We are Propertify, an independent property management team based in Lucca. We manage authentic vacation homes in Tuscany and Garfagnana with an artisan approach: we select few homes, take care of details, speak your language.

Villa Amelia is one of our selected residences — not just another apartment in a portfolio, but a home with a story (literally, remember the bastion?) that we manage with the care of someone putting their face on it.

💬 HOW WE COMMUNICATE

We respond via Airbnb chat from 8 to 20, every day.

Outside those hours we're often reachable for real emergencies — water leak, safety issue, that kind of thing — but it's not guaranteed: it depends on the availability of the team on duty. That's why we designed the house so you can handle 99% of small issues on your own: clear instructions, complete amenities, self check-in.

We speak Italian and English.

🎁 WHAT'S INCLUDED IN YOUR STAY

- Quality bed and bath linens, washed and ironed

- Welcome kit in the bathroom: body wash, shampoo, hygiene kit with cotton and cotton swabs, toothbrush and toothpaste kit

- House sanitized before every arrival

- Illustrated instructions for everything (check-in, house, area) sent in advance

- Personalized local guides with our favorite spots in Garfagnana

- In-language support during your stay

✍️ WHAT YOU CAN WRITE US ABOUT

Before booking: questions about the house, compatibility with children or pets, feasibility of an itinerary.

Before arrival: logistical confirmations, special requests (local welcome basket, organization of external activities, restaurant bookings).

During your stay: food recommendations, support on any issues, requests for extra linen change.

Our approach is simple: we want you to feel like guests in a real home, not clients in a hotel.

🔥 HEATING, FIREPLACE AND FIREWOOD

Heating is metered and calculated at the end of your stay. An honest choice: you pay only for what you use, no hidden flat fees.

The fireplace in the living area is functional and you can light it freely. Only courtesy requested: leave it clean of ash before check-out. Same goes for the barbecue after use.

Firewood is provided by the house (conditions to be defined directly with us upon arrival).

♻️ WASTE SEPARATION — ATTENTION

In Cascio, waste separation is mandatory and strict. Upon booking we'll send you all local rules by email (what, when, where) — it's simple, 3 minutes of reading will do.

If waste separation is not respected, the municipality applies a 100 euros fine that will unfortunately be charged.

🏛️ TOURIST TAX

1 euro per person per night, up to a maximum of 5 nights. Paid at the property on arrival (cash or bank transfer), not included in the stay price.

🧼 CLEANING AND LINENS

Bed and bath linens and welcome kit are included. Additional linen changes during your stay are available on request, with dedicated cost.

🏡 HOUSE RULES

- No noise or parties after midnight (we're in a historic village, neighbors are really close)

- No smoking inside the property

- Pets: yes, maximum 1 small/medium-sized, not on sofas and beds

- Fireplace, barbecue: leave clean of ash after use

📍 WHAT TO DO A FEW KILOMETERS AWAY — OUR TIPS

🏰 Fortezza delle Verrucole in San Romano in Garfagnana

A perfectly restored medieval fortress with Archeopark and historical reenactments. About 20 km away. If you're traveling with children, it's stop number one.

🕳️ Grotta del Vento in Fornovolasco

Among Europe's most important show caves. Various guided paths among stalactites, stalagmites and underground lakes. About 25 km away.

⛰️ Natural Arch of Monte Forato

A mountain with a huge natural hole visible from the valley, reachable by trekking. A sight that stays with you.

🍝 Where to eat in the village

Ristorante La Luna and Trattoria Bonini, both in Cascio, serve typical Garfagnana cuisine: tordelli, farro, polenta di neccio, mondine.

🎪 Sagra delle Crisciolette 2026

If you're around on July 31, August 1-2 or August 7-8-9, it's a must. Historic event since 1969: corn-flour wafers cooked between iron plates, served with pancetta or cheese. You eat in the square, with live music.

🎃 In autumn — Chestnut Festival in the square (October)

Mondine, necci, polenta di neccio. Garfagnana turning into a shared table.

All details on the more demanding hikes (Pania della Croce, Alpe di Sant'Antonio, Mulattiera Cascio-Molazzana) are in our local guide, which you'll receive before your stay.