This beautifully restored and professionally decorated residence is located within the walled city, the historic center of Montepulciano, an important hill town in southern Tuscany.

Situated on a small lane just off the main commercial street of the town, 'the Corso,' it offers ready access to the cultural life of the town, restaurants, coffee bars, shops and the wine bars, tasting rooms and cellars where you can sample the famous wines of Montepulciano, yet the apartment is so quite that an alarm clock will be needed if you don't want to sleep away the morning.

At the foot of the lane is a small plaza overlooking the medieval wall of the town with a breathtaking panoramic view of vineyard-covered hillsides, clusters of farmhouses and the Lake of Chiusi in the near distance, Lake Trasimino and the town of Cortona in the middle-distance and the spectacular Appenine Mountains beyond.

The precise age of the original house is not known but the cellar contains the town's only remaining ceramics kiln and certainly predates the 17th century addition that is now a separate residence for the owners.

Although completely renovated, the residence retains its original character - hand-hewn chestnut beams with handmade terra-cotta tiles between, local travertine marble floors, travertine walls in the bathrooms, travertine vanities and countertop, travertine door frames set in thick stone walls with panelled wood doors and hand forged iron hardware. Even the copper and wrought iron light fixtures were made by a local craftsman. The bathrooms and kitchen are thoroughly modern and equipped to meet the expectations of discriminating visitors. There is also a central heating system and a working fireplace for the comfort and pleasure of winter visitors. In summer the apartment remains cool and fans were enough to keep the air moving but in anticipation of the effects that global warming may bring in the future, we have replaced the standard fans with TECNO AIR SYSTEM units in each bedroom. These combine Ionizers to purify the air with an ultrasonic nebulizer, to cool the air using an evaporative process without wetting. These are very effective cooling systems in a hot dry climate.

Keywords: Townhouse