Looking out the car window, I see Google Earth in living color. Looking at the map, I see a bread crumb’s distance from Radicòfani. The accent over the “o” in the town’s name signals the pronunciation Radi-CO-fa-nee. We’ve circled nearly the entire Val d’Orcia into Southern Tuscany. And now, following a small sign off the serpentine main road, down a dirt and gravel track lined with cypress trees and spiky yellow broom, and then bending left into a circular crushed gravel drive bordered by terra cotta pots overflowing with red geraniums, we pull up to Fattoria La Palazzina, Locanda Agrituristica.
La Palazzina gracefully adorns this crenelated landscape. It’s a beautiful villa and farm estate transformed into an agritourism destination. Its light yellow stucco exterior, with wrought iron lattice work over the arched windows, make it noble, warm, and inviting. It boasts eleven guest rooms, delicious traditional Tuscan cuisine, including its own olive oil, and stunning 300 degree views of the valley. And what a valley. The Val d’Orcia is a UNESCO World Heritage site that delights the senses with undulating hills bubbling up portions of the wide green valley, swaths of olive groves, vineyards, magpies, darting swallows, alpine choughs soaring on thermals, and towns rising like sentinels on distant hillside promontories.
The villa’s driveway cozies up to a wide patio tiled in terra cotta and dotted with cafe tables with umbrellas. It’s about 5 pm, and still quite warm in the May sunshine. Unfolding our bodies from the car, long pressed and pinched like origami cranes after hours of travel, we cross the terrazza to the impressive wooden front door, a veritable portone.
Before we can knock the wide door swings open and we’re greeted by Eliana, chef at La Palazzina. She’s been expecting us. Slim, her dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, she’s sporting chef’s clogs and a long white apron. We’ve pulled her from the kitchen. It’s obvious from her face that she’s been working hard, but it doesn’t show in her welcome. Her voice and smile are warm and friendly. Eliana doesn’t speak English, so I slip once more into my role as interpreter. She guides us to the terrace and offers us “Tea? Juice? Water? Biscotti? Tea and cookies, we say eagerly. As Eliana excuses herself to prepare our refreshment, we sit, happy to have Tuscan earth firmly beneath our feet at a full stop, zero kilometers per hour.
http://www.fattorialapalazzina.net/villa-tuscany-la-palazzina.htmlhttp
La Palazzina gracefully adorns this crenelated landscape. It’s a beautiful villa and farm estate transformed into an agritourism destination. Its light yellow stucco exterior, with wrought iron lattice work over the arched windows, make it noble, warm, and inviting. It boasts eleven guest rooms, delicious traditional Tuscan cuisine, including its own olive oil, and stunning 300 degree views of the valley. And what a valley. The Val d’Orcia is a UNESCO World Heritage site that delights the senses with undulating hills bubbling up portions of the wide green valley, swaths of olive groves, vineyards, magpies, darting swallows, alpine choughs soaring on thermals, and towns rising like sentinels on distant hillside promontories.
The villa’s driveway cozies up to a wide patio tiled in terra cotta and dotted with cafe tables with umbrellas. It’s about 5 pm, and still quite warm in the May sunshine. Unfolding our bodies from the car, long pressed and pinched like origami cranes after hours of travel, we cross the terrazza to the impressive wooden front door, a veritable portone.
Before we can knock the wide door swings open and we’re greeted by Eliana, chef at La Palazzina. She’s been expecting us. Slim, her dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, she’s sporting chef’s clogs and a long white apron. We’ve pulled her from the kitchen. It’s obvious from her face that she’s been working hard, but it doesn’t show in her welcome. Her voice and smile are warm and friendly. Eliana doesn’t speak English, so I slip once more into my role as interpreter. She guides us to the terrace and offers us “Tea? Juice? Water? Biscotti? Tea and cookies, we say eagerly. As Eliana excuses herself to prepare our refreshment, we sit, happy to have Tuscan earth firmly beneath our feet at a full stop, zero kilometers per hour.
http://www.fattorialapalazzina.net/villa-tuscany-la-palazzina.htmlhttp
Hi I am loving it
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