Casa Crete

Live Luxuriously through Rose- and Terracotta-Colored Glasses

A darling of interior design and lifestyle publications, this hilltop villa oozes with great style and thoughtful restorations at the hands of Rome-based creator Ilaria Miani. The designing mind behind dozens of lovingly preserved historical Italian properties from Tuscany to Venice, Miani showcases her talents here, transforming the utilitarian into the undeniably elegant.

Ilaria Miani’s passion for sculpting beautiful new structures from crumbling ancient stones is on full display at this villa for rent in Tuscany, made up of a warm country house and its former barn annex, now an art-filled fitness and recreation studio that doubles as additional bedroom suite. Sturdy and geometric, the structures dominate a green hillside, a once-upon-a-time Tuscan pasture that now holds a striking infinity pool and hot tub, contemporary landscape sculpture, an open-for-harvesting vegetable garden, and wide stone terraces offering panoramic views over the cypress-bordered landscape.

Miani’s vision is celebrated inside the main home, where tones of rose, ochre and terracotta cover walls and even smoothly finish floors, enclosing guests in a warm, welcoming embrace. Vaulted doorways have been updated as alluring passages between rooms, baths are boho dreamscapes, the kitchen’s farmhouse hearth has been updated in clean, contemporary style, and lyrical, centenary ceiling beams reveal gentle finishes like lime waxing that preserve and highlight their beautiful, ancient patina. The home’s former barn has been reinvented as a sleeker residential and recreational annex—a spacious, multipurpose studio space for play, exercise or entertaining that’s brightly lit, hung with large-form modern art, and houses a gym, kitchenette, bar/lounge, and three suites.

Accents add to the cozy feel, with tactile textiles and saturated furnishings in the same rich colors offset by warm woods. Outdoors, the magic is found in the neatly restored stone walls, expansive manicured lawns, and vistas extending for 360 degrees around.

Read more about designer Ilaria Miani here.

AROUND

Occupying a commanding position on a rocky hilltop, this stylish villa for rent in Tuscany is a quick drive from hilltop villages such as Montalcino, San Quirico, Pienza, and Montepulciano, with their namesake wineries. The Val d’Orcia was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage region in 2004 for its unrivaled beauty, and this home is set in pure Tuscany—land of rolling hills, roads lined with towering cypress trees, and medieval and Renaissance villages rising from every crest in the landscape. 

The region extends from Siena to Monte Amiata, and also contains the DOC wine regions of Brunello di Montalcino and the Vino Nobile de Montepulciano and the cities of Siena, Perugia, Assisi and Florence. Villages and towns offer dizzyingly abundant markets, tasting rooms, and artisanal studios as well as delicious trattorias, cafes, and restaurants. Wine and gastronomy tours are a favorite activity in the area, as are cycling tours. Equestrian opportunities are available, architectural and historical visits abundant, and the region also offers plenty of walking and hiking options along regional footpaths.

LOCATION

Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy. Nearest airport: Florence (1½ hours)

BEST TIME TO VISIT: March to October