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Casa la Higuera
Sant Iscle d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Casa la Higuera,
Sant Iscle d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain
A Heritage Home Brimming with Personality
Two centenary townhouses—their stony facades, sturdy Gothic windows, and classic Mediterranean gardens seamlessly merged—make up this country estate in Spain’s pastoral Empordà region. The heirloom property of an interior designer, the vintage family residence retains its retro cachet yet reveals a fresh, fun take on the original that incorporates pop art and lushly potted lounging patios, bright, milk-washed ceiling beams overhead, and a mix of homey and contemporary furnishings in a personalized, cabinet of curiosities atmosphere that makes each room a new discovery.
At once rustic and refined, this villa for rent in Spain is the inherited family home of an interior designer who has imbued the vintage residence with novel touches to update it, yet allowed the old and new to collide interestingly. Named for the leafy fig tree that fills its stone-walled garden and pool yard, the country residence offers estate-quality interiors and feels both homespun and elegantly polished.
Spacious rooms on two stories feature abundant seating, pillow-populated beds, and modern fixtures and appliances, the latter most apparent in the farmhouse-style kitchen and food prep area. Double fireplaces offset each end of the vast, art-filled living room, and plentiful book-lined armoires, shelves and sideboards invite exploration. Each room in the home, remade into a singular space from two neighboring village houses, brims with details.
Outdoor enclaves tell their own stories, spaces alive with bric-a-brac and accessories that look out over the tended garden with its small dipping pool, fountain, and eating area, which in turn offers views across the surrounding countryside.
Read more about the location of this home in our Stories section here.
AROUND
This villa for rent in Spain is located in the quiet village of Sant Iscle d’Empordà. The property’s managers all grew up enjoying Empordà’s less-traveled forests, seashores and traditional villages, and have created a menu of local experiences—from Mediterranean sailing tours to air balloon flights, perfumery and wine courses to ceramic workshops and historical visits—all led by regional professionals.
The towns of l’Empordà feel a little lost in time, pretty villages with strong medieval backdrops and tight alleys echoing ancient times. Inland villages such as Peratallada and Pals, Monells, Ullastret and Madremanya offer a glimpse into Catalonia’s rich history. And the nearby Costa Brava presents a different picture. Known for its secluded coves, the scenic coast can be visited by land or sea, offering the discovery of tiny fishing ports and dramatic bays.
Montgrí National Park, one of the coast’s virgin ecological zones is blessed with seafront caverns and underwater caves, and the property’s hosts can arrange sailing, swimming or snorkeling trips along the Costa Brava. The Montgrí, the landscape that gives the national park its name, refers to a small mountain range that rises from the north bank of the Ter River. Topped by a fortified castle, built between 1294 and 1301, the Montgrí’s famed rocky outcroppings continue down to the coast. Other regional activities include cycling and driving along the designated wine and olive routes, or heading into the mountains where opportunities for more vigorous hiking, mountain biking, trekking and exploring are numerous.
LOCATION
Sant Iscle d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Nearest airport: Girona
BEST TIME TO VISIT: April to October
