Il Sorriso

With the Holiday season swiftly descending upon us, here at Tuscany Villas we can’t help but think about another key holiday season: next summer! Booking your summer vacation in Tuscany well in advance is always something that we recommend where possible. Not only would a holiday be a perfect gift for both you and your loved ones and something to look forward to in the post-Holidays slump but there are lots of benefits to booking your summer 2026 villa in Tuscany now. 

Autumn means harvest season and if you were thinking about an off-season vacation in Tuscany in one of our Tuscany villas then foodies will be glad to know thaat it is also foodie season. During the Fall, Tuscany is not only flooded with all sorts of delicious food products that have been freshly harvested but it abounds with food festivals. While food festivals do take place throughout the entire year, there are endless options to choose from at this time of the year, in particular. One of the larger and most impressive among these has to be Certaldo’s Boccaccesca festival. Named for and held in honour of the famous 14th century writer and beloved son of the town, Boccaccio, this foodie festival has been taking place since 1999 and sees Certaldo Alto taken over for three to four days each October or late September by all sorts of food stalls selling products and snacks, demonstrations, lessons, talks, tastings, and much more besides. So, if you love to eat well and you have been browsing our luxury villas in Florence nearby or our holiday rentals in Certaldo itself, then consider planning a getaway in the area around the 14th to the 16th of October this year or around that general time on any given year to sample the delights of the Boccaccesca festival.

Offering guests unparalleled access to the impossibly picturesque landscapes of Tuscany and a charming pastoral setting steeped in the history and heritage of the region, Novellina is a luxury villa in Tuscany set among the hills of Chianti. The house is built around the remains of an 11th-century watchtower along the famous pilgrimage route of Via Francigena and is set on a 30-hectare organic estate made up of olive groves and gardens and surrounded by vineyards. Sleeping up to ten guests in five bedrooms, Novellina is a dream destination for an escape in Tuscany.

A visit to a garden is always a great way to refresh while on vacation, particularly on holiday in Tuscany or some other destination where there can be lots of cultural attractions that have a whirlwind of stimuli. All of the sights, sounds, textures, and details that one can take in in places like museums, galleries, historic buildings, and old towns can overstimulate the senses and leave one especially tired. Of course, those who find one of our Tuscany villas and spend time in the region should definitely seek out as many of this part of the world’s famous sights and spots as their heart desires but you may also need a bit of a palate cleanser. This is where gardens and parks come in and, luckily, there are also plenty of these to discover in Tuscany as well. Wandering in these spaces, breathing in clean air, surrounding yourself with nature, it not only pleasant and enjoyable but it is also good for the mind, body, and soul. It is a perfect way to recover from intense touristing and the ideal sort of activity to slot into your itinerary as a cushion to more hectic outings and days.

If you have found a villa in San Gimignano, for example, the lovely Giardino Sottovico is exactly this sort of attraction and garden. A wonderful addition to any vacation in San Gimignano, this gem of a botanic garden is home to a charming collection of over 3,000 succulents in a lovely setting that is housed on the former site of an illegal landfill. Built by passionate locals who wanted to reclaim this space in Vico d'Elsa, in the municipality of Barberino Tavarnelle, not far from San Gimignano, the garden was a way of not only transforming an eyesore and polluted part of the countryside but a way of making it into a space that would actually be of service to the physical and psychological well-being of visitors.