Here at Texas Lifestyle Magazine, we hope you read all about the lovely Exclusive Resorts property in Tuscany, Italy, in our 19 Places to go in 2019! 

If you didn’t (read it!), let’s just say we are crushing on Tuscany, especially Villa Monterotondo on the Casali di Casole estate, brought to you by Exclusive Resorts. This is just one of the magnificent properties to be enjoyed as a member of Exclusive Resorts. High season for this villa tends to run between late spring and late summer. This Tuscan gem of a villa, located a little over an hour from Florence and almost two hours from Bologna, is off the beaten path but close enough to enjoy many of the region’s fairytale small towns and villages.

A restored farmhouse, the main villa features two large bedrooms upstairs with private baths and one smaller room. On the bottom floor, vacationers enjoy a large living room with fireplace, a dining room with an extra long table and a kitchen. Two separate guest houses sit apart from the main home. Each guesthouse features a small sitting area with king size bed and spacious bathroom (you’ll love the old stone walls). Did we mention the pool out back overlooking the hills? (The hills can truly be alive with the sound of music out here.)

Old and new are combined in the most glamorous ways at this property. The location is very remote, far away from any other villas, yet you have WiFi. The kitchen is big enough to feed a large group, yet there’s a brick oven for pizza-making outside. The interior of the guesthouses features vintage stone walls and the most plush bedding. The juxtapositions continue on and on!

Exclusive Resorts members have access to excess, with homes, villas and other properties to reside in all over the world. Within the U.S., they have several properties in California, Colorado, and even Hawaii. Outside of the U.S., the countries are too numerous to list; you just need to visit their website!

19 Tips for Tuscany

To help you plan your own amazing trip to Tuscany, I crowdsourced the following expert tips. Arrivederci!

1. Visit the Mercado Centrale and buy some authentic Parmesan cheese and prosciutto.~Jim Cook

2. Pop into a sidewalk cafe and have a Campari spritz.~Jim Cook

3. Find the tiny city of Radda, on top of a hill in Chianti.~Trevor Hull

4. Go to Giuseppe Sala at the family-owned I Selvatici Winery.~Becky Derrisaw Kramr

5. Take your time on a visit to Florence, drop by the Uffizi Gallery.~Brandon Blake

6. Drift along the Amalfi Coast by boat (with a captain).~Brandon Blake

7. Love a lunch, and liquids, at Antorini.~Cyn McGrail

8. Take two Tylenol for trekking.~Diane Elman Czajka

9. Be a nut for a Nutella cart on any town square.~Brandon Blake

10. Cook celestially in a class led by true Italians from Chianti.~Trevor Hull

11. Get gelacious with gelato from Vivoli.~Amy Moore Hufford

12. Smile in the small cities of Cortona, Montevecchio and Montepulciano.~Meredith Sauter

13. Venture out with a helmet and Vespa.~Trevor Hull

14. Bike for billows of bread, wine and olive oil.~Amy Moore Hufford

15. Make time for no time at all.~Trevor Hull

16. Digest dancing delightful views.~Meredith Sauter

17. Art the architecture from four different centuries.~Dana Johnson

18. Paint pillowy portraits with a backdrop of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.~Vince Gagliardi

19. Take a friend!

Cover photo of Villa Monterotondo courtesy Exclusive Resorts

Marika Flatt is the Travel Editor of Texas Lifestyle Magazine and also the host of the “Weekend Trip Tip” that airs on the statewide NPR show, “Texas Standard.” You can find her on Twitter or Instagram.