In one of the most charming areas of the region, where the ancient rival provinces of Florence and Siena mix into one, there is a pace of life soaked in beauty. Here we find ourselves guests at Villa Le Barone in the Chianti countryside close to the hilltop town of Panzano. This villa calls to mind the Central European atmosphere of Luchino Visconti’s film, COnversation Piece, while still reminding us of the affectionate description that Aldo Palazzeschi made in his novel, The Mattress Sisters, regarding a Florentine villa that was home to an un-arrogant nobility. It is a villa with a beautiful rustic facade that has maintained its character and is able to boast belonging to the limited row of hotels that were the same even when the Chianti countryside still remained to be discovered. It is a welcoming building that remains faithful to the land, for better or for worse! And this belonging to the roots of the territory is apparent on first glance from the family air that exudes from the villa, the typical atmosphere of a beautiful countryside summer family home offering hospitality, but that remains essentially a private dwelling.
The customers, even though they are paying, are seen as “holiday-maker guests”, as friends that are to be welcomed without any apprehension, without affected ways or false pretences. Friends that spend their time relaxing in a place that has been little affected by fashions and new trends. As with many other buildings in the Chianti hills, Villa Le Barone seems to have been built in the middle ages with the character of a defensive tower.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century the main body was enlarged and around the new building a Baron’s farmhouse was organized. Shortly afterwards the ownership passed onto one of the most renowned Florentine families, the Viviani della Robbia, and today, due to relative’s rights, to the Aloisi de Larderel family. Around the building are English-style lawns with views over the countryside.
And down there, right before your eyes, is the outline of a religious building of particular architectural importance, the Romanesque parish church of San Leolino, (named after he who was said to be the evangelist of the Chianti countryside), which is adorned with a beautiful and incredibly well-preserved thirteen century cloister.
Our stroll takes us into a small wood where tennis is being played and a group of children have gathered to chat.
But today I am a guest and an attendant indicates to me that lunch is served and is ready to distract me from these little visual delights. We eat outside, under the pergola, as though we were old friends.
We taste some dishes that follow our local traditions. There certainly is a type of magic here. Perhaps the magic of past times, tranquil and serene.
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See also:

The Markets of Chianti, Meeting a Stranger, Tuscan Antique Furniture, Chianti by Bike, Chianti Artists, Chianti at The Bar, Chianti Theatrical Festival, Music and Culture in The Vineyards, Portrait of a Land, The Art of Hospitality at Podere Terreno, Chianti English Style, The Legendary Millemiglia in Chianti

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