The strong desire of leaving the chaos of city-life, with its noise and environmental pollution, prompted us to consider the possibility of living in a healthy and silent place, where it's thinkable to grow biological products and take benefit of such an occupation.

The Ficareto farmstead, previously managed in an obsolete and superficial way, induced us to accept the challenge of transforming it into a farming business with a certain qualitative standard. The state of abandonment was particularly evident, especially in the buildings. Even though of high historical and architectural value, they clearly needed immediate ordinary and extraordinary interventions.

The poor state of the whole complex made us want to attempt a bet on the future of these places. Today it looks like we have been able to create a productive place, arising expressions of esteem and admiration from many different directions.
For all of her life, Laura has been involved in many cultural and sports societies, teaching movement education and always keeping rich social relationships; this certainly helps her in entertaining our guests, also by delighting them with exquisite dishes. Cesare, an agronomist, has exercised his profession in several European and extra-European agricultural realities. After many years passed in dispensing his experience and consulting to others, he concentrated on accomplishing a substantial transformation carried of the Podere Ficareto, turning it into a high level farming complex with several different agricultural productions. The restoration of all buildings pertaining to the farmstead has also been one his undertakings. He doesn't mind to entertain friendly relationships with the guests, often advising them on the best wines and talking about the farm's cultivations.

Among the reasons for setting up an agritourism, a role has also been played by the desire of granting their sons the possibility of getting involved in a farming business of high interest; in fact, all three of them, Giovanni, Dario and Antonella, have agricultural and tourist expertise.

Location

The farm Ficareto extends over 50 ha. and lies at the feet of the “Montagnola Senese” (literally, the little mountains of Siena), at an altitude comprised between 320 and 500 m. In its northern and western part the land is covered by holm oaks, while the southern and eastern parts are dedicated to arboreal and herbaceous plantations. It can be reached through a perfectly accessible road network from each direction.

A little history

The farm used to be part of a number of “poderi” belonging to an important local dynasty, the Chigi, and was run by a family of sharecroppers. It is said that a part of the farmhouse (the “tower”) dates back to the 13th century, while the rest has been built during the 15th century. The pope Alexander VII, born Fabio Chigi, was nursed at the farmhouse: an inscription set above the farmhouse entrance used to prove it, but this evidence is now long lost and its place has been taken by the logo of the Dell'Aquila family.

The agritouristic structure

At the moment, the farmhouse has been carefully restored in order to present neat and cosy settings without loosing its charming antique flavour.

The guests have several common spaces at their disposal: the television room, a bookshelf close to the fireplace and the comfortable breakfast and dining hall.

The external spaces have been conveniently altered to fit the needs of the guests, leaving the environment uncontaminated with plenty of shady spots. There is a playground for children and a 25 m long arbour with 22 different sorts of table grapes, easily recognizable thanks to specific labels on the vines.

Several different fruit-trees are located uphill of the farmhouse. They are used to prepare exquisite jams, but also for fresh consumption. Guests especially appreciate the possibility of picking figs, grapes, cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, pears and apples. An old fountain, the “fontone”, can be found not far away from the building, close to the edge of the woods; it used to be a watering-place for animals, now turned into a pond for our visitors.

The farming business

The farming business is rationally managed following the rules of biological agriculture and is extended over 50 ha. The 18 ha of cultivable acreage have a multi-variegated productive vocation, with the presence of olive-trees, fruit-trees, wine and table grapes, cereals, leguminous plants and a wide range of vegetables. The landed property is completed by an extensive wood of holm oaks that counts also some chestnut trees and a small maritime pine forest.