Tuscany villa holiday, 10 days

Planet

The staff at our villa is well versed in the proper disposal of waste and recycling. Plus, they are all locals with the preservation and maintenance of their locality in mind. We will ensure that all of our travelers are well informed about local laws regarding waste disposal and recycling. We also encourage all of our travelers to be mindful of the amount of waste produced and to always follow local customs and laws about disposal.

Our guests are all encouraged to be conscious of the amount of water consumed and wasted. Our employees as well as local concierge/guide strive to reinforce this idea as we all emphasize the importance of conserving water by taking shorter showers, for example.

This is another thing our employees and local guide/concierge mention with great importance to our travelers. We routinely give gentle reminders to our travelers to be careful of the amount of energy consumed and wasted. We ask that everyone turn off their appliances, lights, heating and air conditioning when leaving their rooms or not using them. It is a small effort that we can all make, but if everyone makes a small effort, the impact can be huge!

We believe strongly in adaptive reuse and strive to use these types of buildings for accommodation whenever possible. Our villa was once a farmhouse from the 1700s and has been renovated to accommodate travelers from all over the world.

As our villa is located within close proximity to a nearby town, Citta della Pieve, it can be accessed by foot or bicycle. Also, we encourage our guests to carpool to various excursions and activities in the Tuscan province whenever and as much as possible.

Our suppliers are selected carefully because of their dedication to preserving and maintaining their locality, but also because of their passion. The owner of our villa has personally curated the renovation of this villa and is dedicated to employing locals and engaging local businesses not only to provide our travelers with a unique experience, but also to support the local province!

People

As mentioned above, the curator and owner of our villa is a local from the region and is a passionate advocate for local businesses and commerces. He enthusiastically recommends them to our guests in order to keep the spirit of this beautiful area alive.

Mass tourism has allowed people to experience wonderful places all over the world, but has also had some negative impacts on some destinations. This has become especially apparent in Italy. We have chosen this type of trip and a more off the beaten path destination to still allow people to experience Italy and not to burden the more popular cities such as Florence with more tourists on top of the millions that already visit there every year.

All of the activities proposed on this trip occur in small, local villages and towns to promote the unique local cultures and to support the local economies. An example of this is is the Arezzo medieval games, which promote local history in a fun and exciting way.

Our local concierge/guide and staff at the villa are all generously compensated according to the local standard of living. We also encourage our travelers to tip any villa employees if they receive extraordinary service.

There are many local fairs and festivals in the months of August and September throughout Tuscany and Umbria that our travelers can attend. By attending and participating in these events, they can mingle with the locals and really get to know the way of life in the region. This also contributes to the growth of the economies of the local towns and villages.

We always encourage our travelers to travel respectfully and responsibly and to understand that they are traveling in a foreign country with a culture and norms different to their own. We have carefully selected our villa and Italian concierge based on experience and his beliefs about responsible traveling. The concierge will also be a key resource and insight for local customs, faux pas, traditions, etc. to our travelers!