Welcome to La Grotta, a unique place situated in the peaceful Pisan hills. The property has 18 hectares of olive trees, vineyards, and local vegetation, typical of the Tuscan landscape. The view of the plains, the sea, the river, and the Apuane Alps is breathtaking.
Staying at the farmhouse La Grotta allows you to fully enjoy the beauty of the landscape and the direct contact with nature. You can also learn about and see our agricultural activities and taste our products (wine and olive oil), as well as those of the whole territory (hams, cheeses, and so many more). The farmhouse offers all the comforts for a wonderful holiday, including an enchanting pool surrounded by olive trees.
Come and discover this corner of the world, halfway between Pisa (9 km) and Lucca (17 km); also not far from the seaside and natural oasis of Marina di Vecchiano (15 km), and just 2 km from San Giuliano Terme's thermal baths. It is worth mentioning that you can arrive within an hour's drive to Florence, Cinque Terre, the Apuan Alps, Volterra, San Gimignano, and other attractive locations.
Farmhouse La Grotta is situated in the suggestive context of the Pisan hills, a place of extraordinary biodiversity. It is exactly in the midpoint between Pisa and Lucca, at the top of a slope from where you'll be able to admire an enchanting view of the surrounding plains, all the way to the sea.
o access our farmhouse you will take a street off the main road from San Giuliano Terme, about a kilometer long. This street runs amid the olive trees as it goes uphill, so it is winding. It is steep but paved, and also provided with spaces to facilitate the two-way traffic if needed.
The management of our farmhouse is very special and respectful with the environment. We recently made a full conversion into renewable energy, for which the structure can ensure our guests heating, hot water, and electricity relying solely on its own, autonomous production. How do we do this? We have adopted innovative systems, such as solar thermal panels; the latest generation of photovoltaic panels, which not only produce energy but can also accumulate it in batteries for later use; and our biggest pride, a wood gasifier (which is fed by the wood from the pruning of our olive trees and the regular maintenance of the forest). This grants us a high environmental standard and allows us to offer competitive prices, always below the local average. We also equip each apartment with all the comforts from home: dishwasher, air conditioning, free Wifi, and microwave. We only ask that you use them consciously, to avoid an unnecessary waste of energy.
The agricultural management of our farmhouse is based on the respect of nature and a constructive coexistence between man and land, as well as on organic farming for the production of our extra virgin olive oil and wine.
The “Coppai”o complex was recently built from the renovation of the cellar, resulting in three new beautiful apartments. The name Coppaio comes from the Italian word "coppi", a sort of vat that was used to contain the oil. For this reason, the three apartments where you'll spend your nights are named after the three types of olives that are cultivated in our property: Leccino, Frantoio, and Moraiolo.
Dive in the tranquility of Tuscany. Your pool, the secret between the olive trees, for a timeless moment.
As you drive up to the Agriturismo you will find a barrier. Simply open it by pressing the "open" button, located at its right side column. The road is steep but paved and perfectly safe. There are signs that will guide you along the path to us, right at the very top of the slope.
AddressAgriturismo La Grotta
Loc. Monticello
San Giuliano Terme, Pisa - Italia
The natural context where La Grotta arises is of absolute value and of very peculiar characteristics.
The proximity to the sea ensures a temperate air flow, ideal for cultivating olive trees. These are abundant on the western side of the Pisan Hills. In fact, the Pisan Hill olive trees are known for their rare strength, which enabled them to survive to the big frost of 1985 that killed a huge amount of plants all over Tuscany. All in all, you'll be able to admire secular trees that are still active and in full production.
The agricultural management of Azienda Agricola La Grotta is in compliance with the criteria of organic farming. We do not use pesticides nor herbicides..
In time, these procedures have favored the re population of animal and plant species that come and go with the seasons, in perfect harmony with our surrounding that is both, agricultural and touristic.
A particular interest at the beginning of spring is the blooming of wild orchids. On these hills there are more than 40 different species, 6 of which are abundant and flourishing in our property. Along with the orchids come also the fireflies, filling by hundreds our nights. This rare phenomenon will delight you with a night show of lights and beauty.
There is interesting wildlife at the Azienda Agricola La Grotta: the European badger, the hoopoe, the owl and eagle owls, buzzards, hawks, porcupines and wild boars. In the summer afternoons, in addition to the chirping of the cicadas, you can sometimes find a "cervo volante" (Lucanus cervus), a magnificent and harmless beetle. At night, the geckos come out to hunt for moths..
The management of the Azienda Agricola La Grotta provides primary resources for the production of electricity, heating and hot water through the following technologies:
- A 6 kW photovoltaic system with monocrystalline silicon panels in the net metering regime, encouraged by the first Conto Energia;
-- A 9 kW photovoltaic system with polycrystalline panels with storage and monitoring system of production and consumption of Enersun Enerconv up to 10 Kw accumulation, encouraged by the fifth Conto Energia;
- A wood gasifier Herz Firestar Biocontrol of 40 kW fueled with the wood resulting from the cleaning of the forest and the olive trees' pruning, for the production of hot water during the winter. In summer, our gasifier is supported by four thermal solar panels for the production of hot water, so there is no need to burn wood.
The farm is also equipped with a system for collection and storage of rainwater. We built decantation wells that are connected to the gutters of the roofs and that bring the water to a 85 cubic meters storage tank. Our suction pump thus enables us to irrigate the gardens, the green yard and the orchard with rain water.
As you can see, the farm La Grotta is a self-sufficient reality, in perfect harmony with the surrounding area, without waste and with the maximum yield.
Your stay will be in harmony with nature and the ecosystem. Furthermore, our eco-friendly policy always guarantees a competitive price, thanks to our autonomy, without forcing you to give up the comforts from home./p>
The Azienda Agricola La Grotta is set in an area of 18.5 hectares of slopes and hills; much of our agricultural production is represented by the cultivation of olive trees, from where our extra virgin olive oil comes. The olive types that we grow in the farm are typically Tuscan: Frantoio, Leccino and Moraiolo. The farm also has a small vineyard of a half hectare, which produces the grapes that give life to our red wine (of Sangiovese and Trebbiano grapes, also known as The Chianti mix).
We also have a little orchard with old trees such as wild pears and quince apples. We also collect the wild fruits from the trees in the forest, like the feijoa, strawberry trees, rowan and wild plum trees; a rare naturalistic collection maintained with great care. Despite the small size of the orchard, it provides enough fruit to make our jams, all homemade, that you can enjoy in our delicious breakfasts or with cheeses and hams for our evening appetizers.
Inside the property there is an area of 8.5 hectares of native woods. Its annual clearance ensures the production of enough wood to warm up the domestic hot water for the entire complex; this way of managing our agricultural resources guarantees the substantial autonomy of the farm.
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