Villas for rent in Barberino Val d’Elsa

Barberino Val d’Elsa is the village for anyone who wants Chianti and San Gimignano in the same week without repacking. The walled village sits on the Cassia, between Porta Fiorentina and Porta Senese, and since 2019 has formed the commune of Barberino Tavarnelle with Tavarnelle; the villas stand on the ridge between the Val d’Elsa and the Val di Pesa, at 373 metres, among Marcialla, Vico d’Elsa, Petrognano and Sant’Appiano, with its Romanesque parish church and the pillars of a medieval baptistery. The place to see is Semifonte, the town razed by Florence in 1202: what remains is the chapel of San Michele Arcangelo, its dome a one-to-eight copy of Brunelleschi’s. Chianti Classico begins to the east; to the west you see the towers of San Gimignano, twenty minutes away. Tripcare arrives from its Poggibonsi office in about 13 minutes.

The stay

The houses around Barberino are less isolated than in the Sienese Chianti: asphalt to the gate, mains water, a pool facing the towers or the vineyards depending on the slope. “Casale Esclusivo Piscina & vista su San Gimignano”, for four, suits a couple with children wanting the towers on the horizon; “Villa con piscina a sfioro nel cuore del Chianti”, ten beds, takes the large group. Check-in is in person even for evening arrivals; the office is a quarter of an hour away. The concierge books the visit to Semifonte and the parish church of Sant’Appiano, the cellars between Barberino and San Donato, the transfer from station and airports, a driver for the day in San Gimignano and a chef in the villa with oil from the hamlets.

Why Barberino Val d'Elsa

Barberino is the choice for anyone who does not want to choose: to the east the Gallo Nero, with the cellars between Barberino and San Donato, to the west the Vernaccia and the towers of San Gimignano twenty minutes away, Siena half an hour, Florence three quarters of an hour. Compared with Castellina or Radda the roads are asphalted and the supermarket is in Tavarnelle, a few kilometres along the Cassia; compared with Poggibonsi the village has walls, two gates and a Sunday lunch in Marcialla. Families and couples come from April to October for seven nights, and the season here is long, from March to November.