THE FACTS ABOUT VERCENNI AND CASA DI SOPRA

Italy

If your idea of a Tuscan holiday involves classical surroundings, you could do no better than find a base near Radda in Chianti. This tiny medieval village in the Monti del Chianti, with its miniscule piazza and iconic views of famous vineyards from its high fortress walls, is a typically Tuscan outpost. In structure, little has changed since the 15th century, when Radda was the capital of the Lega di Chianti (a medieval 'league'), whose distinctive black cockerel symbol is now used on labels of Chianti Classico. Florence and Siena are both within an hour's drive, so day trips are possible, as are leisurely tours of the vineyards, and lunches at local restaurants, including the Ristorante Vignale at the Fattoria Vignale hotel. Radda also has a good delicatessen, Porciatti, for picnic provisions, a couple of bars, and a pizza restaurant with some of the best views in Tuscany. Three kilometres outside Radda are the sister villas Vercenni and Casa di Sopra. Although completely different in character, and with their own private gardens and swimming pools set in expansive woodland, their proximity dictates they are best suited for large groups, or two families travelling together. Vercenni is the smaller, more rustic of the two, with timbered ceilings and weathered terracotta floors; there are cast-iron bedsteads and marble hand basins set in wooden cabinets in the bedrooms, recessed windows with sturdy shutters and an inglenook fireplace crowned with antlers and stocked with logs. It is lived-in, comfortable and unmodernised; a country house devoid of pretension with a walk-in marble shower that could have been the original inspiration for today's wet rooms, and a ramshackle games room downstairs big enough to lose half a dozen teenagers in for several days. Casa di Sopra is a far more sophisticated proposition. The interiors have been restored and professionally decorated with coordinated fabrics and a smoky-grey-and-cream colour scheme - the villa is an exercise in restrained elegance. The exterior and basic scheme of rooms remain unchanged, with fireplaces and beamed ceilings, but some have been knocked through to allow the free-flow of space and light. Getting lost is a serious possibility: stairs lead upstairs from the kitchen and downstairs from the main living room and there are plenty of unexpected hiding places to hole up in with a book. The bedrooms are sufficiently far apart to ensure privacy within a large group, with two twins, two singles and three doubles, including the top-floor 'tower' bedroom with views through arched windows across the wooded landscape. SLEEPS Nine (Vercenni), 12 (Casa di Sopra) PRICE £1,705-£4,275 (Vercenni), £2,980-£5,815 (Casa di Sopra), including maid service CONTACT CV Travel (020 7591 2833; www.cvtravel.net) FLY Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com) to Pisa (110km away)