Beautifully restored large farm house with the authentic flavour of times past and glorious views up to Cortona. Sleeps 6 adults + 2 kids.
Dardano is a deceptively large house, full of atmosphere. It is a simple country home, basic even, but with an elemental charm. Outdoors, it has a vine-covered area for shaded outdoor eating. The garden is a neatly mown meadow with glorious views of the surrounding countryside, while the large outbuildings house a barbecue, an outdoor kitchen and give welcome covered parking. A flight of steps leads to the front door and into the old farmhouse kitchen, which also takes a stab at doubling as a sitting room. The stone floor and old fireplace, with medieval “spy hole”, has authentic Tuscany stamped all over it. We couldn’t call the place smart, but it’ll charm you nevertheless with its comfortable bedrooms, ancient arched windows and huge old beams. Also on this floor are a compact double bedroom, a large bedroom with twin beds and a bathroom with shower.
From here you climb the characterful stairs in the picture to reach the tower, which covers two floors. The double bedroom at this level has an en suite bathroom (with shower) and the stairs continue (without a door) to the double bedroom at the top.
The large 12m private pool is lovely and is completely fenced.
Try Cortona’s market for fresh bread, huge tomatoes bursting with sunshine flavour, real mozzarella and a flagon of local wine to enjoy in the garden – that’s what Dardano’s all about!
Free traditional Tuscany dinner in villa with bookings of 2 or more weeks.
Great Place!
Reviewed on 02/07/2020
Jean Pagnotta
-
We totally enjoyed our stay. Our hosts were great. They were very responsive and helpful.
Reviewed on 08/03/2018
friendsoftuscany
-
The house was interesting and historic, while spacious and comfortable. There was more than enough room and the location is perfect to explore Tuscany and Umbria. The check-in process was easy, and our hosts Paolo and Carla were most gracious in their welcome. During the stay, they even had to dinner at their home. This turned into an even of multi-course Italian delights and interesting conversation. Overall, I'd rate the house and experience very highly.
Reviewed on 06/15/2018
friendsoftuscany
-
There is hardly anything more that I could have wanted from a rental in Tuscany that Dardano did not provide. The setting in the middle of an agricultural plain, surrounded by red poppies and sunflowers was an incredible sight. I was not prepared to be in a house filled with so much history and rural charm. It is idyllic! Your agency and your staff were outstanding. The rental and the payment went smoothly. The directions to the rental were perfect and meticulous in detail. The photographs and descriptions of the property were completely accurate. I would have no reservations about using Summer’s Leases for my future vacation rentals. The owners of the property, Carla and Paolo, were perfect hosts. Every detail, from welcoming flowers and wine and a nice historical tour of the house to the absolute guarantee of privacy made our stay enjoyable. Dardano is well furnished and equipped with everything you would ever need. A car is essential, but driving distances to grocery stores and other services are minimal. The house was in a perfect location for our explorations of Cortona, Lake Trasimeno, Assisi, Perugia, Deruta, and Pienza and Montepulciano on day trips. We made short train trips to Florence and Rome. After a day of journeys, we just sat back on the front porch with a glass of Vino Noble and watched evening unfold complete with the sound of frogs and owls and the magic light of fireflies! Thank you for a perfect rental experience. You all are great.
Reviewed on 06/01/2018
friendsoftuscany
-
We had the most wonderful holiday at Dardano, it was just so beautiful, so peaceful and so relaxing. Paolo and Carla are just lovely and very welcoming. The house had everything we needed, most especially a well stocked kitchen. We loved the pool, all the different places to sit and relax. I had worried that it might be a little quiet for three teenagers, but the pool, football and darts kept them busy, along with plenty of books and plenty of good food. It was so quiet at night that we slept like logs. Cortona was just lovely, not too busy but with plenty going on. We would definitely like to visit Dardano again.
Reviewed on 05/14/2018
friendsoftuscany
-
Dardano was beautifully situated in a semi-rural environment very accessible to fantastic restaurants and amenities. We loved the ‘minimart’ not far up the road in Montella! We bought many wonderful ingredients (Pecorino, Parma, amazing beef, pastas) for our evening feasts under the grape arbor. The pool was refreshing and a fabulous retreat from the summer heat. Cortona is a quick drive up the hill for excellent dining and exploring. Don’t miss the Franciscan Cell Hermitage (Le Celle) 5 km from Cortona built into the face of Mount Sant’Edigio. It was magical there. We also loved cooking some traditional Tuscan recipes (Coniglio, Baccalà & Tiramisù) with Carla and her mother-in-law Stella. Many laughs and good times had in the kitchen! We LOVED our trip to Tuscany and are eager to plan our next one.
Reviewed on 09/21/2017
friendsoftuscany
-
Dardano was one of the first times i ever felt every thing was exactly as represented , the dinner with the owners was the best ever , what wonderful people . We'll be glad to share pictures soon. so glad we saw your beautiful web-site.
Reviewed on 08/18/2017
friendsoftuscany
-
We have been visiting Tuscany for the last 10 years but staying at another house. This is our first change due to a double booking error at the other place [not a Friends of Tuscany's property!] and we were not disappointed. Nice to be so near Cortona too. We loved Dardano which is very quaint, fairly compact and surround by beautiful country. There are a range of eating areas around the plot and we did them all but it would have been nice to get some evening sun: although in the very hot weather I am sure we would appreciate the shade. The pool was a bit cold but the weather was cooler than normal for May. I am sure it will be very welcoming in the heat of high summer. Nevertheless we all got tans and enjoyed it. Paolo and Carla were very attentive and Paolo's mother paid us a visit too. She did the geranium pots which all looked so beaytiful.They were all very helpful although we know the area well so we did not need them for tourist advice. The house was certainly better than we thought it would be and perfectly private.
Reviewed on 08/14/2017
friendsoftuscany
-
We loved Dardano. It really was better than we had hoped. The area outside the house was lovely for sitting and one was always able to find some shade. It was a lovely place to come back to after a hot day’s sightseeing and it really did become our home for two weeks. Honestly one of the best holidays we’ve had. Carla was very helpful and informative telling us about places to visit and where to eat. We are very glad we found you.
Reviewed on 07/07/2017
friendsoftuscany
-
The house was wonderful - and more spacious than we thought the web site had led us to believe. It comfortably held 6 people (including 2 children) and made for a great base of operations as we packed in a tour of that area of Tuscany. Our hosts were very attentive and friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay (our first holiday of this type). Will recommend Dardano to other friends and work colleagues
Reviewed on 05/10/2017
friendsoftuscany
-
We loved the setting and placement of Dardano. Close to so many of the Tuscan hill towns that day trips were only about 1 to 2 hours away. Dardano was very quiet and peaceful. We loved sitting out on the porch to have our breakfast and dinner.
Reviewed on 09/14/2016
friendsoftuscany
-
The week we spent at Dardano was excellent. It was very hot so the swimming pool was greatly appreciated and well used. The location of the property made it very easy to plan day trips to several destinations we had hoped to see. The home was comfortable, welcoming, and clean. The property is beautiful. We really enjoyed the many gardens, grape arbor and shade of the huge tree in the center of the yard.
Reviewed on 07/14/2016
friendsoftuscany
-
We found the property to be exactly what we were looking for. It was a rustic atmosphere with a wood burning fireplace in the kitchen which added to feeling of home and comfort. Although the kitchen/sitting area was not large, it was enough for us as our days were spent traveling and not much time was spent indoors. We were quite surprised to find that the bedrooms were quite large and the farmhouse could have accommodated 1 more couple besides the 5 of us. Although the time of year was not idea for outdoor living, there were 2 different areas that could accommodate evening dinners and one tiny alcove that we used for morning coffee. As for Carla and Paolo, we cannot say enough about their welcome to us. We met Paolo our first night to obtain the key and found a welcoming bottle of wine and fresh sunflowers waiting for us. Since we had not been able to pick up some staples before we arrived, Paolo graciously drove one of our party to a nearby grocery to pick up a few things and to show us where it was located. We met Carla the next day who was glad to answer any questions that we had and recommended places to shop, purchase supplies and dining in Cortona. She also took the time to look over our map and planned destinations to let us know what was worth visiting and what places could be set aside
Reviewed on 07/11/2012
friendsoftuscany
-
We stayed at Dardano in July of 2012 and enjoyed a wonderful vacation! Dardano is beautiful, and very comfortable for an extended family (there were 7 of us). It was a warm summer so we spent many happy afternoons in the beautiful pool while the house stayed very cool and comfortable. What makes Dardano so very special are the owners, Paolo and Carla. From the minute we arrived they treated us like returning family. Their welcome was warm, informative and most importantly involved an invitation to attend Paolo's birthday taking place the next day. Of course we went!, the food, location and people made the day very special. Carla and her mother in law, Stella also joined us for a cooking class later in the week where we had the opportunity to make some of the dishes we had enjoyed at the party. What a fun afternoon and what a feast we all created together. We can hardly wait to return, to spend more time at this beautiful home and to enjoy the company of such warm, wonderful owners.
1
Availability
2
Get a Quote
3
