Luxury Tuscany Villas: My Glorious Experience at Villa Le Maschere
Contents – Open To Read
FANCY A DREAMY WEEKEND IN TUSCANY?
Dream no more: This is IT!
How could you simply go to sleep when you can enjoy an amazing pool all for yourself?
Villa Le Maschere is an old Villa converted into a fantastic Hotel and wellness center with everything you could dream of…and more!
If you read my blog, you know I’m a weird creature. I can go crazy for a month camping on the road, looking like a dirty homeless person, and dreaming (and going) to super fancy places with a sweet spot for SPA’s and Infinity pools.
Hell, I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to this topic! Today I will be walking my memory lane as I put on my “Pretty Woman costume” last August and headed to the lovely Tuscany countryside for a weekend I’ll never forget!
Since many people already saw a few pictures on my social media and emailed me asking for more info (and pictures), there you go! Below are hundreds of images I took during my stay at the Villa and while wandering around the nearby areas and villages.
Enjoy the tour!
Villa Le Maschere: Am I dreaming?!
Villa Le Maschere is located near the Florence airport in the Mugello area, surrounded by the beautiful Tuscany Hills, a perfect setting that will let you feel like a real princess (or price of course, let’s not discriminate!).
Do you remember when Julia Roberts entered the super Luxury Hotel accompanied by Edward (Richard Gere)? Well, my reaction to entering Villa Le Maschere was pretty similar to hers (except for the cursing and the prostitute dress) ?
The hall is majestic, finely decorated with sofas, sculptures, and flowers. I stood there in awe for a second, slapping my face to ensure I wasn’t dreaming it!
Nope, it was all real! The picture on the left is one of the many spectacular rooms on the ground floor, which used to host gala dinners in the past, and is now a passage to the other areas of the property.
THE INFINITY POOLS
Saying that this is paradise is an understatement! Look for yourself.
Usually when you mention an infinity pool you immediately associated it with a blue color and 90% of the time during the daylight. Well, Villa le Maschere is special even when it comes to its pools!
They have not one but two pools: one is directly connected to the indoor one through a set of sliding doors (more on that heavenly place below!), and the second one is a few meters below the first one, directly facing an incredible panorama of green hills and lakes.
To make things even more special, if the pool during the day has its usual turquoise color, as you can see, it turns bright red by night. One night after dinner, I decided to take a walk and enjoy the full moon overlooking the pool side of the property, I was in awe.
This isn’t something you see every day. It was a magical, breath-taking experience.
Me sitting in front of both the pools. You can see the first one up, communicating with the SPA, and the second facing the hills (on my back)
In the first pool, you can see the light coming from the inside pool on the left, and you can swim from the indoor to the outdoor pool!
This is the second Infinity Pool, facing the hills, where I took the time to admire the moon rising. Such a peaceful place!
In my personal opinion, the night version of the pools is even more magical, but if you’re curious to see them during the day… there you go!
On the left, I used a picture taken by Elisa, another blogger who also had the privilege to experience this amazing experience. Here is a recap she wrote on her blog (even if you don’t understand Italian, the pictures speak for themselves!)
So why don’t I have a picture like hers, swimming in that fabulous pool? Because I guess someone was quite envious of me visiting this dreamy place, and I felt ill (just for one day, quite weird), with high fever &co.
Luckily for me, I recovered pretty quickly (thanks to a massive dose of paracetamol) as I couldn’t miss the SPA day for anything in the world. No jokes. I’m all about wellness centers and SPAs!
THE INDOOR POOL AND WELLNESS CENTER
The place where I truly belong!
I would have stayed there at least one week in a row if it were for me. Well, no… let’s make it a month!
At the wellness center, they offer so many treatments, relaxing massages and the indoor heated pool is the perfect place to relax and still enjoy the view even during the cold winter months, when swimming outside wouldn’t be such an enjoyable experience!
MY FABULOUS ROOM
Feeling like a princess all the way!
The rooms at Villa le Maschere are simply amazing. Mine, in particular, was special, and they couldn’t have chosen a better one for me. Downstairs is a super comfy bed with a window overlooking the park and the green Tuscany hills and lakes.
Upstairs is a “relaxing” area with sofas and a ceiling painted in bright colors. I spend a whole afternoon (when recovering from my sudden fever outburst) lying down there and admiring the whole room from upstairs.
We also had a chance to visit some of the other rooms, in particular, the master bedroom on the top floor with its majestic Jacuzzi and an incredible view, and another room, which was a whole apartment, with a living room area and windows facing both sides of the Villa.
OTHER AMAZING ACTIVITIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS!
The perfect location to discover the beautiful Tuscany surrounding areas
The Villa is strategically located to offer you not only its incredible luxury vibe, but also give you the unmissable opportunity to discover some lovely villages nearby and, why not… enjoy a golf course (if you haven’t already tried it) or practice a little bit while on holiday!
We headed to Una Poggio Dei Medici Golf club to give it a shot (literally!). In my case, it was my first time, and it was so much fun, even considering that I managed to hit (very weakly, might I add) one ball out of… 20?!
Oh, the laughter! I didn’t think playing golf could be physically challenging, but my arms and hands were sore the whole day after the game. Still worth the try, but cruising around the green field with the special “golf cars” was already a relaxing experience.
Ay Una Poggio Dei Medici offered us lunch, a delicious “Pappa al Pomodoro,” a typical Italian dish, and we managed to enjoy their pool in the afternoon.
Spot the differences: The Professional golfer…
…and clumsy little me, trying my best to at least hit the ball!
Delicious “Pappa al Pomodoro,” if you visit Tuscany, you can’t miss this dish!
SCARPERIA VILLAGE
And the ancient art of knife making
A traditional “knife-making shop” in Scarperia – Tuscany
In Italy, traditions are a very big deal. Your weekend at Villa Le Maschere could not be completed without a visit to the lovely village of Scarperia, with a stop at Pietro’s old shop, which is now open just to show people the ancient art of knife making.
Pietro is a skilled, colorful, and very Italian character who happily showed us how the artisans used to patiently craft beautiful knives before the modern industry took over the traditions.
It was a fascinating visit, the laboratory, the fire to soften the metal and forge the knives, and all the instruments on display. A very special soft light surrounded that “Bottega” (as we call it in Italy), making it a truly memorable cultural experience.
Pietro, the knife maker, waiting for us in front of his “Bottega”
Some of his old instruments hanging on the wall inside the shop
After visiting the knives bottega, we had a chance to stroll around the streets of Scarperia, such a lovely, serene and very typically Italian small village, with its old doors, narrow streets and the famous “Palazzo Dei Vicari” where you can admire a permanent knives (and swords) exhibition, as well as seeing the old rooms still finely decorated.
A typical door in Scarperia
Palazzo Dei Vicari facade
THE TAKEAWAY FROM MY FAIRY TALE WEEKEND
And more info for you!
If you love the Italian vibe (who doesn’t?!) the relaxing Tuscany countryside and you want to have an experience like no other, mixing luxury, wellness and culture, there is no better place than Villa Le Maschere!
Some people asked me how they could book a stay with them and other information regarding my experience. I believe that the best way to plan your stay (or an event like a wedding or any other important celebration) at Villa Le Maschere is checking out their website or contact them by phone.
They will give you all the necessary information for a perfect stay! ?
MORE INFO ABOUT VILLA LE MASCHERE
Official Website: Villa Le Maschere
Address: Via Nazionale, 75, 50031, Barberino di Mugello (Florence)
Telephone: +39 055 847431
Other Info: Florence Airport is 35 km away and Florence city is 40 Km away
I hope you will have the time to visit this amazing gem in Italy, and I wish you an incredibly relaxing stay!