The Elenore Castle

History: The castle was built during the first decade of the 16th century and became the residence of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, during the reclamation of the lands of Maremma. The castle has been the residence of many Grand Dukes of Tuscany and documents have been found, dated 1529, that testify the existence of an older palace that was rearranged to become a palace for the railway administration. Subsequent renovations since 1900 have all been supervised by the Italian office of Monuments and Fine Arts. Today, the castle represents one of the most important monuments of the Val di Cornia (Cornia Valley). Overview: The Castle is accessible through a road, surrounded by cypress and pines trees, at the end of which the impressive gate opens onto the front garden and the private parking. During the warmer months, across the entrance hall, the "Rose Garden" is the ideal place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms, are arranged on different levels and individually decorated. Also, they are equipped with mini-bar, air conditioning, TV satellite, phone with Internet access, and safe. 8 double rooms, 5 suites and a superior suite "Granduca" are available. In these beautiful bedrooms you will find antique furniture, hand decorated ceilings, frescoes and many precious objects. On the ground floor you will find a beautiful entrance hall enriched with oil paintings and furnished with an important 18th century wooden table. There are also three sitting rooms accessible from the main entrance hall, a reading room with an antique wooden desk, a bookcase and Internet access and a bar room with fireplace. The TV room is richly furnished with an antique chest, two comfortable sofas upholstered with damask fabric, a fireplace, satellite TV, and a CD/DVD/VCR player. The castle is surrounded by a terraced olive grove that produces a fine olive oil, which is destined to the castle residents. Nearby, the owner also has a farm where all the typical Tuscan ingredients are grown for the exclusive use of the castle. Among the organic produce grown in the Castle's farm you can find tomato, water melons, salad, courgettes, aubergine and many more seasonal vegetables. Description: This is a true castle in all senses, fully detailed with original medieval décor, statues, men in armour, and swords abounding. Entrance into the castle is into the very impressive, grand foyer room highlighted with the family crest, large oil paintings, and 20 foot high wood beam ceilings. From the foyer, the property splits in 2 wings. Immediately to the right off of the entrance foyer (at the beginning of the foyer) is the kitchen equipped with several refrigerators, a 6 range stove, oven, all kinds of utensils, espresso machine, American coffee machine, slicer, microwave, & toaster. A storage area where plates and glasses are stored and an ice machine are located in a storage space at the back of the kitchen. Off the foyer to the right again (at the end of the foyer) is the entrance to the living wing where the first ½ bath is located. There is a large, formal, beautiful dining room on the ground floor, which seats 14 and serves breakfast, lunch and/or dinner in the midst of original frescoes and ceramic tile floors. There is a beautiful, large stone fireplace, beautiful fresco walls, large gold candelabra, wood beam ceilings, and lots of lamps, while the entire space enjoys views out over the back garden and breakfast patio/dining area. From the formal dining room, up flight of 20 steps takes you to the second floor where there are two bedroom suites to the right. The first, bedroom 2, boasts a large king bed, living room area with couch, desk, several chairs, oak furniture, air conditioning, tv, dresser, closer space and view out over main entrance of the villa and parking area. The bedroom enjoys an en-suite bathroom with shower head. The second bedroom is room 1 also with king size bed, dresser, built-in closet, and separate seating area with couch and tv which looks out over back garden. This bedroom enjoys an en-suite bathroom with bathtub with shower head. In fact, all of the bedrooms in the castle enjoy air conditioning, a small refrigerator bar and telephone, and hand made cotto tile floors. To the left of the stairwell is bedroom 3, the Grand Dukes bedroom, boasting a king size bed, a grand piano, large stone fireplace with sitting area, oak bookshelves and book storage units, lots of vases, beautiful ceilings, and dressers, and a bathroom with bathtub and windows looking out over back garden. There are also His & Her built-in closets to suit. To left side of entrance foyer takes you into a small sitting area where the library with couches and chairs, lies. This room offers a small laser printer and connects to a bar/sitting/living room area with a large tv, dvd player, a beautiful ceramic iron fireplace, and several large couches. The living room flows into yet another sitting area decorated with a beautiful ceramic & stone fireplace, several couches, beautiful lamps, china, dressers, a murano glass chandelier, and even gold plated mirrors. A flight of 10 steps takes us up to the sleeping area where bedrooms 8 & 9 are located. Bedroom 8 is a king bedroom with a small living room area with couch, tv, dresser, and en-suite bathroom with bathtub. Bedroom 9 is also a king double with a tv, dresser, and en-suite bathroom with closet and bathtub. A small flight of 18 leads to bedroom 10 – the Attic Suite. This suite offers a king bed, a couch, a large dresser, a desk, a built-in closet, and an en-suite bathroom with bathtub and views looking out over the back and front entrance gardens. A corridor to the left leads to the remaining bedrooms (4 – 7 & 12 – 13). Bedrooms 12& 13 are all at the end of the corridor and, at present, both are en-suite. Up a flight of 10 steps leads to bedrooms 4 – 7. These four bedrooms are all similar in style: queen size beds and en-suite bathrooms with bathtubs. Bedroom 4 is a great size bedroom, boasting a small king size bed, a large living room area with couches, a stone fireplace, and some bookshelves. Bedroom 6 is a queen with en-suite bath with shower and bedroom 5 is a queen with en-suite bath with bathtub. Bedroom 7 is also a large queen/small king and enjoys access out to own small terrace looking out over back garden and its own living room space with couch and desk, chair and tv. The en-suite bathroom has a shower box. Up 22 steps leads to Bedroom 11 which offers a queen size bed and views out over the town of Venturina. The en-suite bathroom has a shower box. From here, there is a spiral staircase leading up to the actual Castle tower, from where you can see absolutely everything in the vicinity and even the sea in the distance. At the back of the Castle is an outdoor breakfast area, an external lounge with couches, chairs, and umbrellas to shade you from the sun, and a large pool deck with Jacuzzi. The swimming pool is located at the end of the garden and is separated by a small gate. The pool is open from mid May to the end of September and around it, you will find a Jacuzzi and an area with gym equipment. Overlooking a terraced olive grove, the pool is shaded by old pine trees and has a changing room and toilet. The Castle, with all its even has an original chapel. Absolutely one-of-a-kind property.