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Casa Moricianni

Posted by (jacksonville, FL, USA) on

Why does everyone love this place? Wisely, Isabella and Carlo have made sure that whatever you are looking for… you will find it here. If you seek luxury, prepare to be pampered. If you seek relaxation and peace, I dare you to sit in the garden and not be transported. If you seek a true Tuscan experience, I guarantee you will find it here. If you seek food and wine, you will eat and drink to your heart’s content. All of the little details are taken care of in an extraordinary fashion, and you can read about that in the reviews wherever you choose to find them. I want to talk about the people, because for us that was what makes us yearn to return… just days after we are home.

Castlemuzio! How lucky are we to be invited into the lives of these 250 people? To eat with the priest in the restaurant, talk to the school children and help with their fundraiser, and to share the evening passeggiata as though we will do so every night for the rest of our lives. At day’s end, we smell dinners cooking, we hear the dogs bark each other “buona serra”, and we see the mamma heard her small daughter inside to finish her homework. This is more than a vacation. This is an experience.

The Moricciani family, (and extended family)! Carlo, who works so hard and gives his gifts …the fruits (and meats, and wine, and cheeses, and vegetables) of his labor to lucky guests. Oh, how I wish we could have eaten them all before we left. Luciano, who danced with me to my favorite Italian song while I giggled in his ear like an idiot. Carlotta, who immediately seemed like our best, funniest (and smartest) girlfriend. Chef Giancarlo, who helped to remind us that there is no greater joy (to yourself and those around you) than loving your work and being a genius at what you love. Sabrina, whose little surprises really made our day. Isabella, who shared the story of this family business with us, but really told us a love story about place and family. And the magic… Isabella adds the magic. Everything that seems effortless and perfect is really based on vision and lots of hard work by everyone involved.

We are so grateful to have experienced this small slice of “la dolce vita”, and to have been welcomed in by the people who live it and love it.

We cannot recommend Casa Moricciani highly enough. If you go, you will not be disappointed. If you go with an open heart and an open mind, you will have the experience of a lifetime.

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I just have to echo everything Leah wrote so eloquently above. Here is a copy of the text I sent our grown children about Casa Moricianni when we were there: "Oh my gosh!! This place is Perfetto!! This is just what I imagined Tuscany to be. Our apartment (Il Cielo) is so cute! If I were a Disneyland fan, I'd say it is as if Walt Disney designed the perfect reproduction of a perfectly preserved Renaissance era Italian apartment, with touches of modern spa in the huge bathroom. When we arrived, the kitchen table was laden with all kinds of food items produced by the people who own the Agriturismo. And they are all so incredibly friendly and helpful. They even give you a cell phone to use for the week, and encourage you to call if you get lost, or something goes wrong, etc. To celebrate being in this perfect place, I'm going to use some of their specially home cured pancetta and farm fresh eggs, cheese and pasta to make some Carbonara for our dinner, along with a salad of fresh greens from the farmhouse garden. Right now it is getting dark outside and we are listening to the sound of the village kids playing in the streets below our windows. It reminds me of how we used to play kick the can after dinner when I was growing up. Also, in a few minutes there is going to be a free concert in the center of the village. Other than that, there are just the sounds of crickets outside. What a lovely place." And as Leah also wrote, "Isabella adds the magic". I would say the whole Moricciani family (including their adopted Carlotta) bring their own "magic" too. As one of the other guests commented during our stay, "the most amazing part is that these people do this with such grace and enthusiasm week after week!". Truly while you are there, it feels like they have given 150% just for your group. But clearly they do it for all their guests. Just wanting to add my two cents agreement with Leah.....if you go there, you will not be disappointed. It is about the EXPERIENCE, not just the place.

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My wife and I spent a wonderful November week at Cretaiole, thanks to the peerless hospitality of the famiglia Moricciani and Carlotta. A stay at Cretaiole is a window on 2,000 years of history in Tuscany’s Val D’Orcia, a sense of place like no other, and a lesson in the art of living imaginatively and well. From the farmhouse and its earthly gifts right on the kitchen table to the vineyards and olive groves, to the ancient pilgrimage route, to medieval Pienza and its food and fancy, to the mysteries of the Abbey of Sant’ Antimo, to all the surrounding hill towns, every step is rich in wonder and adventure—and wine.

This was our third stay, a special Thanksgiving week created by the Moricciani’s for previous guests, a chance to meet and swap stories. As always, Isabella offered boundless possibilities—from hikes to cooking classes to truffle hunts to guided and unguided tours and so much more—to be enjoyed with other guests or solo. Isabella also provides a Val D’Orcia (and farther afield) traveler’s bible, with maps, directions, pictures, and insights into every secret and not-so-secret area haunt. And she’s happy to arrange other adventures if you have them in mind. You can do anything and everything you want—or you can sit back, relish the views and do nothing at all.

As for practicalities, the prices are more than reasonable, there are accommodations to suit most every taste and comfort level, there’s laundry, fireplaces for the cold, kitchens or kitchenettes, a barbecue, a cell phone to borrow, a library for borrowing or exchange, spring water, all the advice you could ever want, and spectacular sunsets (perhaps not so practical, but utterly necessary). And when Luciano comes to your door with fresh ricotta, wine or grappa, by all means welcome him in and celebrate.

You too will sing grazie mille to Isabella, Carlo, Luciano, Lilana, and Carlotta for a visit you’ll never forget and will surely want to repeat.

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