Holiday Farmhouse Marche, Cingoli, Italy

Casafrances

   ...ref.no: 202

Accommodation   (Self Catering Farmhouse, sleeps: 8)

This recently restored farmhouse is situated in a peaceful hillside village near Cingoli, a medieval hill town with a view across the rolling countryside to the adriatic sea, 30km away.

The house is on a secluded, barely used country road. Casa Frances is spacious and furnished to a very high standard with full central heating and two original wood burning fires and traditional wood beamed ceiling. The house accommodates up to 8 adults plus 2 fold up beds (a cot is also available).

It is south facing house with a private raised garden looking over the rolling countryside towards the sea.

GROUND FLOOR

The ground floor is composed of:

• a dining room with wood burning fire
  
• a table and chairs for 10 people
  

The dining room is connected to the kitchen and the living room.

The kitchen is fully equiped and includes:

• dishwasher
  
• gas hob
  
• electric oven
  
• a large fridge freezer
  
• all cooking utensils china and glasses
  

A double door leads outside.
The spacious living area is composed of two connected spaces, one contains a log fire, settee and chairs, and the other a sofa, chairs, TV and stereo. Two double doors open onto the patio in the front garden.

The groundfloor also has:

• a bathroom, containing shower box, WC, washbasin and washing machine
  
• a garage, with wine racks, space for a car
  
• other outdoor garden tools
  

OUTDOORS

The garden has:

• a hammock
  
• built in BBQ
  
• sun loungers
  
• a table football table (great fun for all ages!)
  
• large patio area with table and chairs for 12 people
  
• anther totally secluded patio area to catch the early morning sun
  

The trees provide shaded areas on the lawn for when your tan has reached Italian perfection.

FIRST FLOOR

The first floor comprises:

• 4 high ceiling double bedrooms
  
• Two with en - suite bathrooms
  
• Three with double beds
  
• one twin room
  
• extra "floating" beds are available for children and can be moved as required
  
• A travel cot is also available
  

Each room is fully furnished with a wardrobe, chairs, beds, a bedside table and lamp. Winter visitors will be pleased to know it is fully centrally heated, with at least one radiater in each room. Plugs and adaptors are also available.

The staggered stair case is the central corridor leading up to the back bathroom (with bath, bidee, WC and wash basin).

The Marches (Le Marche) - 'Italy's best kept secret', so they say. And here's us thinking that Italy's best kept secret was why on earth Bud Spencer and Terence Hill films are so popular. Another story.

It's not unusual to see comments along the lines of 'Oh yes, Le Marche - like Tuscany was twenty or thirty years ago' and suchlike. The region of Le Marche - The Marches - is indeed a fascinating one, rich with glorious countryside and splendid architecture, and yet it does remain very much undiscovered in terms of tourism.

No bad thing, of course - emptier roads and beaches, quieter countryside and less packed restaurants, and prices that compare extremely well with other and better known regions.

There are numerous seaside resorts, some truly monumental castles, dozens of fascinating hilltop towns and villages, skiing and health spas and some beautiful natural scenery.

Make for the plunging Frasassi Gorge for a "journey to the centre of the Earth" through the Grotte di Frasassi, one of Italy's largest and most famous complex of caves.
An ideal jaunt for a rainy day. Some 13 km of limestone caverns have so far been explored and it is reckoned that they may run for up to 35 km. Only one and a half km of this crystalline wonderland is open to the general public. Equipped with walkways and theatrical lighting, it includes the awesome Grotta Grande del Vento, Europe's largest single cavern, so vast that Milan Cathedral would fit comfortably inside, and some of the most extravagantly fanciful stalagmites and stalactites you are ever likely to see. Even claustrophobics shouldn't find it too challenging.

Visitors to Avenale can go skiing at Sassotetto, near Sarnano (approximately) 1 hours drive from the house and, adjacent to it, the resort of Pintura near Bolognola.
Further afield are the resorts of Frontignano near Ussita and Monte Prata near Castel San Angelo sul Nera.
The pistes are of varying length and difficulty but are easily accessible and, unlike more commercial regions, when we were there over the Christmas period, there were no queues at the ski-lifts!
In addition there are the beautiful cross country skiing courses at Piani di Ragnolo and Piano Perduto and, for the more adventurous and skilful, there is mountain skiing in the Sibillini.

Jesi - a fantasic medieval town, surrounded by walls. Great shopping and architecture.

Bedroom

Kitchen

Lounge

Dining Room

week: Sat-Sat sleeps: 8 s.catering: pvt.garden: countryside: walking: cycling: skiing: