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 A few minutes far from the village of Impruneta and from Florence you can find Castello di Cafaggio, an antique village surrounded by olive groves, vineyards and an age-old wood where one can admire all kinds of typical mediterranean animals and trees and where the famous composer Giacomo Puccini, who was a friend of the noble proprietors of the castle, took delight in hunting.
The main house and the annexed out buildings (carpentry, mill, oil- press, vats, cellars, vinsanto wine fermentation rooms, chicken pen, stables, pig-sty) were, until the last century, a kind of independent and self-sufficient hamlet where cultivation and craftsmanship served to fuel the entire local community of farmers and artisans. The products produced on the farm included wine, vinsanto, olive oil, honey, meat and poultry, silk and farming machinery. |
 The family chapel hosted all sacred rituals from weddings to funerals. Today, there are only two families of farmers left, but the house still preserves all the aura of past lives and activities. The ancestors of the current proprietors, the Barony of Benci, not only have enriched the villa with important frescoes, but have also turned the export of local produce into a quality practice.
During the 1920's, the Bencis exported great shipments of Chianti wine to America, and had offices in the heart of Manhattan. Today, Baron Benci exports one of the best extra virgin olive oils of the territory, and has received the honours of the C.O.I. (The International Oil Counsel) as a master of olive oil production. |
 An adjacent wing of the farm house has just been refurbished according to the traditional aesthetics of the settlement and divided into flats. The 4 apartments, the double bedroom and the detached cottage retain their warmth and simplicity in the antique country elegance of the furnishings, the terracotta floors and the original wooden beams. All apartments are fully equipped and have independent central heating, ventilation system and television. Also, on the yard one can have barbecues and taste the excellent products of the farm: Extra virgin olive oil, Chianti wine and vinegar, honey and vinsanto (tipical dessert wine, made out of grapes that has been aged for at least 5 years in barriques). |
 Immersed in the peace of an unspoiled landscape, this structure offers its guests the chance to closely live a typical Tuscan rural lifestyle and taste the fruits of the land. In the wood around the castle it is possible to do trekking excursions.
Close to the castle is the Via del Chianti, which winds through the hills to Siena. The village of Impruneta is only a short walking distance and Florence is only 12 kilometres away. Arezzo, Pisa, Lucca and the sea are reachable, approximately an hour by car. |
 Nearby, there is also the famous 18-hole Golf Club Ugolino (6 km), a tennis club (800 mt), a horse-riding school (3 km) and a sports centre (6 km). On request mountain bikes can also be rented.
We organize dinners, wedding receptions and business meetings with catering service in the castel's bailey, gardens, art nouveau liberty dining room and blue music room. We also organize Tuscan and Reinassance cooking courses as well as painting, decoration and mosaic courses, moreover wine tours in Chianti and guided tours in Florence and other resorts of cultural and historical interest. |
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