Local Area

Florence is a 1.5-hour drive.

Lucca 1hr drive a delightful city; hire a bike and pedal around the city walls.

Parma for the opera 1hr away.

For its culture, Pisa is also 1 hr away, and you can take the train to all these places from Villafranca.

Villa Ariola stands proud in the Tuscan village of Irola di Sopra, a quiet panoramic medieval hill village near Villafranca in Lunigiana. Located within the National Park, this is a paradise for walkers and country lovers; at dawn and dusk, it's possible to glimpse deer and wild boar as they venture from cover in search of food or watch eagles and other rare birds as they soar above the hills and down the valleys.

The nearest town is Villafranca, just a 10-minute drive away, with good restaurants, supermarkets, bars, shops, and banks. A thriving market visits Bagnone on Monday, Pontremoli on Wednesday and Saturday, and Villafranca on Friday, mostly food stalls; you will find a good selection of excellent locally produced fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and salami. There are several beaches and the major attractions of Tuscany, all within driving distance. Our guide for guests recommends local restaurants and vineyards.

The sea is readily accessible from Marinel; southwards, there are shallow, sandy beaches; whilst at Lerici and the Gulf of Poets (where Shelley drowned, Byron swam, and D. H. Lawrence meditated), it is rocky. Further on from Lerici, you will find the Cinque Terre, which has five famous fishing villages that are incredibly picturesque. It is possible to take a boat from Lerici to the Cinque Terre. 

In northern Tuscan, Lunigiana is an unspoiled area of breathtaking natural beauty between the Apennine mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. The surrounding villages are steeped in history, and there are countless natural curiosities, such as the caves near Equi Terme, the site of the natural sulphur baths.

Unknown to the crowds, yet close to the cities and the Cinque Terre, Lunigiana links the Gulf of Poets and the coastal province of Liguria to the west with the Apennines in the northeast. To the southeast, the region is dominated by the mountains of the Parco Alpi Apuane.

In winter, the nearest ski resort, Zum Zeri, is less than 1 hour away, and Ceretto is less than a 1.5-hour drive away.

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