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Villa Ravano
The pool from the olive terrace, loungers along one side and the pool house at the end

The grounds

I

Six thousand square metres, most of it in use

The pool is thirteen metres by eight and goes from 1.20 to 2.80, so it is a pool you can actually swim in rather than stand about in. A path runs to it from the house, though most people take the long way through the garden. Sun loungers down one side, sofas and parasols on the other, and a pool house at the end with a kitchenette and a bathroom, so nobody tracks water through the villa.

Behind the pool is a clay tennis court with floodlights, which is the difference between a game after breakfast and a game after dinner. Beyond it, a football pitch.

The front garden is gravel, lemon trees in pots and a lounge under parasols, with a barbecue and tables for eating outside. There is a swing under the trees, and hard standing behind the house for ten to fifteen cars.

II

Outside

The pool from the garden, loungers and white sofas along the terrace and the pool house behind
The swimming pool in the afternoon, loungers and a parasol on the brick terrace under the pines
The clay tennis court, floodlit for the evening, backed by umbrella pines and the hills
A great spreading tree on the lawn, seen between jasmine-covered pillars and a lemon in its pot
The pale front of Villa Ravano with its green shutters, an outdoor lounge under parasols on the gravel
A bottle of spumante and two flutes on a table beside the pool
III

The area

Gello sits at the foot of Monte Pisano. Pisa on one side, Lucca on the other, the sea half an hour west.

Gello sits at the foot of Monte Pisano, between Pisa and Lucca. Pisa airport is twenty minutes, Lucca twenty-five, Florence an hour and ten.

Come by car — there is hard standing behind the house for ten to fifteen. Guests who would rather not drive can be met at the airport, and the villa has bicycles: ten adult, one teenage, one for a child.

By car

  • San Giuliano Terme6 min
  • Pisa International Airport20 min
  • Pisa15 min
  • Lucca25 min
  • Marina di Pisa30 min
  • Florence70 min