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Pontremoli is the capital of Lunigiana, a lesser known region of Italy overlapping both Tuscany and Liguria. Lunigiana gets its name from Luni, the city founded by the Romans in 177 B.C., but its origins are far older. Scattered over the region are primitive statues with rectangular bodies and half-moon shaped heads left over from some forgotten Bronze Age civilisation. It is however very close to what we call civilisation today, such as the autostrada and the airport of Pisa, 80 km away.
The Lunigiana has played a leading role in the history of Italy, and every hill-top has a castle left to tell the tale, while Dante mentions the region in his Divina Commedia. Literary tradition is still strong and the internationally famous book prize, the Premio Bancarella, is awarded here every year on July 16th. The jury of Pontremoli are good at guessing as three of their prize winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, starting with Ernest Hemingway in 1953.
The local cuisine is also very interesting, with flat thin "testaroli" pasta, menus made with mushrooms which grow thick on the ground in the woods of the Lunigiana and the chestnut flour which is made into ‘frittelle’, or fritters, while the cheeses and cold cuts made locally go perfectly with the genuine wines of the region.
The Villa Emilia is 9 km away from the medieval town of Pontremoli, built in the 1920’s in the middle of a large garden with views all around of woodlands, medieval stone farmhouses and the slopes of the Apennines.
Breakfasts can be served either in the warm country kitchen with its marble fireplace and ox-blood red walls or outside on the patio overlooking the terraced vineyards and fields.
Rooms: the bedrooms are four, three double and one twin with two bathrooms. The Green Room, painted in a vivid sage green also has its own balcony with a view. Available from 15th June until 15th September. Other periods of the year are also possible on request.
Minimum stay 2 nights.
Options: English and Spanish are spoken. Pets are regretfully not allowed. Children over two years of age are welcome.
Where: the Pontremoli railway station is 10 km away, while Pisa airport is at 80 km.
Prices:

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