La Casa delle Acque

The Casa delle Acque delimits the cypress grove to the north, closing the historical perimeter of the former town walls of the Borgo di Gello.

Divided into two large rooms, the ground floor is completely dedicated to the living area,set by a spacious marble top kitchen and a living room with a large fireplace.

Living room and kitchen are ideally extended outside by terracotta paved terraces, equipped with long masonry benches to dine or have a drink at sunset. A wood-burning brick oven is built into the retaining wall of the south terrace shaded under cypress trees.

A guest bathroom is built under the stairs.On the upper floor the sleeping area has two double bedrooms and a twin bedroom.

Two independent bathrooms are respectively equipped with a masonry tiled bathtub, the first and the second with a shower.

Uppor floor windows facing west overlook the roofs ot Gello to the Cecina river valley landscape.

Why do we name it casa delle Acque ?

The nearest spring is actually quite far. A specific preservation issue in rural architecture is that of placing bathrooms where they were not supposed to be, and because rooms without distribution would be linked directly in one another.

During the peak of his population and until 1960 the inhabitants of Gello had one toilet for all built against the wall of the Scuola house. In order to keep up with radical architecture of the 60s, someone suggested that instead of inserting bathrooms in the internal distribution of houses, it would have been possible and certainly cheaper to transfer the sanitary needs of an entire village into a single house, where all the rooms were anything but bathrooms. In memory of this glorious idea, we decided to preserve at least the high-sounding name of Casa delle Acque, limiting to three the amount of bathrooms provided.

The reconstruction of the house of the Acque

When new owners had Gello in 1962, the load bearing stone wall structure was solid, but the wooden floors had been damaged by leaking roof, too long without unmaintained. Inevitably the house was torn down for security matters. During 2003 reconstruction site completed the demolition of a remaining section of masonry, about three meters high, corresponding to the ancient cellars. A curb of foundation and a ventilated foundation made their way through the alabaster rock, to support walls in mixed work of local stone for mixed recovery and bricks. We used the stones of the old house, building thick, solid walls (50 cm) and insulated to guarantee the best seasonal thermoregulation together with specific plasters. The Tuscan houses have simple building features, whose respect is fundamental in the reconstruction interventions in the context of a historic village. Architraves and window sills in Montecatini stone have been recovered, coming from the quarry that until the early twentieth century has served the largest European copper mine. The chestnut beams and rafters are still on the market and are easy to find. It is not so easy to recover old terracotta floors, without which the house would not have been the same. The windows are made of cypress wood recovered from the pruning of our trees. Confirmed the building features, the house has been redesigned thinking of a family or two families with more children who live in direct contact with the outside in summer. The generous size of the living room and kitchen suggests comfortable winter days to spend in front of the fireplace.

Due to the thermal layer of the construction, the cottage is comfortable in summer weather without air conditioning

kitchen with hob, electric oven, fridge, freezer, dishwasher.communicating living room with wood-burning fireplaceTwo terraces on the south and north side with built-in tiled benchExternal brick oven with pizzeria toolsWalk-in closet and pantryLiving room with study tableBathroom with toilet and washbasin

  • TV
  • Free WI-FI
  • Heating with adjustable thermostat
  • Wood-burning fireplace
  • Deck chairs, umbrella, table and chairs and deck chairs for outdoor use

GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

CONDITIONS

Minimum stay of two nights unless otherwise indicated.

The cottage is delivered with a fully equipped kitchen and the necessary set of household linen, sheets, towels and blankets.

Prices in Euro provide for the individual use of the entire apartment during the agreed period and for the guests stated in the reservation , and include weekly cleaning with fresh new sheets, water and light consumption. During the winter season, heating gas measured on the counter upon guest arrival will be billed according to the fuel supplier’s purchase documents. In the coldest month this may be up to about € 15.00 per day.

In order to book one of the houses please send us a request filling up the attached form.

The reservation will be confirmed by CASEDIGELLO upon receipt by bank transfer of a 30% down payment of the total amount .

Cottage is delivered guests between 5.00 P.M. and 8.00 PM on arrival day and kindly vacated by 10:00 on the day of departure. Timetable flexibility will be offered depending on the peak season.

Extra bed for adults € .30.00 per day. Pets are welcome on prior request only .