This week we look at the nearest town to La Collina del Sole , the most beautiful Lucca Villa Rental , it is Castelnuovo de Garfagnana steeped in History, wonderful wines and food and full of fun ! The area where you find Holiday Villas in Lucca has a rich historical background especially during WWII check out the Museo della Liberazione de Lucca which is also on Facebook as is the pick of the crop for Villas for rent in Tuscany check out Facebook for Villa Rentals in Tuscany for real inspiration on where to rent a villa in Tuscany and add a dash of fun, glamour, edification, great food and wine ! Castelnuovo has a lot to offer: Food First ! There is a marvellous bar / Osteria called il Vecchio Mulino Osteria where the owner Andrea Bertucci, will be delighted to guide you through the best wines and olive oils of the region and prepare samples of local cured meats. Our guests at La Collina del Sole from Wedding Magazine held a photoshoot in his premises a week ago, you can see Andrea both looking on and between the models ...having fun.

They are located on Via Vittorio Emmanuelle 12, their telephone is 0583 62192 and you can book your wine or Tuscan olive oil tasting session, call giving 2 days’ notice, a minimum of 2 people is required and the cost of tasting starts at Euro 10 . This Historic “Osteria di Garfagnana” was built into the lower walls of Castelnuovo the town closest to Lucca Villa Rental and has been in this location for several centuries. This Osteria is a destination for Italian wine lovers. It sells local AND Super Tuscan wines alongside local products, it offers wine and oil tasting, you can choose from Local, to Tuscan, from Northern Italy or Southern Italian wines to book speak to Andrea, the Osteria is closed on Mondays and if you would like to see what is on the other side of the photographers lens check the photo we took of it earlier an Aladdin’s cave of Bottles!

Castelnuovo is the town where Ariosto was banished to by the Este court when he fell out of favour having asked to be paid a fair wage so … as punishment they sent him to be the governor of Castelnuovo where he lived in the “ Comune” opposite our favourite Chocolate shop [ more about that later …] However in recent history Castelnouvo was the scene of bitter fights in WWII and if you travel to the nearest LARGE town to Lucca Villa Rental you can check out the museum of the Liberation of Lucca you will see many reminders of the bitter battles that raged to rout the Nazi army from Northern Tuscany.

Now for Fun! Thanks to the GORGEOUS Rebecca Jensen we can share noteworthy images from Castelnuovo, one of our favourite ones is of the little girl …and dog on their way to La Botega del Gelato … Our favourite at La Collina del Sole !

La Botega del Gelato is very central on the main Piazza Umberto. It is the most established and yummiest Gelateria in town. With a concise selection of freshly made Gelati. In La Botega del Gelato each gelato is freshly made in the little room at the back of the gelateria our favourite is Grapefruit (pompelmo) , Straciatella (delgithful light vanilla base with big Chunkso of chocolate mixed within it) Cioccolato ( deep rish dark chocolate ) Melone ( fresh and light) and … too many gelatos to recount. They also sell delicious freshly baked pasties …

Now fortified with yummy sustenance we can think of serious matters like WWII If you are interested in the recent History of WWII the area around Lucca Villa Rental all you have to do is to walk around the area it is lettered with bunkers, gun posts, shelled out houses, and war memorials, we came across these images of Castelnuovo which show images before and after, may they serve as a reminder that nothing good ever comes from war.

Here is the view of the Tower of Castelnuovo aka the tower of the “New Castle”

Here is the overview of Castelnuovo

Here is the view looking towards the central Piazza of Castelnuovo from the North.

As we have the freedom to travel and enjoy our surroundings. Come and enjoy Life in true Italian Style visit Garfagnana one of the few undiscovered parts of La Bella Italia !