Podere Cortilla

Podere Cortilla, a country house in Tuscany, which is true idyll amidst picturesque landscape. It is situated at an altitude of 250 m (820 ft.) on a mountain-side in Era Valley, near the historical etruscan town of Volterra. The upper Era Valley (Val d’Era) is one of the most beautiful landscapes of Tuscany with its typical hill formations and characteristic vegetation. Podere Cortilla is an azienda agrituristica, which is a tuscan farm where vacation homes are for rent. You can get wine and olive oil produced by Podere Cortilla directly from its fattoria. This is an ideal place for quiet holidays with abundant animal and plant life, surrounded by forest, meadows, olive groves, vineyards and grain fields. You can swim in the beautiful (14m x 7m/46ft x 23ft) swimming pool and enjoy the wonderful panoramic view. But Italy is more than sun and pool! Nowhere else can you can so exellently eat and drink. The beautiful Tuscan landscapes and historical cities are famous in the whole world. The near ancient Etruscan city of Volterra belongs to the most remarkable Tuscan towns. In our country house in Tuscany you leave your worries far behind. Podere Cortilla – far more than a country house in the middle of the Tuscany…

As ambience Podere Cortilla has more than 20 ha (50 acres) of country with forest, meadows, fields, vineyards and olive groves. This is an ideal place for quiet holidays with abundant animal and plant life. There are plenty of places to wander around and to sit and enjoy nature. You can swim in the beautiful swimming pool (14m x 7m/46ft x 23ft) or relax and enjoy the wonderful panoramic view. On a separate patio which has a large barbecue and is covered with a grape arbor you can enjoy a meal or an easing stay.

Volterra is an ancient city in the center of the “culture triangle” Pisa-Florenz-Siena situated on a high hill (545 m/1788 ft.). It allows a far reaching view over the beautiful tuscan landscapes of Val di Cecina and Val d’Era. The inner city is a recognizable medieval center with points of interest, museums, a cathedral and other churches, the Pinakothek, the Roman Amphitheatre, mansions and palazzi from the Renaissance. Volterra has a well preserved old city wall, the old town is to be entered through one of the rustic old city gates. With approx. 11,000 inhabitants Volterra offers a variety of shopping with supermarkets, specialty shops, fashion shops, and restaurants of every category and price class. The large weekly market is a remarkable experience for all visitors. Volterra offers tennis, horseback riding, and golf within reach. The surrounding hills offer opportunities for hiking and biking excursions. The Tuscany is a dream destination for golfers. There are not less than 15 official courses, thereof 9 facilities with 18 holes. The next golf course Castelfalfi near Montaione is only 31 km apart. In the temperate Tuscan climate one can practice the game of golf for 12 months a year.

 

The location of Podere Cortilla in the heart of Tuscany offers not only a unique facet of the typical Tuscan countryside, but also an optimal position of the most beautiful sights and cultural strongholds of the region. Just a few examples: Pisa is located about 60km away and can be reached by the airport for air travellers optimally. Florence, the city of fashion and Renaissance stronghold just 80km. Lucca, the city of 100 churches 70km. Siena, its Palio is unique, can be reached at 50km. San Gimignano with its famous dynasty towers, just 30km. Golf can be played by 30km and the Mediterranean beach is also only 40km away. The ferry to Elba is reached after 1 hour and even the world city of Rome can be admired after 2.5 hours.

The various-sized self-service apartments are equipped for 2-8 persons and are located in a coherent building complex. Each apartment is accessed via a separate entrance and all units have private bathrooms and kitchens. All apartments are affectionately equipped with authentic furniture and the beds have orthopedic bed bases. The kitchen furniture is processed with high quality solid wood fronts and granite countertops. The equipment is excellent: dishwasher, ceramic hotplate, oven, fridge with freezer compartment, kettle and coffee maker belong to the standard, as well as air conditioning and heating. Dining and cooking utensils, glasses and cutlery are abundant and of high quality. The price includes bed linen and towels. We would like to offer you an optimum service, so that you can relax perfectly. Among the rest, we supply you with drinks, you can access our own products in our farm shop any time. Enjoy your time in the Podere Cortilla, we do the rest …

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  La Stalla: 4-8 pers

  La Stalla is a large vacation rental of 155 m² for up ...

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  La Cisterna: 2-4 pers

  La Cisterna has its name from the old cistern which is ...

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  La Torre: 2-4 pers

  La Torre, the tower, has the access in the courtyard wh...

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  L’Angolo: 2-4 pers

  L’Angolo is a two storey flat of 45 m² for up to...

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  La Galleria: 2 pers

  La Galleria is with 56 m² a beautiful and spacious apa...

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• Prices are weekly rates. Bookings from Saturday to Saturday. Arrival from 16:00 h (earlier if available), departure before 11.00 h.
• In season A shorter booking periods are possible. If you’re interested, please contact us via our contact form.
• Pets are not allowed at Podere Cortilla.
• Price includes bed linen, towels, television, radio, gas and electricity, WLAN, pool use etc. The air conditioning and heating are charged additionally and by consumption.
• The local tax of 2 Euro per person and day for max. 3 days will be charged additionally.

The hosts Elke and Jürgen Holtschneider

When we were invited to Tuscany by friends over 30 years ago and traveled this unique landscape for the first time, it was love at first sight. Only a short time later we were able to take over the ruins of the Cortilla and started to lovingly restore the Podere in the art of traditional craftsmanship for years to come. Without the help of our italian architect and art historian Giuliano Chelazzi, who belongs to our family, we would never have been able to realize this endeavor. Giuliano was able to date back the first foundations of the Cortilla to the 12th century. With the beginning of the rental and the claim to welcome guests, we decided many years ago to leave our home town of Dusseldorf, Germany and moved to Volterra. Thus, we are almost always there for you.

The team Since we can not cope with the complex tasks of the Cortilla alone, our faithful caretaker team Giovanni and Manuela and their helpers supports us almost around the clock. But even the next generation takes more and more responsibility. Thus, our family contributes to maintain our small business so that you can enjoy the wonders of Tuscany. Welcome to our world, welcome to Podere Cortilla.

Our products which we offer in our farm shop are mainly from own production. Beside grain fields vineyards and olive groves are managed in the Podere Cortilla. A small herb garden provides fresh ingredients for our product range. In addition, we also offer regional specialties.

Wine Our red wine is a typical Tuscan table wine with the famous grape type Sangiovese. Added are Cabernet and Merlot. This composition ensures a dry red wine with fruity, pleasant flavor. A Riserva matured in the Barrique barrel rounds off our offer. The white wine matures from the typical Tuscan grape Trebbiano with intense yellow colour and with light acidity, summery refreshing. Furthermore, we produce in small quantities Grappa and Vin Santo.

Olive oil Our pure and natively pressed olive oil belongs in the region to the purest and best at all. The care and harvest are very labour-intensive and the yields are not very rich. Here you should quickly access, our olive oil enjoys great popularity.

Tomato sauce From the products of our garden we regularly cook “Sugo della Casa”, a spicy tomato sauce for pasta and meat dishes, which is boiled for hours with fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices. Simply heavenly, something you can buy nowhere else.

Fruit jam Our fruit trees and shrubs provide the basis for our delicious apricot, elderberry and fig jam.

Fruit and vegetables Ask for our daily assortment. Depending on the season and demand, there are tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, garlic, basil and more. From our ancient, giant fig tree you pick the fruit from hand to mouth.

Local products A selected range of regional producers consists of balsamic vinegar, wild boar ham and salami, pecorino cheese, honey and other specialties.

Germany Elke + Jürgen Holtschneider Achillesstraße 10 D-40545 Dusseldorf Fon +49 (0)211 58004117 Fax +49 (0)211 98740555 Italy Elke + Jürgen Holtschneider Podere Cortilla Loc. Prato d’Era I-56048 Volterra (PI) Fon +39 0588 1956012 Fax +49 (0)211 98740555 E-Mail: info@cortilla.de

Recommended links:
How to find Podere Cortilla	Directions instructions
Reservation in Podere Cortilla	Reservation request / lease