More Details: Apartment rental in Barberino di Mugello, Italy - 156939

Designer Outlet for your smart and nice shopping !

Barberino Designer Outlet is 10 minutes away from our holiday home and less than 30 minutes from Florence. More than 90 shops featuring the best brands with fashion products from previous seasons at prices cut by 30 to 70% all year round. Shopping is a completely different story at Barberino. A pair of fashion shoes? Breathtaking lingerie? An item for home? Here you will be able to find something truly exclusive, choosing among the best brands. The prices? Discounted all year long 30% to 70%! Don't miss it!

Our marvellous location: the Mugello Valley

A few kilometers from Florence, in the Mugello, we can find traces of history worthy of a great European capital. Starting in 1300 this area went through a renewed period of a remarkable development thanks to the particular strategic and economic value that the Mugello Basin held for Florence. The Medici family, which originally came from this area, and the Lorenesi family made it their pride and joy by investing financial resources to strengthen their presence around Florence. Important buildings and fortresses, castles, villas and palaces remain to testify the development of the Mugello. Moreover, even the cultural and artistic history of Florence finds elements of primacy importance for its development in this area. Artists like Giotto and Beato Angelico were born here, famous architects worked at the construction of the towns of the 'walled lands', the features in the landscape of many Florentine paintings have found their inspiration here.

In the green heart of Tuscany

The Mugello, the Florentine Mountain offer the visitor several possibilities of enjoying the environment and their incredible resources: excursions on the tracks of history: on this land perfect ways take us to visit Medicean Villas and Castles, old farm houses which produce high quality wine and olive oil journeys by train to experience while relaxing the many events, fairs, feasts and village festivals which take place in order of the typical products and traditions of these lands Cycle touring, help to fill the lungs with fresh, oxygen-rich air the discovery of ancient farms in the near Wine road It is a Tuscan land, rich of history and artistic evidence and above all it is a land of different surroundings from the rugged beauty of the valleys of the Upper Mugello or Tuscany Romagna - rugged and little populated - to the sweet lines of the open basin dotted by the Mugello villages.

The Craft of tradition

In the 14th century, under the growing influence of the Florentine Republic, numerous new hamlets sprang up in Mugello. Economic activities, which became typical of the area, developed. The manual skills and the artistic capacities of the inhabitants of Mugello were expressed in the creation of hand made products, art works and objects of great value. Numerous arts and crafts form the rich tradition of Mugello. Much of this cultural tradition has been handed down to the present, like, for example, the commercial role that certain town centers have reserved: “trading” that has been going on for centuries in these “new” hamlets. The historical structure of the buildings, like the portico's, or the make-up of the open squares and the old roads, offer present-day visitors the opportunity to interrelate on a personal level in the different shops, stores and traditional craft manufacturers. It is a journey into a past that will enrich the present.

Gastronomy in the Mugello Valley

The territory of the Mugello - Sieve Valley has inherited from this period few, but important and typical dishes and wines, all of which are 'natural' tasting as made only with traditional ingredients, avoiding the stronger flavouring agents food and drink are full of nowadays. Lovers of healthy, simple and tasty food are invited to come to this part of Tuscany – the Mugello to be exact – to discover not only the magnificent historical and architectonic landmarks in a setting of great natural beauty, but also traditional dishes and a variety of local produce that have maintained their authenticity to this day. The gastronomy offered in these places that are closely connected with the city of Florence, fit in perfectly with a modern life-style where quality and authenticity are sought after: so why not finish off a visit to the castles, villas and churches or a walk in the woods at one of the restaurants along your way, and savor some of the traditional local dishes?

A madieval Castle for your diner

The Medieval Castle (' Il Castelluccio ') is our property and it's close to your apartment. The Castle has been renovated carefully according to the original shape and is situated on the top of a rock that dominates the valley underneath. The wide valley is surrounded by many stone terracings that, together with the structure of the castle, revive memories of ancient times. The hotel is surrounded by a private park and fenced by oaks and cypresses, which alternate with many green areas. Here there is a nice swimming pool of irregular shape (6x10 ms), dug into the rock in front of the main tower entrance with Roman staircase (the tower is open from 15th March to 30th October).