A Visit to Poggi Alti Estate: A Room with a View of Coastal Tuscany

Originally built as a farm house and stables, two long buildings face one another on a hill top overlooking the wide valley that stretches to the sea. Decidedly off-the-grid and yet luxuriously appointed, the estate is an ideal destination for groups of friends or families who want to have a large space all to themselves.

Family run, the estate has a sister property in Campocane, close to Capalbio, a Medieval hill-top city. The Country House (“Il Mirto”) is more intimate, best suited for a small party or a couple on a romantic getaway.

Located an hour and half north-west of Rome in the Maremma region and surrounded by 1,700 acres, the Estate is a working farm with cattle and chickens and organic herb and vegetable gardens with fields of sunflowers, wheat, olive groves and a vineyard.

To reach the Estate, we traveled up the hard packed dirt road that twisted and turned as it pressed high into the rugged hills. The young driver was in a hurry. He dodged trees and took the switchback turns as if he were racing in an off-road Grand Prix. Out the side window, I looked down the hill that dropped precipitously to pasture land spotted with gigantic bales of rolled hay.



“Watch out!” our young driver warned as he slammed on the brakes. A swirl of dust settled on the car.

A few feet ahead of us a wild boar the size of a German shepherd trotted across the road and disappeared into the thick brush on the other side. Before the car could move forward, three piglets in single file followed the mom. Neither the adult nor the piglets looked our way. Then a second adult boar crossed the road, followed by four more piglets. Our driver smiled and said up here in the hills of the Maremma region we would see lots of wild animals. Boar, deer, squirrels and ducks loved the area. The animals moved freely across the property. He cautioned, when we were driving on our own, we needed to be alert for animals suddenly appearing on the road.



Most Visitors to Tuscany Head for the Hills

Farther inland, to the east, the beautiful, green rolling hills of Tuscany and the hundreds of small antique villages are a prime destination for tourists who want to experience rural, historical Italy.

As much as the inland region is beloved, locals often prefer coastal Tuscany where they seek out the beaches, small harbors and the Maremma's natural beauty. Romans are especially fond of the area because here they can avoid the tourists who flock to Tuscany during the summer season. For them, the trip from Rome is an easy ninety-minute drive on the modern expressway or a two-hour train ride to Capalbio or Grosseto.

A Good Jumping Off Spot to Explore Tuscany

Staying at the Estate, having a rental car was essential but driving on the narrow two-lane roads with speed-loving Italian drivers took some getting used to. After a bit of practice, we got the hang of driving-Italian-style and we explored the beaches facing Monte Argentario, historic Capalbio and the smaller villages along the way.

On one long day we rendezvoused with friends to meet Italy's most famous butcher, Dario Cechini, whose restaurant and butcher shop (Antica Macelleria Cecchini, Via XX Lugilio, 11, Panzano) are in the hills of Chianti. Cechini works with local ranches to raise cattle to his specifications. The beef was extraordinary. Tender, moist, sweet and, well, “beefy” in a very special way. As befits a cook who is also a butcher, a plate that was described as a salad arrived with a few celery leaves on top of a generous helping of boiled beef.

Chef Alberto Catalani

The Pleasures of a Country Estate

Beatrice Lucifero, a daughter of the family who owns the property, acts as concierge and arranges whatever her guests want to make their stay fun and comfortable.

Poggi Alti has many charms. Being in the middle of a nature preserve is definitely one of them. Guests can follow hiking trails or arrange for guided horseback rides that go deep into the hills.

During the winter, the Estate is frequently booked by hunters. Lucifero is often called upon to arrange for a chef to be on the property to prepare a meal with the wild game the hunters bring in after a day's hunt.

Tours of the area, including the medieval towns of Capalbio and Grosseto and the beach areas, can be arranged. When I travel to a new area, I enjoy going on culinary adventures. Lucifero organized a cooking demonstration in the Estate's large, modern kitchen. She booked a local restaurant chef, Alberto Catalani, to meet me at the Estate.

Catalani brought a large basket of fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs from his home garden. To feature the local dishes that were the specialty of his restaurant, he needed seafood. So before we could cook, we had to go shopping. And that did not mean a trip to a supermarket.

Shopping for ingredients in Porto Santo Stefano on Monte Argentario

I joined him in his car to drive to Porto Santo Stefano on Monte Argentario, an archipelago that juts into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Chef Catalani knew a dozen words of English. I know one or two words of Italian. Even with those limitations, on our thirty-minute drive to the coast, we had a lively conversation about cooking. He talked happily about the local products as we drove through wide fields of sunflowers and corn and passed by vineyards that stretched up into the hills.

Monte Argentario has two harbors. Porto Ercole, the smaller of the two, is an upscale marina filled with luxury yachts and lined with fine dining restaurants. But we were headed to the working harbor, Porto Santo Stefano.

At Pescheria Bel-Mar across from the harbor, Catalani chatted with Roberto, his fishmonger friend, as he looked over the morning's catch. From the clear waters within sight of the port, the fishermen had brought in squid, flounder, turbot, skate, sardines, eel, octopus, anchovies, dorade, tuna, swordfish, oysters, clams, branzino, spigoli--a local fish caught in the nearby lagoon–lobsters and a great many varieties of shrimp, many of which I had never seen before.

Catalani picked out what he needed but before driving back to the Estate, we stopped for a refreshment. I especially enjoyed a pear tart and an espresso at Vecchio Bar Del Ministro (Via Barellai 8, Porto Santo Stefano), a small coffee and sandwich bar overlooking the port.



Lunch Under the Shade of a Pergola

Exposed to the bright sun because the Estate is located on a promontory high above the valley floor, a pergola shades the long wooden dining table where a communal breakfast is served every morning. During summer months, guests searching for relief from the heat of the Tuscan afternoon swim in the beautiful pool with a view of the valley or take refuge under the pergola for afternoon wine and tea or, in my case, a home cooked lunch.

While our companions waited outside on a bright blue sky-mild afternoon, I was in the kitchen with chef Catalani as he cooked lunch. He needed nothing from me, so I watched and took notes as he moved quickly around the large kitchen preparing octopus with potatoes, turbot and figs, squid ink spaghetti with clams and mussels and an English style custard with fresh berries.

Once he was finished we applauded his efforts and sat outside, sampling local wines, talking, enjoying our delicious lunch-time feast.

During the winter, when the weather turns grey and cold, the Estate can arrange to have a chef prepare meals that are served in the spacious dining room inside the main building or in the smaller hunting lodge style lounge with a wood burning fireplace.



Spacious Rooms with a View

During our stay, we had a corner suite with a view of the valley beyond the pool on one side and a grassy lawn on the other. All the rooms have views, some facing the inner lawn, some facing the valley as did ours. The rooms are good sized, with well-appointed bathrooms.

During the day, we left the Estate and explored the area, meeting with friends, eating at local restaurants and having picnics on the beach. When we came home at night, we traveled up that switch-back dirt road, alert for wild critters.

On our last night we were treated to a Noah's ark visitation. Around one turn a small deer bounded across the road. We skidded to a stop and watched as she moved quickly through the brush. Along a steep grade where our wheels would spin helplessly if we traveled at a slow speed, I gunned the engine to race up the hill only to slam on the brakes as a boar with piglets casually strolled across the road.

Why we asked ourselves would the animals wait until our car approached with headlights blasting tunnels in the darkness to dart across the road? Were they willfully testing our driving skills in a version of animal extreme sports that would make an X-Gamer proud? At any rate, we were ready for them.

When we parked the car outside the iron fence surrounding the Estate, we carefully closed the gate, knowing that the night before two boars had walked through the open gate and discovered a way into the kitchen, much to Beatrice Lucifero's dismay.

Inside our friends were gathered around the long dining room table in the main lounge. Knowing we were always hungry at night, the staff had left us pastries from that morning's breakfast. Sharing slices of homemade pound cakes, jam tarts and a bottle of local grappa from Jacobelli Liquori (Strada Pedemontana, 21, 58010, Borgo Carige, +39 0564 890006), we checked our emails and talked about where we had been that day. With an early start in the morning, we said good night and retired to our comfortable beds for a last night of luxurious sleep with the windows open so we could enjoy the refreshingly clean Tuscan air scented from the rosemary hedges that surround the Estate.

Tenuta dei Poggi Alti, Strada della Sgrilla KM 12, Capalbio, Italy, info@poggialti.com (+30 063225568 / CELL +39 3272133839), Contact: Beatrice Lucifero.

Visit website: www.poggialti.com