The house

Casa Lunga Nuova is a substantial Apennine property set at 725 metres above sea level, offering 375 square metres of principal accommodation across three floors, with a further 25 square metres of usable attic space.

The upper floors retain their original locally-sourced ceramic tiles in a variety of traditional patterns — one of the house's most distinctive features, and one that cannot be reproduced. Underfloor heating runs throughout the entire lower ground floor and all bathrooms, fed by a Swedish pellet boiler with 1,500-litre hot water tank and 5-tonne external storage silo. A wood burner provides warmth and atmosphere in the main living space, fed from the property's own ample woodland.

The living space

The main living floor is open-plan, combining kitchen, dining, and sitting areas in a generous, light-filled space with direct access to the terrace. The kitchen is fully fitted with gas hob, oven, and all appliances. The dining room seats eight comfortably. A wood burner anchors the sitting area, with deep sofas, bookshelves, and doors opening directly onto the garden. Underfloor heating runs throughout the living areas, and large doors open out to the terrace and garden beyond.

Utility room

A practical utility room sits just off the main living floor, with washing machine, sink, and a separate shower room — useful for muddy boots, wet swimsuits, and laundry without tracking through the rest of the house.

Home gym

A dedicated home gym occupies one of the rooms on the lower ground floor, equipped with a treadmill and rowing machine, with doors opening directly onto the garden — a rare thing to find in a property like this.

Boiler room and workshop

Off the gym, a practical room houses the Swedish pellet boiler and 1,500-litre hot water tank, alongside space for tools, bikes, and general storage — the working heart of the house, kept well out of sight of the living spaces.

The bedrooms

The first floor of the main house holds four double bedrooms, each with its own character and with windows opening to the hillside or valley. Each room has its own pattern of beautiful local tiles, original to the house and no longer reproducible. A large family bathroom serves the floor, with a roll-top bath, walk-in shower, and views over the valley from the window. Three further bedrooms and two bathrooms are found in the independent apartment above.

Family bathroom

A generous bathroom on the first floor centres on a roll-top bath beneath two windows looking out over the valley, with a separate bidet, WC, and heated towel rail.

Hallways and stairs

The staircases are where the tilework really shows itself off. Each landing and flight has its own pattern, laid generations ago and impossible to source again, and together they trace the history of a house that has grown over time. White iron railings and wide windows keep every stairwell filled with light, drawing it down through all three floors.

The apartment

The top floor operates as a fully independent 120 m² apartment with its own separate access — three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, and a private terrace. It works equally well as a standalone holiday let, a self-contained space for visiting family, or simply extra accommodation for a larger household. The two-driveway arrangement keeps the two parts of the house cleanly separate.

Three bedrooms offer flexible sleeping arrangements — a double with space for a cot, a second double with its own character, and a twin room — each with views over the hillside.

Two bathrooms serve the apartment, both finished in warm marble-effect tiles.

A private terrace runs along the apartment, with table and chairs set beneath a covered overhang — a quiet spot for morning coffee with views over the wooded valley.

Floor plans

Full floor plans for all three levels — coming soon.

10.5 acres of Apennine hillside

The land surrounding Casa Lunga Nuova extends to 10.5 acres — meadow, orchard, natural hillside, and productive woodland. At 725 metres above sea level, the air is clear and the summers are cooler than the plains below. The house sits in real privacy. The only other building on the hill is an old stone farmhouse and barn next door — in the same family's hands for decades and currently empty, its quiet presence part of what makes the place feel so untouched. On misty winter mornings, the house rises clear of the cloud line while the valley below disappears entirely.

The pool, and that view

The solar-heated pool is the heart of outdoor life at Casa Lunga Nuova. Tiled in blue, edged in stone, and set right at the brow of the hill, it looks straight out over the Apennines beyond. There's a shaded seating area for cocktails or coffee, and on clear days the view runs across layer after layer of forested ridgeline towards the horizon. After summer storms, double rainbows have landed squarely over the water.

Under the stars

With no light pollution for miles, the night sky here is something most people only see on holiday in much remoter places. The pool lighting turns the water a deep turquoise after dark, the loungers stay warm long after sunset, and on a clear night the Milky Way arcs directly overhead — visible to the naked eye, and a genuine talking point for anyone staying.

The garden and orchard

The working orchard produces apples, peaches, pears, plums, sour cherries, figs, walnuts, and hazelnuts. Table grapes ripen over the main terrace by late August. Roses, Jerusalem artichokes, and fennel are planted and maintained throughout the grounds, and a rose-covered wooden pergola gives the upper garden a soft, romantic feel in midsummer. The kitchen garden is productive from spring through autumn.

The grounds reward exploration. A wooden gate and a short flight of log-edged steps lead up through borders thick with roses and dahlias, while a bench beneath an old olive tree offers one of the quietest spots on the property — a place to sit with a coffee and watch the light move across the hills.

Fireflies at dusk

For a few weeks each summer, the garden fills with fireflies after dark — hundreds of them drifting through the borders and across the meadow, visible from the terrace and the pool alike. It's one of those things photographs can only half capture, and one of the details most often remembered by people who've stayed here.

The woodland and log store

The property includes ample woodland, providing a self-sustaining supply of logs for the wood burner. Natural Apennine forest that furnishes the house with fuel through winter at no cost beyond the effort of cutting. The log store holds enough for the season.

Wildlife

Swifts and swallows drink from the pool on summer evenings. Wolves can be heard from the valley in winter. Porcupine spines are found regularly on the estate paths. Hummingbird moths and lizards are summer constants.

Views in every season

Panoramic views in every direction across the San Martino valley. In summer, the hills roll green to the horizon and sunsets streak the whole sky pink and gold. In winter, proper snow transforms the landscape entirely. No light pollution at night. The only sounds are church bells on the hour, a distant tractor in season, swifts calling overhead, and the wind through the orchard.

Outdoor living

The vine-covered main terrace runs 10 metres by 4 metres, floored in terracotta tile and shaded by table grapes in season — the obvious spot for long lunches and golden-hour dinners. Two additional terraces and an open balcony extend outdoor living further, including a quieter table set among the trees for evenings when you want the view without the crowd.

Position

Casa Lunga Nuova sits at 725 metres above sea level near Polinago — at a geographic midpoint between Italy's two coastlines. The Adriatic is ninety minutes east. The Ligurian Sea is ninety minutes west. Bologna, with its international airport and extraordinary food culture, is an hour and a half to the north.

Find us

Map shows the general area near Polinago. The exact location is provided to enquirers arranging a viewing.

The wider landscape

This stretch of the Apennines is dotted with small hill villages, farmhouses, and working land — quiet, rural, and largely untouched by tourism. From the property, the eye travels over ridge after ridge of forest and meadow, with the lights of distant villages appearing only after dark.

The food region

Emilia Romagna is the source of Parmigiano Reggiano, traditional balsamic vinegar, Prosciutto di Parma, Lambrusco, and the original Bolognese ragù. Local parmesan factories are within easy visiting distance. Bologna — La Grassa, the fat one — is one of Europe's great food cities, with markets, restaurants, and a food culture that has no real parallel in Italy.

Why Emilia Romagna

Just over the Apennine ridge from Tuscany, this region offers the same ancient hills, the same golden light, the same deep rural Italy — without the tourist infrastructure or the Tuscan price tag. A comparable rural property is currently listed in Tuscany at €1,200,000. Casa Lunga Nuova is offered at €600,000. That gap will not last indefinitely.

Casa Lunga Nuova is offered by private sale at €600,000. We welcome enquiries from serious buyers and are happy to arrange viewings, provide floor plans, and answer any questions in full.