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Native Roberto and his wife Silvie (formerly a Parisian art dealer) are your hosts at this old countryside smallholding of seven rustic rooms. Unlike most agriturismi , you dine with the hosts and other guests at a long table.

Luxury rooms and an excellent restaurant (see II Falconiere, Cortona) make for a perfect countryside retreat. Just a 15-minute drive from Cortona, yet immersed in the greenery of olives and vines. And a full complement of amenities are at hand.

Pisa’s oldest hotel (opened 1839) has had Ruskin and Roosevelt as guests. A few rooms occupy the 10th-century tower base, while some of the Arno-side doubles can be linked to form family suites.

The nuns of St Catharine run this simple but comfortable inn. Many rooms have great views across a narrow valley to the striped Duomo. There are plans to put phones in all rooms and A/C in a few in 2002, so prices may alter. There’s a TV lounge and pay phones in the common rooms.

Fourteen apartments, sleeping 2–7, in former peasant quarters around a fine vineyard villa. There’s also the chance to learn the secrets of Tuscan cooking. Minimum stay: three nights.

A medieval hamlet rebuilt after World War II. Now a select few can rent its 23 perfectly rusticated rooms and suites installed throughout the village. Guests gather around a fire in winter or the pool in summer.

The views from Fiesole are famous, but the panorama from the Bellosguardo hill above the Oltrarno is better, a close-up sweep of the Florence skyline from the gardens and pool of an evocatively medieval retreat. The central tower contains a suite featuring unsurpassed views in four directions.

While most rooms in this converted 1280 palazzo don’t have great views, the lofty terrace bar has an unbeatable panorama across Florence.

This was a residence in the 19th century of Tuscany’s Lorraine Grand Dukes. The rooms, a mix of old and modern decor, overlook the villa’s verdant park, which contains a pool and tennis court.

A 15th-century palazzo in the hills above Florence, a 15-minute drive from the centre. There are rural views from the 31 simple bedrooms. The gates shut at 10:30pm, though the sisters will reopen them to let you back in later if need be.