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 stairs giving access to a further 125 square metres of usable attic space. The house was fully restructured in 2013, with new windows, shutters and fly screens throughout, complete internal and external insulation, and entirely new electrics, plumbing and heating. A securely fenced, solar-heated swimming pool was added in 2015.

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 the main bathroom, fed by a Swedish Effecta wood pellet boiler with 1,500-litre hot water tank and 5-tonne external pellet 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 a gas range cooker and all appliances. Eight people can dine here comfortably. The wood burner is the focus of the sitting room, and there are large doors opening directly onto the courtyard.

Laundry/shower room

A practical laundry room is beyond the kitchen, with washing machine, sink, toilet and wet room-style shower.

Further lower ground floor reception room

A further reception room with large doors opening onto the courtyard and grounds, currently used as a home gym, has multiple potential uses: gym, office, formal dining room, or extra bedroom.

Boiler room and workshop

Off the gym, a practical room houses the Swedish Effecta wood 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 middle 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. A large family bathroom serves the floor, with a roll-top bath, walk-in shower, and views over the valley from the windows. Three further bedrooms and two bathrooms are found in the independent apartment above.

Family bathroom

A generous bathroom on the middle floor centres on a roll-top bath beneath two windows looking out over the valley, with a large wet-room shower, bidet, basin, toilet and heated towel rails.

Hallways and stairs

The large, light and airy staircases and landings feature marble stairs, white iron railings and locally made period ceramic tiles.

The apartment

The top floor operates as a fully independent 125 m² apartment with its own front door and staircase leading to 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.

Three large bedrooms offer flexible sleeping arrangements — a double with space for a cot, a second double with en-suite shower room, and a twin room — each with views over the hillside.

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

A private covered balcony terrace leads off the living area, a quiet spot for meals or evening drinks in the late sunshine.

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 — meadows, natural hillside, tended gardens and productive woodland. 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. It has extensive views over the Apennines in every direction. 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. 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 grounds

Fruit trees scattered across the grounds produce apples, peaches, pears, plums, sour cherries, figs, walnuts, and hazelnuts. Table grapes ripen over the main terrace by late August. The planting throughout the grounds has been chosen to suit the terrain and the climate, and a rose-covered wooden pergola gives the upper garden a soft, romantic feel in midsummer.

The grounds reward exploration. A wooden gate and a short flight of log-edged steps lead up through borders thick with seasonal flowering plants and shrubs, 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 often found on local walks. Hummingbird moths, cicadas, crickets 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 trees.

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 table on a smaller terrace under a walnut tree as a quiet alternative.

Map of the grounds

A detailed plan of the 10.5 acres — showing the house, pool, woodland, meadows, and boundaries — coming soon.

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 €585,000. That gap will not last indefinitely.

Casa Lunga Nuova is offered by private sale at €585,000 (plus legal fees). This private method of sale avoids purchasers' fees of approximately 4%. We welcome enquiries from serious buyers and are happy to arrange viewings and answer any further questions.