history
This ancient farmhouse dates back to the 15th century and, for a long time, was the home of a small community of working friars. In the 19th century, the property belonged to the Cardinal Carlo Cristofori who put it at the disposition of the Church for the production of fruit and vegetables, the rearing of livestock, and the provision of sustenance for the poor, orphans, and prisoners.
Afterwards, the farmhouse and some of the surrounding lands became acquired by a Viterben family that made use of the work of mezzadri.
The story of the family Grani crossed that of the podere in 1963 when Marcello Grani acquired the frateria and the first piece of land. In the course of time, Grani succeeded in acquiring the surrounding lots until finally constructing a farm of 30 hectares. In the 70s, Grani chose to give in usufruct the farmhouse to the family of mezzadri that had been living there for generations.
Arround 2003, the frateria, with the end of the usufruct, returned to the Grani family, who decided to restructure it in order to host tourists. After years of difficult and detailed restoration, the house opened its doors to the first guest on the 19th of May, 2007.
restoration
We executed a detailed restoration, consolidating, cleaning, and fixing while ensuring that the character and the aura of the house remained the same.
The reception was placed in the old cowshed which was restructured in a very conservative manner. One can still admire the splendid trough of peperino stone and, on the stone walls, the rings to which the cows were tied.
Our house offers hospitality in its 7 self-catering appartments, all unique in form and furnishing, and providing every comfort. The antique furniture is original, and the windows frames and doors have been remade by expert hands according to the style of the era, while the tapestries and trimming confer elegance and warmth to the rooms.
We chose high quality mattresses that guarantee a good night's sleep. Both in the summer and in the winter, the temperature is optimal thanks to the the presence of heating and air-conditioning (autonomously regulated in each appartment).
Percale linens and goose down comforters render your stay extrememely comfortable.
farm
Our small business is first and foremost family run; our passion for the land and for animals has been passed down from generation to generation, from the founder Marcello to his son Marco and finally to his grandson Giorgio.
Our work has always been based on upbringing and, for many years, we occupied ourselves with the rearing of Charolaise cows, achieving optimal results in terms of genelogical selection.
Now all of the buildings that were used to raise the cows have been converted into stables for the equitation school, ASD Podere dell'Arco Horse Club.
We continue to harvest herbs and olive trees from which we produce our extravergine oil "Il Signorino", and have one hectare of biologic lavender. We extract the oil from the lavender to produce self-care products and perfumes.
Recently, we have planted an orchard with antique varity of apples, plums, pears, hazel nuts, almonds, and pomegranates, to which we have added a small lot of strawberries and blackberries.