Anthea Gerrie Discovers Wild Beaches And Wetlands On The Doorstep Of L’Andana Tenuta Di Badiola.
It’s Tuscany, but not as we know it. There are the expected vineyards and olive groves, but in place of the hills which define the region are acres of flat marshy wetlands leading to nature reserves and wild beaches. Here sits L’Andana, a jewel in the crown of Grosseto province, a gloriously under-visited coastal corner almost unknown outside Italy which has won a green prize for its miles of connected bike paths and other admirable markers of sustainable tourism.
This is no showy resort making an intrusive footprint on the landscape but a hidden gem, identified from the road only by a distinctive long avenue of umbrella pines punctuated by thin upright cypress trees sitting behind an almost imperceptible wrought-iron gate. The long drive leads to the beautifully renovated main villa at the heart of this ancient seat of Leopold II, Duke of Tuscany.
A plethora of attractive buildings in the extensive grounds beyond include a gourmet restaurant, a tasting room for the estate vineyard, Tenuta la Badiola, and a range of accommodation options from self-catering bedrooms with kitchenettes to luxurious private villas in the expansive gardens bordering olive groves.
The main building, whose huge open lobby features a buzzy bar, houses a casual restaurant and breakfast room at one end and 33 rooms and suites on upper floors. Rooms seem almost sparse at first glance, with earth-tone walls and bare wooden floors, but the pared-back underpinnings serve as an effective backdrop for theatrical details like beautifully carved and hand-painted headboards and ancient architectural motifs – a stone pineapple sitting atop an unexpected internal raft of old brick, a magnificent terracotta frieze above the loo.
In fact our huge bathroom, designed to reflect the opulence of Roman baths with separate large tub and walk-in marble shower, was rather more fabulous an experience than the adjoining bedroom.
In shoulder season the free-standing La Trattoria Enrico Bartollini was not open but we enjoyed an excellent dinner in the relaxed La Villa within the main house, where breakfast is also served. Casual it may have looked, rather bizarrely aiming to ape a domestic kitchen in a plain dining area overlooking a charming small pool, but culinary excellence was in evidence in a fine courgette flower tagliatelle and a very well-seasoned steak tartare.
Wine from the home estate, Tenuta di Badiola, proved to be very good indeed, and we were surprised to be able to pick up a bottle to take home from the tasting room for barely more than £10.
The estate houses a variety of diversions from a golf course to a spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and mountain bikes to take advantage of those award-winning bike trails which distinguish Grosseto and lead to diverse attractions which are all worth leaving the hotel to explore. Not to be missed are the wild beaches of the Maremma Natural Park at the far end of a swathe of countryside known as the Alberese, through which butteri, the world’s best-dressed cowboys, drive herds of longhorn cattle on horseback.
On another day, a short drive to lively but unspoiled Castiglione della Pescaia with thrilling ocean views available from the top of a hill down which steps lead via a succession of mediaeval buildings to the waterfront resort proper. Across a bridge sits the Diaccia Botrone, a magical wetland reserve rich in flamingoes, heron and many other water-bird species.
Stop first at the Casa Rossa, a pink maritime museum straddling the water where the whole region is explained in films, maps and exhibits – and whose finest feature is a jetty looking out over the birds and water – a photographer’s dream.
With enough notice boat trips can be organised, though this is too laid-back an area for such activities to be scheduled.
Allow yet another day to explore the under-visited little town of Grosseto, encircled by magnificent Medici-era walls thick enough to walk atop to look out over fortresses and city rooftops. Below is an archaeological museum housing remarkable Etruscan and Roman finds from the nearby site of Roselle, where an energetic trek to see mosaic floors, statuary and other ancient ruins can be rewarded with a slap-up meal at the bustling and delightful Trattoria La Parolaccia.
Tell Me More About L’Andana Tenuta La Badiola
EasyJet serves Pisa from London, from where L’Andana is less than two hours’ drive. More information on Toscana Maremma available at Visit Tuscany
Rooms at L’Andana from €440 double including breakfast
L’Andana, Localita Badiola 58043, Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto, Italy
T: +39 0564 944800 E: info@andana.it
