Amarin, Strada San Pietro, Apricale, ITALY Terrace, pizza oven and door to kitchen Amarin is a traditional stone built, two storey house an hour or so away from Nice in an unspoilt corner of Liguria, Italy. It is tucked into the hillside and sits in an acre of terraced olive grove and fruit orchard in a peaceful rural setting. The house and garden are not overlooked by any properties making this a safe private space for adults and children. The views of the valley Nervia and Monte Toraggio from the house and garden are breathtaking. The house is about 2.5 km away from two lively medieval villages, Apricale and Isolabona, both with good shops and restaurants. Apricale is one of only seven villages in Italy with the official most beautiful status. The house has a well equipped modern kitchen with settings for 6-8 people. There is a fridge, gas hob and an electric, fan-assisted oven. There is a bread maker for pizza dough making. It has an outside dining terrace with a fixed table, pizza oven, barbeque and sink. The house has two double bedrooms, one of which is quite large containing an extra single bed. The stone construction and its position ensures the house is cool in summer and warm in winter but there are fans and bed nets in both bedrooms for sultry nights. - 1 -
For winter visitors, there is a log fire in the kitchen/sitting room and full central heating throughout.. Dining kitchen There is a modern bathroom with toilet, bidet, hand sink and shower. A hair dryer is available. There is a washing machine, an iron and an ironing board in a laundry room. Extra folding beds, cot, push chair and high chair are available on request. Bed linen, house and beach towels, central heating and logs are all included in the price. - 2 -
Bedroom 1 Bedroom 2 There are fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs available most of the year in the garden and orchard. Guests are welcome to pick these. Of the 10 very different medieval villages on La Strada del Olio, Apricale is recognized as the prettiest with the sunniest piazza - the name comes from the Latin Apricus, meaning open to the sun. Its shops, cafés and good restaurants are open all year round, which make it the perfect base from which to explore the wider area, but it has a lot to offer in its own right. At the core of the village and surrounding the piazza are the medieval castle, the - 3 -
museum, several lovely churches and an old town hall. The school, shops and houses all cling together on a knife-edge of hillside, linked by narrow tunnels, alleyways, bridges and terraces. The whole village is impenetrable to modern transport although there are plenty of parking spaces on the periphery. Some people come simply for the food. Apricale s 7 restaurants serve local traditional fare and its shops stock locally produced bread, cheese, ham, sausages, pesto, olive oil and wine. Food is still seasonal and local with beans, salads, herbs, figs and peaches from local orte, chestnuts and funghii, wild boar and rabbit from the wooded hillsides and all the sundried and oil preserved delicacies of the region. View from house and garden of Amarin From Apricale the sophisticated French and Italian Riviera beaches are a short drive, bus or train ride away, but swimming in the deep river pools of Rocchetta or the River Nervia near Pigna, and sun bathing on the rocks nearby, is also a lovely way to relax. In winter, lunch in the fresh air, walking or cycling the many miles of tracks and footpaths in the Mediterranean sunshine or climbing the snow capped mountains which overlook the Nervia valley are all popular pastimes. If you are looking for something more strenuous, there are some serious mountains to climb. Rental for 2014 is 390 sterling per week. For further details, please contact us by e-mail on kate@apricale.info or d.v.phillips@btinternet.com, or by phone 0044(0)141 946 6192, or visit our Apricale website at www.apricale.info Kate and Dave Phillips - 4 -
Photo Gallery Outdoor dining terrace - 5 -
Rock pools nearby and apricale main street - 6 -
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Swing in garden and village centre. - 8 -
Seaside swimming More rock pools - 9 -
Mount Torragio from Amarin Butterfies in garden of amarin - 10 -
Walking tracks in springtime - 11 -
Village square has wi-fi Rock pools nearby - 12 -
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