IL Falconiere

People say you shouldn’t go back to where you were happy… but I’m totally against that, I love to go back and be happy all over again, usually even more! And that’s what took us back to Italy, and Tuscany. This time to get to know Cortona, a beautiful Etruscan city and the charming Il Falconiere. Of which I’ll be talking about today.

Surrounded by vineyards and olive trees, in a typically Tuscan environment, appears the Relais Chateaux Il Falconiere. As soon as we enter we are invaded with a serenity feeling that stays with us during the entire stay.

The farm has a quite long history, with four centuries, belonging to the same family for the last two, the Baracchi family. After some neglect, in 1985, Ricardo Baracchi and his wife Silvia decided to come back to the family house and give it life, and why not also make it a part of their careers as well? And so it was!

They opened a restaurant headed by Silvia (still working), started producing wine and like that starting to share this house full of history with the rest of the world!

But this was not enough for guests, who started to ask about accommodation, so Silvia and Ricardo decided to turn Il Falconiere into an authentic refuge in the middle of nature. This transformation started in the main house, with just nine bedrooms, but soon it was necessary to create more and more space for the guests who kept arriving!

Nowadays there are 22 bedrooms spread around the property, decorated with pieces from the family, creating a surrounding ambiance of not only the region but also of the Baracchi themselves, with a huge amount of activities and options to spend a dream vacation in one of the most idyllic regions of Italy, Tuscany.

First Impression 
The path leading to Il Falconiere is narrow and has the Tuscan charm, with cypresses, vineyards and olive trees as hosts!

Arriving, we find a huge property, filled with beautiful red tones the Autumn painted the vineyards with, and at the top of the mountain, the city of Cortona.

The staff promptly received us, inviting us to rest a bit and offering us water and tea. A true sympathy in the art of welcoming.

 The main house of the property 

We are surrounded by nature, in front of the reception we walk through a garden and get to a building from the XVII, the main house, on one side of the reception there’s a terrace and a place with a super charming glass entrance that gives access to the restaurant, on the other side, a small chapel.

We were forwarded to our bedroom, next to the chapel and the spa!

Bedrooms
They are 22, distributed among the main building, the area nex to the chapel and the spa, and the cellar area.

We stayed in a Junior Suite with entrance right next to the spa, to get to our room we had to pass around the warm pool (with jacuzzi), divided between the interior and exterior of the spa. A dream that would have my assiduous presence during the entire stay!

As soon as we enter the bedroom I glimpsed a huge fireplace and an extremely cozy environment. On the right side, the bedroom, separated of the living room by an arch, the terracotta ceiling and wooden beams, alongside the antique furniture gives the space a unique charm. The comfortable bed, next to a window with a view to nature, served some very relaxing moments – especially after a long car trip.

We had also seasonal fruit, tea, coffee, water and a very special treat (on our last day) – those tasty and traditional biscuits from Tuscany, the Cantucci.

The bathroom – a few steps below, with a door with a stone cross (we immediatly realize this place was once part of the church!) – is surprising with its stone walls, its ancient charm and the constant feeling of following the footsteps of history.

The hygiene products are organic and produced from olive oil, with wonderful texture and aroma!

An excellent bedroom, for sure!

Restaurants
The property has a space that serves several purposes, with a glass and wrought iron entrance, giving it a quite romantic look. The entrance gives access (on the upper floor) to the clock’s room, or breakfast room, which also serves beverages and snacks during the afternoon.

The clock’s room prepared for breakfast 

Next to it, a terrace that enchants anyone, where with the right weather, you can do the same as in the interior rooms, here in perfect communion with nature.

Don’t be surprised if you’re awarded with the most important figure of the house, Giacco, the family’s dog, super sweet keeping you company while eating!

 The bar and some wines produced by the Baracchis

Going down some stairs we arrive in two different spaces, the bar, an extremely cozy room, where wood prevails and where we are tempted right away to drink some wine or a whiskey, read a book and relaxe for a few hours in the company of a huge cellar.

The other space is the ex libris of the Vila, the restaurant with a Michelin star since 2002 that allowed all this project to exist nowadays, and makes people from all around the world to come to Cortona.

Pici with boar ragú and syrah sauce 

It was born from an old lemon tree with a perfect view over the hills of Cortona.
The surrounding scenario is the inspiration to Chef Silvia Baracchi’s cuisine. The respect for seasonality and the use of local produce, combined with a wide selection of wines, make this restaurant one of the most famous in Tuscany. But João will talk about our experience on another post.

Services
Il Falconiere is by excellence a refuge for relaxation, however, and because there are various tastes, it created a range of activities able to satisfy everybody’s needs.

So, we have as option (mandatory!) the visit to the small, but very interesting Cortona, just a few minutes by car from the hotel. The staff helps us organize our day, indicating the most important places and even a few history lessons! Also organized and properly scheduled you can opt for activities like hunting, bike rides in the mountain, hikes and equestrian trails, golf and yoga.

Another activity option, and which gives the property its name, is Falconry, being the art of creating, caring for and training falcons, usually this ceremony directed by Ricardo Baracchi ends with a diploma.

Those staying at the property can’t miss another of the great passions of the Baracchis, wine, you can visit the vineyards, paticipate in the harvest, visit the cellar and do a wine tasting of the several seals the family produces.

A perfect place to spend a calm evening, enrichened with a good wine and cheeses is the terrace, or if the cold weather doesn’t allow it, you can always choose the bucolic environment of the bar – that filled my measures in a wonderful evening.

During summer, the pool is everybody’s favorite place, and Il Falconiere has two, the main one next to the spa and another next to the cellar usually used by the guests staying in that part of the Vila.

Here is also that cuisine destined to cooking classes of the famous Chef Silvia Baracchi. Here, everyone participates and works! Learning traditional dishes of Tuscany in a quite rustic and authentic cuisine, where in the end of the class you taste your “prime work”!

Marriages are also welcome to this Vila, and the groom and bride can even (with time of course) book the entire property for them and their guests. Who wouldn’t want to marry under the Tuscan beauty?!

To me, the ex libris is the spa, the Thesan Etruscan Spa, as the name indicates, its an etruscan spa, evoking the past, elevating our senses to the most perfect relaxation. Its composed of some treatment rooms, sauna, Turkish bath and one of the most beautiful pools I’ve ever seen.

 The heated pool with jacuzzi and chromotherapy is surrounded by two very distinct areas, interior and exterior, inside, several armchairs, relaxing beds and a fireplace complete the environment with some relaxing music. Outside, nature is queen! Nothing quite more perfect than ending the day with the sunset mixed with the Tuscan valleys in a very warm and cozy pool.

Service
Three years ago we started discovering Tuscany and fell in love, today I can say our passion grew stronger and not just because of the food and landscapes, but also due to its people, I dare say quite different from the rest of Italy. Unique genuineness and an ability to make us feel at home, very similar to our people in Portuguese villages.

And the team of Il Falconqiere was that and much more, geniune, kind and foccused in our well being, besides the totally familiar environment, it is for sure a family house and that is go goodly felt!

For sure a place that I will miss and to where we’ll return in the future!

Mandatory!

Il Falconiere – Relais & Chateaux
Bedrooms from 200€
Loc. San Martino a Bocena, 370 – Cortona
+39 0575 612 679 
info@ilfalconiere.it

Versão Portuguesa

Text: Cíntia Oliveira | Photos: Flavors & Senses

Disclaimer
We were at Il Falconiere by invitation, whereas this not alter our work, being the opinion and the text of the exclusive responsibility of the author.