JEFFREY SMART’S LUXURY RESTORED TUSCAN ESTATE FOR SALE

The villa (354 sqm – 3,809 sqft, 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms) is laid out on two levels, composed as follows.

- Ground floor: entrance hall, bathroom, laundry room, independent apartment made of two rooms plus bathroom, ample central living room with a modern open-space kitchen;

- First floor: living room with fireplace, kitchen, dining room, glass-enclosed loggia currently used as a living/dining room, master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, double bedroom and independent bathroom.

The property is then completed by two rural buildings (respectively 24 sqm – 258 sqft and 78 sqm – 839 sqft), the old barn (98 sqm – 1,054 sqft) on two floors, converted by a previous owner into a painting retreat and finally a two-car garage (57 sqm – 613 sqft).

With the great agricultural reform ordered by Grand Duke Leopold II the land which nowadays houses the villa entered the possession of the Serristori family, owners at the time of a great villa in Figline Valdarno which was then gifted for the creation of a hospital (named Ospedale Serristori) which still remains the reference point for Valdarno.

The villa was built following the typical layout of the Leopoldine in Valdarno, with three arches on the upper floor with as many dovecotes (there were originally five arches on the upper level, but the outermost on both sides were bricked over shortly after World War II and their shape is nowadays just barely visible). In 1971 the villa was bought by Australian painter Jeffrey Smart which followed its full renovation, which also allowed converting the old barn into a painting atelier where he could work.

In the years the property was owned by Jeffrey Smart the house saw the passage several Australian personalities, such as Barry Humphries (voice actor in Finding Nemo and The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey), Gough Whitlam (Australian premier between 1972 and 1975) and Bruce Beresford (director of Last Dance, Paradise Road, The Contract and Mr. Church).

On April 1994, Posticcia Nuova was one of the backgrounds for the filming of Geoffrey Bennet and Don Featherstone’s documentary Smart’s Labyrinth, a biopic where Smart explains his own art and his view of the contemporary world.

Recently restored by its current owners, the villa kept, in the end, its countryside look with terracotta floors, wooden beams, arches, an imposing stone fireplace, a stone staircase, a portico and a loggia closed by huge windows which allow its use even during winter.

The villa is surrounded by an elegant garden (approximately 3,000 sqm) with a 14 ×5 m Infinity pool (with depth varying from 1.4 to 2.0 m). The perfectly maintained green is enriched by pathways, numerous ornamental plants and flowers such as magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons.

The property includes roughly 15.7 hectares of land, half of which covered in woodland (8.2 ha). We then find an ample olive grove (4.6 ha) with 1,550 olive trees (varieties Moraiolo, Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, Fiorentino) capable of producing up to 11 hl of extra-virgin organic oil per year. The remaining land is made up or arable land (2.9 ha), a part of which particularly suitable to plant a small vineyard (1.0 ha).

The property is currently used as a private residence but its excellent position in the heart of Tuscany would allow easily exploiting the guest apartment to start a B&B-like accommodation business which would benefit from the swimming pool and the proximity with many of the most beautiful cities of the region.

Pieve a Presciano (1km; 2’), Pergine Valdarno (3km; 5’), Montevarchi (17km; 20’), Arezzo (23km; 30’), Florence (64km; 1h), Cortona (44km; 55’), Siena (46km; 45’), Montepulciano (61km; 50’), Pienza (69km; 1h 5’), Montalcino (74km; 1h 15’), San Gimignano (82km; 1h 15’), Perugia (106km; 1h 20’), Gubbio (111km; 1h 40’), Assisi (128km; 1h 35’), Spello (133km; 1h 35’), Todi (146km; 1h 45’)

Firenze Vespucci (76km; 1h), Perugia San Francesco (115km; 1h 25’), Pisa Galilei (144km; 1h 20’), Bologna Marconi (170km; 2h 5’), Roma Ciampino (239km; 3h), Roma Fiumicino (282km; 3h 10’)