Pietrafonte · Olive mill of 1820, converted 2014
Il Frantoio
The old olive mill, with vaults you can stand a horse under.
- Sleeps
- 8
- Bedrooms
- 4
- Bathrooms
- 3
- Interior
- 290 m²
The house
For two centuries the valley’s olives were pressed at Il Frantoio. The mill had a millstone turned by a donkey, a beam press that took four men to wind, and a hall long enough to store a season’s oil in terracotta jars. When the cooperative took over in the 1960s it became a hay store, then a ruin, then, in 2014, ours.
The conversion was a long argument with the building, and the building won most of it. The hall stayed one room, vault after vault. We put the kitchen under the first arch, a table that seats eight under the third, and a staircase of the same stone as the floor so it disappears. The old press beam, a single oak trunk, still crosses one bedroom wall at head height; the beds are set to keep you from learning that the hard way.
Outside, the pool sits where the cattle yard was, walled on three sides and open to the grove on the fourth. A circular millstone leans against the pool wall and makes an excellent table for a glass of something cold. The olives are still pressed, now by a small co-operative down the road, and your stay in late October comes with a litre of the oil.
- Private pool
- I
A 9 metre barrel-vaulted hall with the original press beam
- II
A pool built into the old cattle yard, walled on three sides
- III
Walk to the Pietrafonte spring in 15 minutes
Sleeping arrangements
4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, up to 8 guests. 8,000 square metres of grove with a walled pool garden.
-
Press bedroom
Ground floorDouble bed
Behind the old press beam
-
Stable bedroom
Ground floorDouble bed
-
Granary
First floorDouble bed
Outside stone stair, private terrace
-
Mill room
First floorTwin beds
Outside stone stair
-
Hall daybed
Ground floorSofa bed
What is included
- Private pool
- Fibre wifi
- Air conditioning
- Underfloor heating
- Open fireplace
- Full kitchen
- Dishwasher
- Washing machine
- Stone barbecue
- Shaded terrace
- Garden and olive grove
- Private parking
- Linen and towels included
Good to know
-
The vaulted hall stays cool but holds sound. Voices carry; it is wonderful for music and difficult for early sleepers.
-
Two bedrooms are reached by an outside stone stair, which is lovely and unlit after dark; torches are provided.
-
The grove is harvested in late October. If you stay then, you are welcome to help and take home a bottle.
We came for the vaults and stayed for the quiet. At night the only sound was the pool filter and, once, an owl on the press beam.
House rules
- Check-in
- From 16:00
- Check-out
- By 10:00
- Quiet hours
- Quiet from 23:00
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Smoking
- Outdoors only
- Events
- No parties; a quiet dinner of up to 12 can be arranged with our chef
Where it is
- Pietrafonte (shop, trattoria, spring)5 min drive
- Nearest sandy beach25 min drive
- Airport65 min drive
- Supermarket12 min drive
- Spring and picnic wood15 min on foot
Dates and rates
Select your arrival day, then your departure day.
October 2026
November 2026
- Available
- Not available
- Your stay
Nightly rates and minimum stays
| Season | Dates | Per night | Min. stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Festive | 12/20 to 01/03 | €440 | 4 nights |
| Winter | 11/01 to 03/31 | €290 | 3 nights |
| Spring | 04/01 to 06/14 | €370 | 4 nights |
| Summer | 06/15 to 09/15 | €690 | 7 nights |
| Autumn | 09/16 to 10/31 | €400 | 4 nights |
Dates are month/day. Cleaning €180 per stay. Tourist tax €2.50 per guest per night, up to 7 nights. Refundable deposit €800.
Your stay
From €290 a night. Choose your dates to see the full price, with cleaning and tourist tax included.
Request received
Thank you. We will check the calendar and reply within 24 hours with a confirmation and a payment link. This is demo mode: nothing was actually sent.
