When we, Ruth and Michael, first came to Chiusdino in 1986, half of the house still belonged to Pio—the Tuscan farmer who taught us the most important lessons. He brought the history of the people and the region to life for us, showing us how to tend the olive trees, prune the grapevines, and plant onions.

After several years of working to get the farm running again and providing for ourselves with our own produce—including sheep’s cheese, olive oil, wine, vegetables, grain, bread, and firewood—we were able to purchase the second half of the house from Pio in 1996.

Since then, we have focused on developing and renting out our holiday apartments. In our garden, we grow organic vegetables, and every year we harvest our olives to produce our own olive oil.