Palazzo Mannaioni: hotel near Florence and San Gimignano
Palazzo Mannaioni, belonging to the Hotel group UNA hotel & resorts Spa, is a residence dating back to the 16th Century. Located along the walls in the center of Montaione, famous for the Castle of Montaione, a small medieval hamlet on top of a hill, 341 metres above sea level. We are in the heart of Tuscany, a region where there are many archaeological sites open to visitors.
Staying in these places means leaping into the history and culture of a thousand-year-old population. Moreover, the surrounding area offers picturesque views of rare and pure natural beauty and a landscape full of variety. You can find rows of vineyards belonging to the Chianti and Vernaccia di San Gimignano, thick silvery olive groves, chestnut trees, holm-oak trees, pine trees, and junipers, all typical of the Mediterranean.
Montaione bounders three provinces: Florence, Pisa, and Siena. Thanks to its strategic geographic position, you can visit places of undisputed artistic and touristic value such as San Gimignano, Volterra, Certaldo, Vinci, and San Miniato.
Within these prestigious boundaries, Palazzo Mannaioni represents a pinnacle of love and luxury, allowing the guest to savour the charm of ancient recipes, history, and the ambience of the past.
The Palace, built of stone and brick, is inside the village walls. Today it is completely restored and equipped with all comforts, Palazzo Mannaioni offers stays dedicated to relaxation and privacy.
The hotel has two entries, the first is on Via Cresci, which you can use if you are coming from the historic centre of Montaione, through the narrow alleys, passageways, and little squares where there are artisan shops and old houses with the characteristic flower-filled balconies. The second one is on Via Marconi, where you enter directly through the Castle’s walls. This route passes through a lovely, Italian-style garden with a uniquely shaped swimming-pool, surrounded by lemon and orange trees in classic Tuscan urns.

This residence belonged to the one of richest and the most powerful families of Montaione, The Mannaionis. They are linked to its history from as far back as 1500. They played an important public role and were masters in the art of glass-making. They were land owners and their motto was “everything we can see till the horizon belongs to us”.
With the foundation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, first with the Medicis and then with the Lorenas, the Walls of the Castle were no longer considered important because the danger of enemies was over; thus Palazzo Mannaioni changed in the 19th century, taking its present shape. In the new space, an Italian-style garden was cultivated with small paths, Holm oak trees for shade, a lemon greenhouse, and a well.
Today, the old elegant atmosphere remains unchanged, with the well recognized family coat of arms in the hall and the restored furniture; the decorated ceilings in the entry and the wonderful stone floor have also been maintained.
Within the Hotel, all the estate properties have been restored: the old granary, the oil-mill, and the cellar dug out from the gabbro rock. Nowadays, these places serve as the American Bar, Winery and the Restaurant De’ Mannaioni . The extraordinary ambience is enhanced by attention to every detail, giving guests an unforgettable staying.

Services
In Hotel Palazzo Mannaioni, the tourists can relax and live together in the American Bar and Pool Bar where the equipped bar staff can prepare gala dinner, informal dinner, work breakfast, welcome cocktail. They can organize in the best way any requests and needs, business or leisure.
The high professional hotel staff can organize in the best way any requests and needs of the tourists in order they can have a pleasant and comfortable journey. That’s the standard of the Hotel UNA HOTELS & RESORTS.
The reception staff can organize the transfer from the stations and the principal Italian airports or hide autos for the tourist's whole journey.
During the journey, the tourist can ask the reception staff for every service, such as ticket reservation for the Galleria degli Uffizi, Chianti tours, wine tastings in ancient residences and whatever else.
For the tourists who arrive by car, a large underground parking at the cost of 8.00 € per day.

Services:
. Sky Hotel Plus on all rooms
. Wi-Fi Internet in the lobby and meeting room.
. All the rooms have a bath and shower
. Heating
. Easy access for disabled people
. Lift for access to the rooms
. Fully air-conditioned including the rooms.
. Satellite TV
. Direct external telephone line
. Mini-Bar
. Safe in all the rooms
. A selection of pillows
. Directly-managed restaurant seating 80 people, separate entrance with direct access to the garden and swimming pool. . Topic evenings.
. Typical Tuscan cuisine, continental and American breakfast
. A wide selection of wines with wine-tasting events in the prestigious cellar where it is also possible to serve private meals.
. Two completely equipped meeting rooms for any kind of events.
. A large underground parking at the cost of 8.00 € per day
. American Bar in the delightful hall with glass-decorated ceiling and cable radio installation.
. Pool bar giving onto the outdoor swimming-pool.
. Iacuzzi Pool
. Italian styled garden

GAMBASSI TERME
The right spa for your wellness”: the water is suitable for drinking and for inhaling. In the spa of Gambassi Terme you find: relaxing massages, hydrotherapy, drainage massages, Ayurveda, Shiatsu, mud massages, sauna, light therapy, beauty treatments. The centre, operating with the hotel, is just 3 km far from us. Its salt water composed by chloride, bicarbonate, sulphate, comes from the natural spring of Pillo.

Restaurant De’ Mannaioni
At the Hotel Palazzo Mannaioni , guests have the well-known restaurant De’ Mannaioni at their disposal, built from the old oil-mill, with an arched roof illuminated by a unique lighting system, and marvellous red-brick vaults.
The guest can try typical Tuscan recipes cooked with modern techniques, while respecting tradition.
During high season the well-known Winery is opened, dug out from the cellar of the Palazzo Mannaioni with its original vaults where it is possible to taste excellent wines and organize lunches or reserved dinners.
From the restaurant the guest has direct access to the garden and the swimming-pool, where the equipped pool bar staff prepare exclusive cocktails and quick snacks for guests who want to relax by the edge of the pool after they have visited the wonderful artistic cities in Tuscany.

Meeting
Palazzo Mannaioni can offer meetings and conventions. In the Hotel there are two fully-equipped, high-tech halls.
The multifunctional Clemente Hall seats 85 people and the Lina Hall has a table seating of only 16 people. Both offer high level service with highly respected international standards. Qualified staff is available to help guests organize all of the high-tech service they desire.

Activities
Possibility to play golf at the Castelfalfi course (18 holes) with an hotel permission.
Possibility for wonderful walks in the woods with charted hiking trails.
Possibility to play tennis and soccer in the nearby courts and fields.
Horse-back riding at two fully-equipped ranches.
Mountain biking through the rolling hills of the surroundings.
Walking through the old streets of this medieval village, observing the customs of the people.
Visits by car to the most wonderful artistic cities in Tuscany: Florence, Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra, Certaldo, and Vinci. Come back in the evening to the hotel to relax in the shadow of the Italian-style garden with the wonderful swimming-pool.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Rooms
Palazzo Mannaioni has 29 rooms, 5 of which are junior suites on two levels: completely restored furniture and fully-equipped with all comforts: adjustable air conditioning thermostat, bathrooms with shower/bathtub, Satellite TV, safe, Mini-bar, Internet connection, and soundproofed doors with electronic keys.
Each room is unique because they maintain the character of a private residence. The furnishings are characteristically Tuscan with wood furniture and which has been carefully selected. Many rooms have exposed beams and traditional Tuscan flooring with the original terra-cotta bricks, the rest have unique fresco and hard-wood floors.
Some rooms overlook the roofs of Montaione’s historic center, giving guests an incredibly romantic view, while others are located on top of the ancient communication trenches of the Castle, looking out onto the painstakingly landscaped Italian-style garden and swimming-pool.
Moreover, from the balconies of the junior suites, at sunset on clear evenings, guests can admire the profile of the hills in the distance, and the sun which sets in the light blue colors of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Classic Rooms
Elegant, and comfortable rooms, equipped with Satellite TV, direct telephone lines, air conditioning, safe, and hair-dryer in the bathroom. Some with bathtub, some with shower.

Junior Suite
Five elegant and comfortable rooms with terrace with view on the pool and on the Italian garden; three of these have double level balconies, all equipped with Satellite TV, direct telephone lines, air conditioning, safe, and hair-dryer in the bathroom.

Suite
The most luxurious type of room in the Hotel; they are two, with two different type of furnishings; one has beams and floor of terra-cotta bricks; big room with double bed, little living room with sofa bed and 2 bathrooms. The other one is decorated with unique fresco and with hard-wood floor; it is composed by two separate rooms without door: in the bigger one there is a double bed and a bathroom while in the other there is a little living room with sofa bed. Both are equipped with Flat TV Sat, telephone, air conditioning, safe and hair drier.

Apartment
Our apartament : The best solution for families ( max occupancy 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children)
The apartament is located at only 50 meters from the Hotel, at second floor with a magnificent view on Montaione’s hills, this is tuscany!
The apartament has : 1 bedroom for adults, 1 additional bedroom, 1 bathroom with shower, 1 dining room with kitchen ( dishwasher and fridge included), 1 balcony
The apartament also has air conditioning and satellite tv

The use of the apartament includes:
Use of hotel’s pool
Fresh bed sheets and towels once a week

Theuse of the apartament does not include
Breakfast at the hotel’s restaurt
It is possible to have our rich hot buffet breakfast paying only 10,00 euros per person

Accommodations available:

Single: 2 - Double: 39 - Junior suite: 5 - Suite: 3 -

Services Available:

Activities:

Location : Via G. Marconi 2, - Montaione (Florence)
Satellite coordinates: Lat. 43.553183 - Lon.43.553183

Reaching UNA Palazzo Mannaioni

HOW TO REACH US:

- By car – from Milan
Take the A-1 autostrada (motorway) to Firenze Scandicci and take the motorway Fi-Pi-Li (Florence-Pisa-Livorno), take exit Ginestra Fiorentina, follow directions to Montespertoli, Castelfiorentino, M. is about 30 km from the “Ginestra Fiorentina” exit.

- By car – from Rome
Take the A-1 autostrada (motorway) towards Florence; take exit Bettole and follow directions to Siena. After about 50 km, take the motorway Siena-Florence; take exit Poggibonsi Nord; Follow the signs for S. Gimignano. Go through the town of San Gimignano and follow the signs to Castelfiorentino, Gambassi Terme. Before you reach Gambassi Terme, turn left towards Montaione about 20 km from the exit off the motorway.

- By car from Genoa-La Spezia
Take the A-12 autostrada (motorway), towards Livorno, take exit Pisa centre/airport, take the motorway Fi-Pi-Li (Florence-Pisa-Livorno), take exit San Miniato, go to Ponte a Egola. At the traffic light in the centre of the village, turn left toward Montaione; go through La Serra and Corazzano; in Alberi, turn left toward Montaione.

By Air- Florence Airport “A. Vespucci”
From the airport go through the Ponte dell’Indiano, take the motorway Fi-Pi-Li (Florence-Pisa-Livorno), take exit Ginestra Fiorentina and follow the signs to Montespertoli, Castelfiorentino, Montaione is about 30 km from the exit “Ginestra Fiorentina.”

By air from Pisa Airport "Galileo Galilei":
-Take the motorway Fi-Pi-Li, direction Florence and exit in San Miniato. Follow signs to Ponte a Egola; at the traffic lignt of the village turn left direction Montaione, pass through the little villages of La Serra and Corazzano; at the place called Alberi turn left to Montaione.

By train from Florence:
-Railway station Santa Maria Novella: Train, direction Pisa-Livorno – get off at Empoli Station, by taxi (about 25 km), or – Take Coach Bus “Lazzi,” bus stop Piazza Adua in front of the railway station "S. Maria Novella" (only once a day).

Surroundings
Montaione is in the heart of Tuscany, and it is exactly in this area where the first Etruscan colonies were located, proven today by archaeological findings.
Over many centuries, a lot of invasions occurred in this area: The Romans and the Gotis with Theodoric, up to the days of the Medicis. Guests who decide to stay in these places have the possibility to learn about the history of the most famous region in Italy, following an artistic journey from 6 B.C. to the Renaissance.

The town was first a fortified castle with a typical medieval plan surrounded by walls.
Its position on the top of a hill which overlooks the territory still offers a wonderful panorama extending from the Apennines to the seaside.
The town has preserved the old walls, the Church of San Bartolomeo, the City Palace (Palazzo Pretorio) with the coats of arms of the Podestas, and not far away from the Florentine Door, the remains of the old Roman Church of San Regolo and the old Roman reservoir dating back to the third century AC. Today, small villages belonging to the municipality of Montaione – like a lot of other well-known communities and important tourist destinations such as Castelfalfi, Mura, Tonda, Santo Stefano, and Sughera – Montaione experienced the rivalry between the Guelfs and Ghibellinis and the power of Florence, San Miniato, Volterra and Lucca. These castles became their strongholds.

A few kilometers from Montaione, you can visit Jerusalem of Tuscany or Sacred Mount of San Vivaldo, surrounded by Selva di Boscolazzeroni, the reproduction of the Holy Land in miniature – today 20 little chapels in a wooded area – commissioned and realized in 1500 by Padre Tommaso of Florence, in the memory of the Franciscan friar Vivaldo Stricchi from San Gimignano, who died as hermit.
Besides the above mentioned localities, you have to visit Alberi in the valley of Torrente Egola and Iano, a small village where you can find the Chiesa di Sant’Andrea (Church of Saint Andrew) in Alliano and the Santuario della Pietrina (Sanctuary of the Stone), with a breathtaking view over the hills of Volterra.

Staying in Montaione and visiting the surroundings means, of course, learning the tradition of its cuisine and its typical local products.
Festivals, events and markets are present all year round and a lot of manifestations are held to celebrate its products. The most important products linked to this area are: wine, olive oil, saffron. This area is most renowned for the“cacio” production, the typical cheese of Montaione, honey, bread baked in the wood oven – the white truffle. Montaione is one of the few Italian areas where this prestigious tuberis cultivated. One of its peculiarities is to grow up in an area without environmental pollution.
The guest can appreciate the history of this area through the sense of taste and smell.
This area attracts many guests thanks to the wide choice of sport activities that they can find here
 

UNA Palazzo Mannaioni ON GOOGLE MAP

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