Farm Abbey of San Giusto Tuscania — Attraction in Tuscania

We decided to break our trip between the Amalfi Coast and Tuscany with a stop over at the Abbazia San Giusto. The weather was fairly overcast and rainy but the first sight of the Abbey as you come down the drive way was amazing.||||Although you can see where the reconstruction has taken place, it is obvious from the outset that this is a spectacularly old building (around a 100 years old) and we were quite excited to get there.||||We were met by Ippolita who guided us around to where we were going to stay - the old bell tower! This is fairly much a self contained flat with a kitchenette / dining area and two bedrooms on separate floors and from there you can get up to the top of the bell tower which gives you a spectacular view over the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, with the weather, we could not spend the time we wanted to up top, but it was well worth the climb to see the view.||||The bell tower has a small seating area on the ground floor where we chose to leave our suitcases (one night only). To get up to the main area you climb a set of extremely narrow and steep stone steps (the original ones) - make sure you have the lights on as it is quite dark - before you arrive in the dining / kitchenette area. This is well set out with lovely wood furniture and the kitchenette can easily cater a meal. Instead of eating at one of the local restaurants we took the opportunity to make a home cooked pasta which was easily catered through the Co-op in Tuscania. From here you climb up further steps to the bedrooms which are spacious and warm (the whole unit is warmed by heaters which was very pleasant to come into.)||||We explored around the abbey for a while which is amazing. You can get into the crypt where you can see the use of older columns (probably Roman or Etruscan), the church itself and a wander around the cloisters. The church has glass protected holes in the floor where you can see the casts of the bells - I found this intriguing and an unusual way for the monks / builders to have cast their bells. It does appear that these places were then used for burials as you can see bones around the cast moulds. ||||The restoration work has been done amazingly well and blends in with the original walls.||||You have breakfast served to you in the original refectory which Ippolita informed us was easily located when excavated by the stone table supports and benches around the walls. The breakfast is excellent with a good selection of bread, fruit, cakes, tea / coffee, meat and eggs. Ippolita chatted to us over breakfast which was great with here knowledge of the area and history.||||For exercise the walk into Tuscania is very pleasant and along the way you can see farmers milking sheep for cheeses and you pass two Etruscan burial areas.||||Overall, I wish we had more time here than the one night but I would highly recommend...

We decided to break our trip between the Amalfi Coast and Tuscany with a stop over at the Abbazia San Giusto. The weather was fairly overcast and rainy but the first sight of the Abbey as you come down the drive way was amazing.||||Although you can see where the reconstruction has taken place, it is obvious from the outset that this is a spectacularly old building (around a 100 years old) and we were quite excited to get there.||||We were met by Ippolita who guided us around to where we were going to stay - the old bell tower! This is fairly much a self contained flat with a kitchenette / dining area and two bedrooms on separate floors and from there you can get up to the top of the bell tower which gives you a spectacular view over the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, with the weather, we could not spend the time we wanted to up top, but it was well worth the climb to see the view.||||The bell tower has a small seating area on the ground floor where we chose to leave our suitcases (one night only). To get up to the main area you climb a set of extremely narrow and steep stone steps (the original ones) - make sure you have the lights on as it is quite dark - before you arrive in the dining / kitchenette area. This is well set out with lovely wood furniture and the kitchenette can easily cater a meal. Instead of eating at one of the local restaurants we took the opportunity to make a home cooked pasta which was easily catered through the Co-op in Tuscania. From here you climb up further steps to the bedrooms which are spacious and warm (the whole unit is warmed by heaters which was very pleasant to come into.)||||We explored around the abbey for a while which is amazing. You can get into the crypt where you can see the use of older columns (probably Roman or Etruscan), the church itself and a wander around the cloisters. The church has glass protected holes in the floor where you can see the casts of the bells - I found this intriguing and an unusual way for the monks / builders to have cast their bells. It does appear that these places were then used for burials as you can see bones around the cast moulds. ||||The restoration work has been done amazingly well and blends in with the original walls.||||You have breakfast served to you in the original refectory which Ippolita informed us was easily located when excavated by the stone table supports and benches around the walls. The breakfast is excellent with a good selection of bread, fruit, cakes, tea / coffee, meat and eggs. Ippolita chatted to us over breakfast which was great with here knowledge of the area and history.||||For exercise the walk into Tuscania is very pleasant and along the way you can see farmers milking sheep for cheeses and you pass two Etruscan burial areas.||||Overall, I wish we had more time here than the one night but I would highly recommend...

Our expectations were exceeded in all respects by this special place. The owners are friendly and generous, (discounting our room rate twice without a request), the situation is idyllic, in the middle of a rural valley and the historic buildings are most impressive. To get to live in and have full access to such a place is a privilege and a great experience. We stayed in the belfry, which has two double bedrooms, a kitchen and roof terrace, with great views (including overlooking the monastery cloisters, gardens and valley below).|We arranged to take dinner in the cloister which was a n amazing experience, with our 5-course meal customized to our dietary preferences and personally sourced and prepared by a great culinary couple called Mark and Ginger, who are not only lovely people but also a great culinary team, with a passion for regionally sourced and freshly prepared food - it was a delight, and at 35 euros a head including wine, we were SO glad we'd booked for both nights!|The icing on the cake was the breakfast, which was so generous as to be bewildering! Served in our private courtyard below the belfry it was so lovely to enjoy the surrounding countryside over such a delicious spread!|We definitely hope to return, but imagine that it will become much more popular in the near future, so book early to avoid disappointment!|Huge thanks once again to Ippolita...