Looking for a villa near a Tuscan place?

People search for a villa near a place they already know: Forte dei Marmi, Viareggio, Pisa, Florence, Siena, Elba. It is a reasonable way to search, but it can lead to a misleading answer, because a villa described as "near" a famous town may be an hour away, or on a different coast altogether.

This page is the index of our honest guides. Roc Villa Bay is in Castiglioncello, a frazione of Rosignano Marittimo in the province of Livorno. It is not in any of the places listed below. Each guide explains what that place is actually like, where it is, and why someone might choose it — or choose a coastal base instead.

The northern coast and the ports

Villas near Forte dei Marmi · villas near Viareggio · villas near Livorno · villas near Pisa · villas near Lucca

Versilia is the polished, social version of the Tuscan coast: beach clubs, promenades and a long tradition of summer holidays. Livorno is a working port city with a strong identity of its own. Pisa and Lucca are inland cities, close to the coast in the way that Tuscany is compact, but not seaside towns.

The wine roads

Villas near Bolgheri · villas near Chianti · villas near San Gimignano

Bolgheri is a frazione of Castagneto Carducci, in the province of Livorno, and one of the places that changed the reputation of Tuscan wine. Chianti is a landscape between Florence and Siena rather than a single town. San Gimignano is a hill town of medieval towers and Vernaccia wine. None of them is a coastal base.

The art cities

Villas near Florence · villas near Siena · villas near Volterra

Florence and Siena are the two poles of Tuscan art, and both are inland. Volterra is smaller, older and stranger: an Etruscan town of alabaster and a Roman theatre. A coast base can reach them, but it is honest to say that a city base is better if a museum is the centre of your trip.

The south and the islands

Villas near Castiglione della Pescaia · villas near Elba · villas near Monte Argentario · villas near Saturnia

The Maremma is wider and wilder than the Livorno coast. Castiglione della Pescaia has a medieval fortress and a nature reserve; Monte Argentario is a promontory of fortresses and small harbours; Saturnia is inland, known for thermal water. Elba is an island, reached by ferry, with a character that no mainland base can substitute.

How to use these guides

Read the guide for the place you already have in mind. If it says clearly that Roc Villa Bay is elsewhere, believe it. Then decide what matters more: being inside the place you named, or having a private house by the sea from which to explore. Both are legitimate holidays; they are not the same holiday.

We do not publish distances or drive times, because they depend on the route, the season and the traffic. If you are comparing bases, write to us with your dates and starting point and we will give you a straight answer. The Tuscan coast guide explains the different stretches of coast, and the villa in Castiglioncello page describes the house itself.

Roc Villa Bay as a base

Roc Villa Bay is a private seafront estate in Castiglioncello with four bedrooms, three private units, more than 4,000 m² of Mediterranean garden and two private accesses to the sea: a sandy beach reached by a private path and a rocky cove reached by stone steps. It is a house for families and small groups, for wedding stays around a celebration held elsewhere, and for film and photo productions.

It is not a hotel and it is not a venue. It is a house on the Etruscan Riviera, with the sea at the end of the garden and the rest of Tuscany within reach. Start with the enquiry form.