In the heart of Tuscany, close to Siena in the Murlo area, the SERPENTINE SNC company offers you tastefully furnished apartments to rent for your holidays.
The exact location of the apartments is Vallerano di Murlo, a quiet hamlet nestled in the wonderful and protected Tuscan countryside.
There is also charming a 1500 m2 olive grove at your disposal.
Vallerano is situated in the south-occidental zone of Murlo, in the middle of a marvellous landscape, at an altitude of 293m, at the end of a range of hills, which looks down upon the deeply wooded surrounding valleys, stretching in gradation up to the "Merse" river.
To join Vallerano, follow the curving road from Casciano, which goes through the villages of Poggio Lodoli and Santo Stefano and which ends in Vallerano.
Founded by the Etruscans and subsequently inhabited by the Romans, Valleranum is owned by the powerful "Ardengheschi" family, whose assets span the Maremma between the Siena Republic and the Pope's territories.
Written documents talk about a medieval castle (sadly gone today) of great defensive importance, as it was on the border between the family’s properties and the Republic of Siena.
However in the beginning of the XIIIth century, with the offensive and conquest policy of the Republic,
the family lost many of it’s possessions and Valleranum became the property of the Bishop of Siena, who decided to use it as a holiday retreat.
At this time the village was home to the families of workers who mined the green-black marble for the building of the spectacular Duomo of Siena.
As a matter of fact, the hills around Vallerano are full of this intense black marble flecked with green veins of different tints, from sea green to dark green.
Look closely at the walls around the village and you will see some marble blocks and fragments as the extraction rubbish was then recycled for use as building materials.
This rare green colour is given by the presence of Serpentinite in the geological formula of the marble, and was the inspiration for the name of our company.
After the wars with Florence, it became too expensive to extract the marble and therefore the village lost its main activity. As a consequence Vallerano lost a lot of its inhabitants, who were reduced to living soley on the agricultural activities possible in this territory - mainly wine and olive oil production.
During the Second World War, Vallerano was bombed and witnessed violent fighting in 1944 during the withdrawal of the German troops.
Part of the village was then destroyed, and Vallerano was abandoned.
In recent years it has returned to life and welcomed new residents, and finding step by step its past beauty again.
It is now ready to welcome you and invites you to enjoy the richness of its nature and its territory..
While Vallerano is in a very rural location, it is just a short drive from all the conveniences you’ll need and of the Tuscan tourist jewels (careful, having a car is mandatory).
They can be easily joined by the « Siena-Grosseto SS223-E78» road:
- Casciano di Murlo is 4 km away, with all the main shops and services: grocer's shop, banks, drugstore, restaurants etc…
- Siena is 25 km
- Grosseto is 60 km
- Florence and Arezzo are 85 km
- Pisa is 130 km
- Rome is 200 km
And also: the Mediteranean sea or the Trasimeno lake are one hour’s drive away, the mountain (Monte Amiata 1738 m) is 40 km away.
And there are many other treasures that we will be pleased to share with you at your arrival.
ENJOY YOUR STAY and THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING SERPENTINE!