Italy Tuscany Florence: Apartments

Self catering apartment: Apartments

Chalets with every comfort The residence comprises exclusive chalets built following bio-architectural principles. Bio-architecture is not a style but rather a philosophy of life. It is not a collection of set rules but rather a way of understanding and interpreting the transformation of the countryside in such a way as to combine respect for nature and human comfort. When planning the construction of the Residence, we have endeavoured to use as far as possible the simple and natural materials used in the buildings already present in the area, which can be recycled or easily disposed of. The chalets have exceptionally thick brick-built walls, in order to stabilize the interior temperature and to reduce energy required for heating in the winter or air-conditioning in the summer. The chalets are heated in winter and cooled in summer by means of a geothermic device which pumps warm or cooled air into the chalet walls: there is absolutely no harmful emission of gas. Rainwater is collected and treated in special cisterns for re-use for sanitation and irrigation. Various methods have been employed to avoid wasting water – differentiated flushes on toilets, for example, or taps mixing air and water – and natural methods have been employed as much as possible for ‘passive' cooling in summer months and maximum exposure to the sun for heating in the winter months. It is possible to further the interests of eco-tourism by respecting the environment. We have endeavoured to apply the same principles to the day to day running of the Residence. Furnishings, bed and table linen, food products, cleaning materials all follow the same bio-ecological principles. Various types of refuse will be collected separately and every effort will be made to reduce pollution and reduce energy consumption. We hope that the Residence will be only a part of a larger context in which the protection of the environment and the exploitation of natural resources become a guiding principle. The chalets are provided with simple wooden furniture in the Tuscan style, the kitchens are fitted with hob, oven, dishwasher, refrigerator and freezer. The bathrooms are equipped with shower plus Jacuzzi and foot-sole massage. The lcd high definition televisions, equipped with DVD viewer, are connected with nine closed circuit television cameras positioned outside the Residence. An Internet connection is available in all the chalets, completely free of charge. The electricity in the chalets is ‘domotic', which means that it is ‘aware' of your presence and activates all the services which you may require. When you leave the chalet, it automatically extinguishes all lights, regulates the temperature and switches on the burglar alarm. During the hours of darkness, external lights are automatically switched on for you safety and convenience.