Castello di Vicarello
Cinigiano, Italy
★ Verified by our editors · June 2026
The verdict
A 12th-century castle in the quiet Maremma hills, restored by its owners into one of Tuscany's most personal places to stay — just a handful of suites, an organic estate producing its own wine and olive oil, plunge pools among the cypresses and a rooms-full of collected antiques from a lifetime of travel. It's family-run and intensely characterful; you feel like a guest in a very stylish private home rather than a hotel.
Couples who want an intimate, characterful castle with its own wine, gardens and total quiet.
You want the facilities and anonymity of a big hotel — this is a tiny, personal, family-run estate.
Taste the estate's own wine and olive oil, and take a suite with its own terrace and plunge pool over the Maremma hills.
The rooms
Just a handful of suites (around seven) inside the restored castle and its grounds, each individual — beamed ceilings, four-posters, antiques and textiles collected by the owners over decades. Several have their own terrace or plunge pool; all feel personal rather than hotel-standard.
The setting
On a hilltop in the Maremma, southern Tuscany's wilder, emptier corner, surrounded by the estate's own vineyards, olive groves and gardens. Quiet and remote, with long views over wooded hills — a world away from the tour-bus Tuscany further north.
The food
Dining is intimate and estate-driven — garden produce, the castle's own wine and olive oil, cooked and served with a house-party feel rather than in a formal restaurant. Meals are often arranged around the gardens and terraces.
Getting there
About 1h30 from Rome and Florence airports and 40 minutes from Grosseto, down winding country roads. A car is essential in the Maremma, and the final approach is on unpaved estate track.
Good to know
Very small, personal and adults-leaning — book the whole castle for a group, or a suite for a couple. Family-run means service is warm and informal rather than slick. Seasonal, roughly April to October.
