Hi, I’m Ginevra.

These trees watched me grow up. I’ve travelled a lot over the years — and maybe that’s exactly why I can recognise how rare a place like this is. This place has something I can’t find anywhere else.

A few years ago I decided to open it up, and to share it with people looking for something authentic — real nature, quiet, a slower pace of time.

I live here with my family, a dog and a few cats who roam the garden freely. The estate is our home: I’ll do my best to make you feel exactly that, at home, but with the feeling that time moves differently here.

The estate

Two ancient stone farmhouses, two hundred years old, six kilometres from Scansano, at the end of a dead-end road. The last kilometres are unpaved, in proper countryside style.

We borrowed the name: it belonged to the previous owners, who were called Monellini. When my parents took over the estate together with some friends, they decided to keep it — it recalled “i monelli” (the rascals), and it seemed like the right name for them.

Around us there are about a hundred olive trees, which give us our own oil, and then the maquis: holm oak, prickly pear, grass that turns to straw by August. At night there’s very little light pollution around. Anyone who comes here quickly notices that nature isn’t a decorative backdrop: it’s the main character.

Who else lives here

• Foxes, roe deer, badgers, porcupines and wild boar — they pass by, especially at dawn
• A little dog who loves people, but can be territorial with other dogs
• The cats, who stay in the garden
• Our animals never go into guest bedrooms

If you’re travelling with a pet, write to us first: we’ll make sure everyone is comfortable.

The objects

My father goes to flea markets and has a passion for antiques, so over the years the rooms have filled up with things that have a story behind them: each with its own origin, its own mystery, its own character. Nothing is coordinated, everything is authentic.