Our Story

CasaLeTolfe is a group of rural houses nestled within the unmistakable Tuscan landscape of olive groves, vineyards, and woodlands stretching between the Strada delle Tolfe and the Torrente Bozzone.

Between 1950 and 1970, Luigi Castelli — the present-day owner’s grandfather — purchased the rural houses, known as CasaLi.

Those rural houses were occupied by the few remaining families of “mezzadria”, or sharecropping farmers, with all their animals, tools, and machinery, who divided the products and profits of an agricultural company (farm) in half with the landowner.

Unfortunately, by the end of the 1950s, those homes had suffered a strong phenomenon of abandonment and neglect, due to the need for farmers to find less strenuous and better-paid jobs in neighboring cities.

Luigi Castelli converted the CasaLi into modern homes and had them finely renovated by architect Sergio Cocito.

The complex became a Residence in 1987, which, in Italy, is an accommodation facility with furnished apartments and hospitality services for extended stays.

To date, Giotto Castelli, an aeronautical engineer, together with his partner Emanuela Labella, an architect, both rich in professional experience in their respective fields and with many years spent in Great Britain, pay close attention to guests and their needs. Their expertise in the international hospitality sector combines beauty with functionality, maintaining the original rural features and the intrinsic biodiversity of the place.

Casa Le Tolfe - A country house for everyone

After World War II, the countryside suffered a profound crisis, suffering widespread abandonment and neglect. This was due to the need for "sharecropping" (farmers splitting the produce and profits of a farm/holding equally with the landowner) to find less strenuous and better-paid work in nearby cities.

These farms were purchased between 1950 and 1970 by Luigi Castelli, grandfather of the current owner, Giotto Castelli.

A man of broad vision, he converted these abandoned dwellings into an apartment complex, using then-modern technology, in a complex and meticulous renovation.

From that moment on, the countryside was no longer just for farmers and landowners, but for anyone who wanted a home in the country.

The birth of the CasaLeTolfe Residence

The complex became a residence in 1987, under the name Residence Le Tolfe, a hospitality complex organized into furnished apartments, under the same administrative structure with centralized and shared services.

second generation of the Castelli family

Marco Castelli, Giotto's father, managed the Residence for over 30 years, making general improvements to the technological systems and carrying out ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of the work begun by his father Luigi.

Since 2023, Giotto Castelli, an aeronautical engineer, and his partner, Emanuela Labella, an architect, have passionately dedicated themselves to traveling guests, to the ongoing transformation of space into place, and to providing a strong sense of "home." With considerable professional experience in their field and the energy gathered during their years as emigrants to various countries around the world, including many in Great Britain, they created the CasaLeTolfe concept between 2020 and 2023.

For Giotto and Emanuela, hospitality goes beyond simple professional service; they have a sincere desire to welcome, listen, and make others feel at ease.