Welcome to the real Tuscany

The Residenza Stuart.

Giving you a warm welcome, I am pleased to give you some information about our building and my philosophy of tourism enterprise

Maria Stuart

To book from January 1, 2024 onward please contact us via contact form, email or phone number. See you soon!

The promotion of 10% discount to the students of Scuola del Sasso is renewed again for 2024!

Our palace is located in one of the oldest parts in the centre of the village, where until around 1850 the land belonging to the 13th-century church of Santa Maria dei Servi was located.

Since I took over personal management of Residenza Stuart in 2020, I immediately thought of joining the "Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane" (ADSI), which is part of the European Historic Houses (EHH) Association.

This supranational organization brings together mainly private real estate, from council houses to villas, castles and farm estates. The main purpose is not SPECULATION or personal enrichment: the main goal is the CONSERVATION and PREVENTION of a heritage that is part of Europe's beauty and wealth, from cities to the countryside.

Another association that is very important to me is LEGAMBIENTE TURISMO, which helped me follow a very specific direction for the restoration of the building

I have tried to make the whole building as efficient as possible and less impactful from the point of view of pollution, rationalizing costs and reinvesting almost everything to implement insulation, digital communication, WIFI connection, security systems and electronic payments, allowing to increase the relationship between quality and price. 

My lower-than-average prices arise from this business philosophy and not from a downward bidding, so today I have the opportunity to open the doors of my house also to families and young people, who are the future.

I also try to engage in culture by investing in the acquisition of works of art by local artists, whether young or established, and by organizing in-depth meetings in collaboration with local agencies, institutions and associations.

Despite the difficulties caused by covids, wars, climate change and other problems, I will try to continue all the projects I have started and invent new ones, one of which is how to solve the very serious problem of rising temperatures and drought, possibly without polluting: over time, areas of shade will be created in the garden through light pergolas covered by natural vegetation in order to ventilate and keep the air at the right humidity, and ways will be studied to make use of energy from renewable sources while preserving the landscape a vital element for this part of Italy.

I will continue to deepen the study of SUSTAINABLE and ETHICAL TOURISM, that is, creating an offer in full respect of the needs of the local population.

Tourism can be a wonderful resource for everyone, but so far it has often been undervalued or worse, created destruction and speculation of all kinds. By adopting the Charter of Values for Ethical and Sustainable Tourism being developed by the Region of Tuscany and other European areas, I can guarantee a tourism offer that respects the territory and the local community by networking with other regional realities.

This is what I like to offer my guests and this is what you will find here, in my home.

Greetings to all

Maria Stuart

Nicolò Balini

In November, Italian YouTuber Nicolò Balini came to visit us at the suggestion of my millennial children.

Nicolò is mostly known by the very young and young-at-heart Italians, but he is also a very important tour operator; with his company SiVola, he organises beautiful group trips all over the world, trips especially for young people.

With his partners he made a really nice 10-minute video of Montepulciano and its surroundings, which in just a few days reached and exceeded 100,000 views.

It's a new kind of documentation, fresh, light yet effective and borderless because the web is borderless.

I was very happy that Nicolò accepted my invitation because I really like this new generation and it is precisely this type of tourism that I want to promote: relaxed, where you can catch your breath, find the time to be with yourself or with your loved ones and then eat, drink, cycle, walk, museum, shop, spa, rest, idleness; a thousand things to do and see that are all around us and find the right time to enjoy at least one, maximum two, without feeling guilty... after all, this is Italy.

From 2021 we will be associated with:

After 10 years of restoration and recovery, from the rooms to the furnishings, from 1 January 2021, we have the immense pleasure of being able to join the "Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane" (ADSI), a very important institution founded in 1977 which has the patronage of the Presidency of the Republic, connected to the "European Historic Houses Association" (EHH).

This is a completely non-commercial association, but one that was set up with the aim of protecting Italy's enormous historical, artistic and cultural heritage, including its minor ones.

Also from 1 January, we will again join Legambiente Turismo, another very important association set up in Emilia Romagna in the 1990s with the aim of promoting sustainable tourism that helps the local area and does not consume it like locusts.

We will also be associated with the "Federazione Italiana Ambiente e Bicicletta" (FIAB), to promote cycling as a means of transport in our hilly areas too.

We will also be associated with local civic and cultural associations for the protection of the territory.