A tower built only for the view, on the first hills above Pistoia, in a private and elevated position, Villa Elide is a historic residence crowned by a nineteenth-century panoramic tower, with 2,050 sqm of exclusive private garden.

The house was refaced in the 1800s in the neo-Gothic taste that turned Tuscan villas into summer retreats, and every sign of that season survives. A painted facade with relief medallions, pointed-arch windows, a Gothic portico, a wrought-iron balcony and, above all, the tower, crowned by a band of small arches and decorative battlements. The tower never had a defensive purpose. It was built for one reason only: to look at the view, and from its terrace the eye still reaches the medieval center of Pistoia, with the valley and the Apennines behind.

Behind the nineteenth-century facade stands a much older house. Walls of remarkable thickness, deep window recesses and vaulted ceilings give every room a character of its own.

The spaces

The property, a portion of the villa, extends over approximately 300 sqm on three main floors plus the tower.

On the ground floor, the entrance leads to the kitchen, the dining room, a living room and a bathroom.

The first floor hosts a second living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

On the second floor, with ceilings up to 3.4 meters, are the third living room, a study, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

A stone staircase with its original wrought-iron railing climbs to the top of the tower, where a small attic space opens onto the panoramic terrace.

Throughout the house there are vaults with hand-drawn ribs, niches painted into the masonry, hand-brushed wall panels, exposed beams with terracotta, terracotta floors, and a fireplace in pietra serena, the grey stone of Tuscany. No two rooms are alike.

The property is completed by 2,050 sqm of planted private garden, with independent gated access and a century-old magnolia at the entrance.

The location

Via di Sant’Alessio lies on the first green hills west of Pistoia, a quiet residential area just minutes from the historic center, its markets and the medieval Piazza del Duomo. The A11 motorway connects the house to Florence and its airport, while Lucca, Pisa and the Versilia coast are within easy reach. The location offers privacy, greenery and silence without giving up any of the comforts of city life.