Our second home is a restored farmhouse surrounded by olive groves in a hamlet on the outskirts of beautiful mediaeval village Monteleone d'Orvieto. The house enjoys beautiful unspoiled views across Tuscany, and has a flower-filled fully-fenced 4,000m2 garden, as well as a private pool that is fenced and gated for security. The pool is not heated, but is regularly cleaned and maintained. The property also includes 6 acres of adjacent olive groves, woodland and fields. On the ground floor there is a large kitchen with a long antique Umbrian farmhouse table, and a traditional fireplace. There is one double bedroom with a handmade Tuscan iron bed and a baby cot, and a twin bedroom. There is a large bathroom with tub. On the first floor there are 2 living rooms, with another traditional large fireplace. The second floor has a double bedroom with beautiful view, again with a handmade Tuscan bed, and a small bedroom with two sets of bunk beds, as well as a bathroom with tub. The views from all floors are onto Umbrian and Tuscan countryside. There is a lovely hammock large enough for all the family under the persimmon tree in the garden. There is a large marble table under the cherry tree for meals in nice weather, and there is a gas-fired barbecue on the patio for outdoor cooking. We have helpful neighbours, but the nearest house is 200m distance and the house/garden/pool are not overlooked.

You need to hire a car to enjoy a holiday here, and there is an unpaved, but maintained, road around 5km long to reach the house. The last section of the road is quite bumpy, but you don't need a 4x4 to drive to the house.

We own the entire building, but only half of it is restored. The habitable part of the house is 200m2 (approx 2000 sqft), on 3 floors.

We prefer to spend our holidays at this little paradise just lazing around in the garden and by the pool, but it is close to all sorts of lovely places like Siena, Florence, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto. You could easily visit a different, memorable, restaurant for every meal, and there are endless opportunities for tasting (and buying!) Tuscan and Umbrian wine. The famously picturesque rolling hills offer all sorts of walking opportunities for the more energetic. The peak of Mount Amiata is a bit more than 1 hour away by car, and is refreshingly cool in the summer, and the place to go for skiing and sledging in the winter. The spa 'Fonteverde' in San Casciano dei Bagni (30 mins drive away) is definitely worth a visit, perhaps to recuperate from retail therapy at the numerous outlets in Tuscany for discounted Italian designer fashion.

Non-simultaneous exchange welcome.

Open to any dates

We are shortly to be posted to Canberra for a few years and we want to explore the country and region.

We are a family of 5. We are living in Brussels in Belgium at the moment, and our exchange house is our Italian home. Sem is an Italian diplomat and Rebecca is a British diplomat. We have lived for extended periods in Beijing, Geneva and Rome. We like the beach, the countryside, travelling, good food, art and history, and doing fun things with our kids. Our 3 sons, aged 10, 8 and 6 like Star Wars, lego, swimming, football, cycling and running around in the garden or the park. They don't much like art or history! We have a pet dog - a golden retriever (but he doesn't usually holiday with us).

We have enjoyed a great exchange to Dubai at Christmas 2010, and an amazing holiday in California in summer 2013, in three exchange houses. It's definitely our favourite way to travel!

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