The Bookings For You team are incredibly lucky to work with some amazing villa owners and we thought it was about time that we introduced you to some of them! And who better to start with than the Giovannini family.
Like most Italians, the family have an extraordinary passion for food. As a teenager, Terziolo Giaovannini had a dream to build something truly extraordinary in the small town of Volterra in Central Tuscany.
His dream started to become reality after he opened his first pastry shop in Volterra. This shop was nothing fancy. It did not even have seating (with the exception of Sundays when a small folding table was set up) but what it did offer was perfectly crafted pastries typical of the region.
Terziolo was joined in the business by his son, Giancarlo, at just 14 years old. Over the years the father and son perfected their cakes and pastries, introducing more and more of their own creations.
Time passed and Giancarlo grew from a boy to a man, meeting and marrying Fabiola. Giancarlo had a passion to build on and exceed the foundations that his parents had established.
And so Terziolo, Giancarlo and Fabiola opened a new shop together on the main street in Volterra – Dolceria del Corso. This shop remains the oldest shop in Volterra and still has the most highly prized pastries.
Giancarlo and Fabiola proved a perfect match, reinventing the Italian pastry shop by opening a tea room in 1988. And yet again, their secret recipes passed to yet another generation as their son, Dario, joined the family business.Just as Giancarlo and Fabiola were the perfect match, Dario also met the love of his life – Vera. Vera joined the Giovannini team.
And yet again, the business expanded as the family set up a catering and event management company, operating not just in Volterra but throughout Italy and beyond into Germany and France. With countless awards under their belts, the Giovannini family truly are at the very peak of their industry.
In 2015, Bookings For You were proud to start working with the family in promoting their stunning country home. Completely renovated by the family and furnished with vintage pieces, the family home provides a haven of calm with every need provided for by the hosts.
This Tuscany villa also allowed the family to have a base to showcase their culinary talents. All their skills are brought to the fore in the wonderful weddings that they now organise at their property.
With 400 olive trees on the estate, the family now also produce their very own Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Harvesting the olives by hand themselves, the family use the oil for their own catering needs but it was also purchased by the famous German Michelin star restaurant – Speisemeisterei.
If you ask the family what the key to their success is, they will tell you that the answer is simple – they have a hunger in their blood to succeed and to do good within their local community. They use only local fresh ingredients and they source everything locally. They have a pride in the history of their region and of their family. And the latter is the key to it all. Family is everything to them. The two generations mesh together to create a formidable team, constantly reinventing and pushing the boundaries.
As the owner of Bookings For You, I share this love of family. Family also means everything to me. One of the motivations in setting up the business was to provide a way to work flexibly around my family. And now, I love being able to help families all over the world plan what should be one of the most special moments in their year. I really hope that some of you may get to experience a stay at the Giovannini home with your family and friends.
For those who would like to experience a stay at Villa Le Capanne we are pleased to be able to offer 5% discount on any stay at their stunning Relais and Spa. Sleeping up to 22 guests, it’s the perfect size for a family celebration in an absolutely stunning part of Italy.
Please contact us for more information on Villa Le Capanne. For those who are looking to organise an event or celebration, please email us with more details about your stay and we can provide a specific quote.