This approximately 300-year-old natural-stone house, featuring a beautiful garden, a balcony, and a magnificent loggia, is located in the small village of Artò, in the province of Madonna del Sasso, in Piedmont. Artò is located about a half-hour walk downhill (2.5–3 km) from the nearest boat dock, Pella, in the hills above Lake Orta at an elevation of 634 meters on its wooded western shore. It is a very old and quiet little village with many natural stone houses and narrow alleys lined with river pebbles. All you can hear is birdsong and the murmur of small waterfalls in the wooded ravines on both sides of the village. By car, however, you can reach a very beautiful beach with a swimming pier on the romantic Lake Orta in just a few minutes.
The house has a living area of 105 square meters plus a 30-square-meter loggia and a 220-square-meter garden, and is located right in the center of the small village. It is a very old house with an authentic patina (freshly painted houses await guests in abundance elsewhere ;o)) and plenty of charm—a home that is loved, well-maintained, and kept clean. Everything is dry, watertight, and well-equipped, but it hasn’t been completely renovated to German standards—no wall or beam is straight, no two windows are the same size, and the ancient beam ceilings are gradually reclaimed by little cobwebs over time. You need to know and appreciate this before renting! :o) There’s a kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, three bedrooms—each with two to three beds or sleeping arrangements—one of which has an en suite bathroom, a bathroom with a tub and washing machine next to the kitchen, and another restroom halfway up the outdoor staircase. There’s also this beautiful, shaded loggia with a view over the garden, the old village, and the surrounding forests and hills. During the cooler seasons, the house heats up well, and the large open fireplace in the living room is another real highlight! The garden area in front of the house gets afternoon sun, and at the back of the house there’s a balcony with a small table that catches the morning sun (and offers a view of the two turtles in the neighbor’s garden). A little oasis where you can relax, take a breather, and listen to the birds—or, if you’re lucky, admire the huge native butterflies. For home entertainment, it’s best to bring your own TV stick—there’s also a satellite dish for the TV, but it tends to get overgrown by climbing plants. Even when the sun isn’t shining—when thick fog hangs in the trees in the fall, snow covers the ground in the winter, clouds drift along the ravines next to the house, and the streams in the forest thunder toward the valley—the forests and the lake are always beautiful, and inside the house, it’s truly unbeatably cozy!