The Oratory of Pieve a Maiano

The oratory is a small jewel of rural Tuscan baroque: a single nave in pietra serena under a pitched roof, a simple white facade, and two centuries-old cypresses standing guard. Inside, the main altar is graced by original frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Sant'Antonio Abate, and the gilded Marian monogram floats on the vault as it has for three hundred years.

The chapel is still consecrated and we celebrate Mass there once a year, on the patronal feast. The rest of the time it is a quiet little oasis: guests staying at Casa Borgogni receive the key and may visit at any hour. We also lend it for small celebrations — intimate weddings, baptisms, family anniversaries.

It is a place that, in its few square metres, tells the kind of Tuscany we look for: slowness, stone, simple faith, and a beauty that doesn't raise its voice.