• 1: Home
• 2: the mill house
  • 2.1: inside the mill
  • 2.2: history
  • 2.3: the estate
  • 2.4: the year at carletti
• 3: the locality
  • 3.1: nearby
• 4: things to do
  • 4.1: hill walking
  • 4.2: rural activities
  • 4.3: winter breaks
• 5: visiting and booking
  • 5.1: seasonal rates
  • 5.2: contact us
  • 5.3: planning your journey

the estate

Mulino Carletti is surrounded by kilometers of wooded slopes. A substantial tract belongs to the Mill – about 16 hectares of mixed forest. This makes a wonderful resource – a place to wander and wonder, full of variety, from the valley bottom beside the splashing water, to the high ground with its wonderful views of the mountains.

general description

The estate stretches half a kilometer south along one side of the valley, where it is traversed by three charming mountain streams in the wetter times of the year. An old footpath runs the length of the property, continuing on to traverse the next valley and eventually link to the old Barga-Renaio road. Behind the house, to the northwest, the property continues a couple of hundred meters round the curve of the Segaccia valley. The path in this direction rises quickly to some 80m above the river and continues in the general direction of Renaio, though there is an early branch in the path leading back down to an old (no longer passable) brdge near the spring. That path leads back up to a house called La Ceritella, from where there are routes Col di Bachionero and to Monte Giovo.

the woodlands

dominated by beech woods. There are also oak, box, thorn, and other trees scattered through the forest. A number of areas are terraced and were once cultivated, though the majority of the land is too steep, and was managed mainly for charcoal production. Go a hundred meters in any direction, and you will find a charcoal-burning platform. These are flat areas, often semicircular, supported by dry stone retaining walls, on which the charcoal burners used to prepare their fires.

flora and fauna

After 40 years of disuse, the estate today is, in effect, a private nature conservancy. It is a beautiful area to wander and explore with a rich variety of fauna and flora. There are deer, pocupines, wild boar, mice and other small mamals including the ghiri, a squirrel-like rodent that is in fact a variety of dormouse. Everywhere, there are small lizards which particularly love to prowl the walls of the house, and in autumn, brightly coloured salamanders and enormous slugs appear. There are also grass snakes and a few vipers.

We are beginning to clear the trees that have taken over the terraces and fields. This is bringing back a more diverse ecology, and the bird population is increasing, as is the variety and number of butterflies and, of course, other insects. The butterflies are prominent from April to October, and are often regarded as a sign of good air quality. Another indicator of air quality is lichens, and in the vicinity of the Mill, lichens certainly abound. A constant source of delight are the wild flowers, which are also benefitting from the re-creation of clearings in the forest. There are wild flowers almost all the year round – excepting only the snowy months of January and February.