Driving To Villa Stabbia via the motorway - autostrada
Some detailed driving instructions and general good advice ....First of all - Always remember to take a ticket when you enter the motorway - even if the gates are open. If you arrive at the toll paying point without a ticket, they will ask you to pay, as though you came from Sicily or the most northern border...... something you only do once!
Driving from Rome Fiumicino airportRome Airport to Villa Stabbia
Distance 356 km and normally take just over 3 hours to drive. It is pretty straight forward getting from Rome to here and once on the motorway. From the Fiumicino airport, you need to take the Fiumicino/Rome motorway towards the GRA ring road. Once you reach this, you basically have to get to the other side of Rome, so follow the ring road round. It is slightly shorter to take the northern route round, but if you happen to take the other - no problem. When you see an exit towards Florence, the A1 motorway (believe it is exit number 10), then follow the A1 motorway until just before Florence. Just around Florence you will see signs for the A11 motorway towards Pisa (Pisa et Mare), this is the one to take. When you finally reach the Montecatini Terme exit - you leave the motorway and follow the indications on the map below.
Driving from Milan airports - two routes
Milan Airports to Villa Stabbia
Via Route 1, the distance is 385 km and normally takes around 3 hours
and 30 min to drive.
Via Route 2, the distance is about 360 km and takes more or less the same
time due to the mountains. Route 1: Follow the Milan ring-road south (tangenziale) until you
see a sign for the A1 south, towards Bologne and then Florence. Just outside
Florence, you will see signs for Pisa et Mare - the A11. You need to take this
for about 20 min before you see the exit for
Montecatini Terme and here you leave the motorway.
Route 2:
Again Follow the Milan ring-road south (tangenziale) until you see a sign for the A1 south.
After around 100km, just before Parma you should find an exit for A15,
towards La Spezia. This is a slightly mountainous route with only 2 lanes, but
the trucks try to avoid it hence it is usually faster - and prettier to look at. Stay
on the A15 right for around 100km until you see signs for Livorno / Pisa / Lucca - the A12 going south.
Follow this south (NOT towards Genova) until you see signs for Lucca / Florence
- the A11. Take this road and stay until the exit for Montecatini Terme
At Montecatini Terme exit, leave the motorway and follow the indications on
the map below.
Driving from Pisa airport
Pisa Airport to Villa Stabbia
Distance 65 km and normally takes around 50 min to drive.
When you exit Pisa airport drive towards Genova -
NOT FLORENCE initially. They made a route straight to Florence
some years ago, but it goes too far south for being a useful route to us.
It has blue signs. So towards Genova on the A12 motorway (autostrada - green sign).
Once you are on the A12, follow the sign for Genova, but as soon as you see a
turnoff for Florence /Lucca/A11 - take this.
Once you are on the A11 - stay there for quite a while, pass by Lucca
and don't exit before you see the Montecatini Terme exit.
Here - you leave the motorway and follow the indications on the map below.
Driving from Florence airport
Florence Airport to Villa Stabbia
Distance 50 km and normally takes around 40 min to drive.
This is very straight forward.
When you exit the car park at Florence airport turn right towards the A11 motorway (autostrada - green sign).
Once you are on the A11, stay there for quite a while, pass by Pistoia
and don't exit before you see the Montecatini Terme exit.
Here - you leave the motorway and follow the indications on the map below.
Driving from Torino
Rome Airport to Villa Stabbia
Distance 356 km and normally take just over 3 hours to drive.
If coming from Torino, the route to avoid is via Savona - it is the oldest motorway in Italy.
The best route would probably be via Alessandria, Genova, La Spezia, Carrara, Viareggio and Lucca.
The autostrada to follow would be the A21 to Alessandria, then the A26 and A10 to Genova,
then A12 until a sign for Florence / Lucca/ A11. This is the A11 which takes you
straight to Montecatini Terme exit. To reach Villa Stabbia - follow the
indications on the map below.
So - What if the GPS shows to exit from the A11 at Chiesina Uzzanese
instead of Montecatini Terme.
Indeed the exit at Chiesina Uzzanese is closer to us (if coming from Lucca/Pisa/Torino/A12 - not from Florence). However it is not quite as straight forward as from Montecatini Terme.... anyway
If you exit at Chiesina Uzzanese turn left into the main road just after having paid the toll and around 50m down the road you will meet the first round-about - take the last exit towards Uzzano. Follow the signs for
"Borgo a Buggiano". The road winds quite a bit, but stay on the road until you get to a T-junction. You should have just passed first a castle on your left and then a church on your right, now facing a small bar.
At the T-junction, turn left and take the 2. exit at the up-coming round-about going towards Pistoia. At the next (and
still in making) round-about, take the 2. exit towards Montacatini Terme. You have now entered the commune of
"Massa e Cozzile".
Again the road winds quite a bit, but stay on it. It will take you
through a round-about (with Coop on the right) and under a bridge with train-tracks. Stay on the road until you reach the
next round-about. Although there has been signs before for Massa and Cozzile, don't turn left before you get to this
round-about (or you will take the looong tour round).
There are three olive trees in the middle of the round-about.
As mentioned - take last exit to the left and you are now leaving "Margina Coperta" and are on the Provinciale SP 29 in the north direction - again the road winds a bit, but stay on it. After 700 m or so (half a mile) after the round-about with the olive trees, there is another small round-about. Take the last exit, and follow the road. After crossing a small bridge, 200 m further down the road, you should now see a gate on your right with the sign of Agriturismo Villa Stabbia. All you need to do now is ring the bell!
