We loved everything. The house, including the kitchen and bathrooms, is beautiful. It looks just like we imagined a Tuscan villa would look. The real deal. It is very nicely decorated and the bed linens, towels and kitchen items were all very nice. The two upstairs bedrooms are air-conditioned. The downstairs bedroom is not. However, the room stayed relatively cool because the house is made of stone. (And we were there in the heat of August.) The property is beautiful - very private and quiet. The pool area is pretty and the pool is refreshing. It is definitely large enough for a family of five to play around in. At night you can light it up and it's so gorgeous. Plenty of lounge chairs surround the pool and plenty of beach towels are provided. The outdoor dining area was so pretty.
We met the owners at check in and they were lovely. They are very kind people who really wanted us to enjoy the home and the village of Aquilea. They gave us wine and a sweet bread and told us about two cool things going on that week in the village: pizza night at the bar and the church's festival. We went to the church festival and ate dinner and it was fantastic. We had grilled meats, tomato salad, zuppa (a local soup recipe, so good!) and wine and dessert. Everyone in the village was helping. It was awesome to experience part of the village's customs first hand.
Aquilea is just outside Lucca. Lucca feels like Florence on a smaller scale. The city is close enough to zip in and spend time there and feel like you're part of the action. However, the village is far enough away and up the mountain that you can also have peace and quiet on your vacation.
We drove to Florence and to other little towns close by too. Driving in Tuscany is not too crazy and places are pretty easy to find as long as you have GPS.
We also stayed in the Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome on this trip. The scenery is so beautiful, the food so fresh, the people so helpful. All of it is hard to properly describe. Tuscany is just fantastic. It is almost impossible to pick a favorite part of our vacation. If we had to choose, it would be our stay in Aquilea at the villa!