ABOUT

Welcome to agriturismo and glamping Pereti, a little corner of paradise in Maremma, Toscana. We are very happy you found us here.

Our amazing story enfolded shortly after Gaia met his future wife Maitreyi in 2011 in Sri Lanka. At the time we both lived in our homeland, the Czech Republic. We had our work there, families, friends, as well as all social, economic and other ties. Gaia, who worked in the USA for 20 years as a music conductor, had now started his new investment company in Prague, and Maitreyi ran her production agency. It only seemed logical that our lives would continue in Prague.

After several long months of fruitless search for our new home, which we wanted to be near Prague while also surrounded by nature, I had asked my wife Maitreyi: “Could you envision more a life we want to live rather than the house we want to buy?” She closed her eyes and started dreaming:

“I see a warm place with plenty of sunlight, natural beaches, warm weather a year around. I see a peaceful place in the midst of rolling hills, I see our family in close connection with nature. I see our own organic vegetable garden and organic fruit trees. I also imagine a small bed & breakfast so we could share our dream with others.”

These words made it immediately clear to me, why we could not find our home in Prague! I responded without hesitation: “I love your dream! Let’s live it.” Let’s raise our children in a place where they would be surrounded by nature, and where we could make wise choices for their future”. When I asked Maitreyi whether she could see a specific location of her dream, she responded: “It’s a warm place near the sea. I see southern Europe, perhaps Italy”. When I suggested Tuscany, she responded: “Yes!”

The same day we told our closest family that we are moving to Tuscany. My mother was laughing in disbelief, Maitreyi’s mother was angry.

How could we dare to leave them? How could we think of such a silly idea? “You don’t not even speak their language, and know nothing about farming, not to mention rental business.” In her view, but not just hers, we were out of our mind. And she was probably right. But we were also deeply in love and nobody could shake that, and nobody could therefore take our vision away.

It took only few weeks to get organized and plan our first trip from Prague to Tuscany. We rented a small apartment in Scarlino near Follonica, and immediately started looking for a real estate agent. I remember walking from one agency to another until we finally found someone who could speak English - our first angel on our joureny, a real estate agent by the name of Maurizio. When we told Maurizio about our dream he listened attentively, and said immediately that he knew of such a special place. It was Agriturismo Pereti, which had been for sale for several years.

When we found out the price, however, we told Maurizio to please forget it. It was way beyond our reach. But for some reason, Maurizio insisted, and said we should at least look at it. We visited the place the next day.

The owner, by the name of Frances, who was from Scotland, asked us we wanted to see the house first, or rather the surrounding land. We knew that the energy of the land would determine everything, so we started our excursion of the gardens. We were introduced to the many ornamental and fruit trees, and finally we walked around the olive groves.

The feeling was very positive from the start. However, when we reached the young olive grove, at a precise spot where the current tepee stands overlooking the lake of Montemassi and the village of Roccatederighi, we were sold. When Frances turned away, Maitreyi whispered to my ears: “This is it!” She was absorbed by the views of this pristine land, and by the overwhelming vortex of healing energy.

We finished our visit and told Frances, we loved her place, but it was beyond our budget. We were not in a position to make even an offer. We wished her well and left.

She called the next day and asked about our budget. We told her, and she said: ok! Few weeks later we found ourselves using google translator to understand contracts we were about to sign. Two months later, we hired a truck, and said good bye to our family and friends. Our dream became a reality!

Maitreyi had already expected our first child Adam when we were moving, so we needed to start the renovation as soon as possible. The house was neglected for many years, and was in a deplorable state.

. Soon we learned the hard way that to renovate an old house is much more difficult than building a new one. With an Italian dictionary in hand, and construction workers on site, we started a long adventure to complete the renovation of the heating system, electricity, plumbing, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms, bedroom, swimming pool and much more. We installed new solar panels, new heating system, and we changed the chlorine swimming pool system into an ecological salt water system.

Shortly after we finished, Elena was born in 2016. We were now a family of four, plus a dog, cat, and a handful of chickens.

Already during the house renovations, I had a vision of constructing alternative and unique housing options for our guests. After all, we live in a pristine countryside. Why renting only comfortable apartments, of which there are thousands all around?

Ritenni che un’eccezionale alternativa alle stanze tradizionali poteva essere il tipico tepee nordamericano e la yurta (ora Yurta Stella). Poco tempo dopo che queste due costruzioni entrarono a far parte del nostro agriturismo, prese forma l’idea di un carro zingaro (Carovana Gipsy). L’anno dopo costruimmo il nostro Duomo geodetico, nominato Pereti Dome, dove organizziamo i nostri eventi e seminari. Un’altra costruzione è stata quella della Casa delle streghe, che Gaia ha realizzato con il suo amico francese Galien. L’ultima creazione per il momento è stata la nostra seconda yurta (Yurta Luna), che abbiamo ideato con gli amici Tomáš della Cechia e Samir dalla Colombia.

In fall of 2019, shortly before the strange covid era, I met Teresa, a photographer and blogger from Grosseto, who was looking for a place to celebrate a birthday. It was she who told Gaia that, in fact, we are more than agriturismo, and that we need to promote ourselves as glamping! This is how we discovered a word that stands for “glamorous camping”, and a word, which we came to understand only after our glamping was already in place.

Today, we continue to dream our dream of this special land. Gaia is preparing to build a tree house sometimes the next year, while also acknowledging that the most immediate challenge is not to work more but to learn to work less while enjoying more time with the family, and while dedicating more time to yoga and meditation on the path to freedom.

Both Gaia and Maitreyi are disciples of Yogananda, one of the great avatars of the last century, and the author of the best selling book: An autobiography of a Yogi. A few years ago they “accidently” met an Austrian friend Norbu, who inspired them to visit a center called Ananda near Assisi, founded by the direct disciple of Yogananda, swami Kriyananda. This is where they found their spiritual home.

Welcome at Pereti, friends. Come and enjoy our little paradise with us. Come and experience the profound peace of this land. Come with no expectations, and you may be pleasantly surprised. Come to share rather than to take. If you expect perfection, you will be disappointed. We make mistakes. Our place is not about perfection, comfort and luxury, even though the world “glamping” may suggest that. Our aim is not to give you an impression of a 5 star hotel, but rather an opportunity to stay in a 5 star setting, nurtured by honesty and love.

This is my prayer for you: If you lost your inner peace in the midst of your work, city or family life, may you find it again. If your soul yearns for fulfilment, may our home inspire you to find it again. If you want just to rest and be, may you find that, which you seek.

Peace, Gaia and Maitreyi

Call Now Button
×