Last verified: October 6, 2026. I read every price below on the farm’s own price list, and every rule and figure on the law, the regional act, the court ruling or the ISTAT report I name, linked where it first appears. Most farms don’t put a year on their price lists, so I say which ones do. I re-check the prices and rules every month.
An agriturismo in Italy is a working farm licensed to host guests, and by law farming has to stay its main business. That’s the short answer to “what is an agriturismo”. The part most guides skip is the bill. The farm’s website says “€45”, you book for two, and the bill says €90, plus €5 in tourist tax, in cash.
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Plenty of farms price per person, not per room. Some sell only full weeks in summer, and many want a deposit up front. None of that is hidden. It’s just never in the photos.
So I read 18 farms’ own price lists, from the Val d’Orcia to Sicily, and the law that decides what can call itself an agriturismo. This guide covers what you get, what it costs, how to spot a real farm and how booking works. For hotels, B&Bs and rentals, see my guide to where to stay in Italy.
Key Takeaways
- An agriturismo is a licensed working farm; farming must stay its main business (Law 96/2006).
- On the 16 of 18 farms whose price includes breakfast, two people paid a median €91 a night in low season and €122 in high (15 farms).
- Expect a two-night minimum, a full week at some farms in summer, a deposit if the farm asks (usually 30% to 50%) and a car.
Table of Contents
What Is an Agriturismo in Italy?
An agriturismo is hospitality run by a farmer on their own farm, linked to the farming, under Law 96/2006 (Normattiva). In 2024 Italy had 26,360 authorised agriturismi, and 21,449 of them had rooms (ISTAT, Le aziende agrituristiche in Italia, anno 2024, March 2026).
The word joins agricoltura and turismo. The plural is agriturismi, and you say it ah-gree-too-REEZ-mo. In English it’s a farm stay.
The law is stricter than the word sounds. Only a registered farmer can run one. The staff are the farmer, the family and employees, with outside firms allowed only for extra services. Meals must be made mainly from the farm’s own produce and from farms nearby. Article 9 reserves the name for farms the region has authorised.
What isn’t an agriturismo? A villa rental in the hills, a countryside B&B, or a “country resort” with a vineyard view. They may be lovely. They aren’t farms, and the rules below don’t bind them.
There’s a twist almost nobody mentions. The 2006 law first set national limits on guests and on how much food had to come from the farm. Italy’s Constitutional Court struck those out in 2007, in ruling 339/2007, so each region now writes its own. That’s why one region allows a bigger farm than the next.
| Agriturismo | Country B&B | Hotel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | A licensed farmer, family and staff | A household in its own home | A business, graded by stars |
| Food | Often dinner from the farm; about half serve meals | Breakfast only | Breakfast, sometimes a restaurant |
| Two people with breakfast | Median €91 to €122 on 16 farms | Varies | €75 three-star, €176 four-star average |
| Minimum stay | Often 2 nights; a week at some in summer | Varies | Varies |
| Car | Almost always needed | Depends | Depends |
| Tourist tax and CIN | Tax where the town charges; CIN required | Same | Same |
The hotel figures are average room rates for the second quarter of 2026 (Trademark Italia, via Travelnostop, August 2026). They’re averages per room, breakfast not always included, so treat the comparison as a rough guide. The farm figures come from the farms’ own price lists, read in October 2026.
How Much Does an Agriturismo Cost?
On the 16 farms whose price includes breakfast, two people paid a median €91 a night in low season and €122 in high. That works out at about €45 to €60 each. The cheapest was €50 a room in Umbria and the dearest €225 at a Puglia masseria. I read each price on the farm’s own price list in October 2026.
The table below has all 18. Where a farm prices per person, I doubled it for two. Six lists carry a year: Volta di Sacco (2026), Masseria Camarda and Fohlenhof (2026/27), La Solfarola (2025 to 2026), Ca’ de’ Gatti, which lists its 2026 closures, and Cascina Sondrea, which still shows its summer 2025 rates. The other 12 are live lists with no year on them.
| Farm | Town, region | Low season, € | High season, € | What the price covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volta di Sacco | Grosseto, Maremma (Tuscany) | 85 | 125 | Room, 2026 list |
| La Fonte | Pienza, Val d’Orcia (Tuscany) | 170 | 170 | Two-person flat with breakfast |
| Belagaggio | Montefollonico, Siena (Tuscany) | 140 | 170 | Room |
| Patrizia Falciani | Greve in Chianti (Tuscany) | 60* | 95* | Flat, no breakfast |
| La Solfarola | Massa Martana (Umbria) | 50 | 50 | Room, 2025 to 2026 list |
| Qui e Ora | Bevagna (Umbria) | 90 | 90 | Room |
| Agriturismi Farina | Castiglione del Lago (Umbria) | 70 | 110 | Flat with breakfast |
| Schadnerhof | Deutschnofen (South Tyrol) | 94 | 122 | €47 to €61 per person |
| Kamaunhof | Kastelruth (South Tyrol) | 80 | 100 | €40 to €50 per person |
| Fohlenhof | Laas (South Tyrol) | 90* | 95* | Room, breakfast extra, 2026/27 list |
| Masseria Camarda | Ceglie Messapica (Puglia) | 185 | 225 | Room, 2026/27 list |
| Masseria Montecchie | Ceglie Messapica (Puglia) | 100 | 125 | Room, June or September vs July or August |
| Monaco di Mezzo | Petralia Sottana (Sicily) | 92 | 112 | €46 to €56 per person |
| Sicilia di Vendicari | Near Noto (Sicily) | 110 | 150 | €55 to €75 per person, with the €5 breakfast |
| Ca’ de’ Gatti | Brisighella (Emilia-Romagna) | 85 | 105 | Room; the smallest is €65 |
| Cascina Sondrea | Sinio, Langhe (Piedmont) | 150 | 160 | Room, summer 2025 list |
| Al Colle | Cavaion Veronese (Veneto) | 80 | 110 | Room |
| Il Caravanserraglio | Serrapetrona (Marche) | 90 | Weekly flats only | €45 per person, outside July and August |
*No breakfast included, so these two stay out of the medians.
So why does the same farm look cheap on one site and dear on the next? Three things trip people up. First, read the basis. “€47” at Schadnerhof is per person, so a couple pays €94. Second, breakfast isn’t always in. Vendicari charges €5 a head and Falciani offers none. Third, some farms price by the length of stay. Cascina Sondrea charges €150 to €160 for one to three nights and €125 to €135 for a week or more.
Is a farm cheaper than a hotel? Against a four-star, yes. Against a three-star, no. The dearest farm on my list is a Puglia masseria, and I price masserie against trulli in my guide to trulli hotels in Puglia. For what the rest of a trip costs, see my Italy trip cost breakdown.
Is Dinner Included, and Is Half Board Worth It?
Not always. In 2024 only 49.7% of Italy’s agriturismi served meals, and 45% of the farms with rooms did (ISTAT, 2024). So half the farms you look at won’t cook for you. Of my 18, only 5 published a half-board price. It added €20 to €55 per person to bed and breakfast.
On the page, it looks like this. La Solfarola in Umbria adds €25 a head, with drinks included. Belagaggio in Montefollonico, in the province of Siena, adds €55, with a Tuscan menu, red wine, water and coffee. Monaco di Mezzo in the Madonie mountains of Sicily charges €79 to €89 per person for half board. Il Caravanserraglio in the Marche says outright it offers none.
Dinner at a farm isn’t a restaurant meal. It’s usually a fixed menu at a fixed hour. La Fonte in Pienza serves dinner from 7 to 9 pm, opens for Saturday lunch, closes on Sunday, and serves breakfast only from 8:30 to 9:30. Monaco di Mezzo brings the courses in order: antipasti, pasta, a main with vegetables, dessert, fruit, an amaro and coffee.
Is half board worth it? I’d take it at any farm that offers it. Check on the map how far the nearest trattoria is, because nobody wants to drive a country road back after the wine. Tell the farm about allergies or a gluten-free diet when you book, not at the table.
In Tuscany, guests aren’t the only ones at the table. The regional law lets farms serve people who aren’t staying, so you may share the room with a Sunday lunch crowd. A farm dinner pairs well with a day of wine tasting in Tuscany, Piedmont or Sicily, and some farms teach too. My guide to cooking classes in Italy covers the farm lunch class.
How Can You Tell a Real Working Farm?
Check five things: the CIN code, the sunflower grade, what the farm produces, the menu and the regional register. Only authorised farms may use the name “agriturismo” under Law 96/2006. Since November 2, 2024 every agriturismo also needs a national ID code, the CIN, shown outside and on every listing (Regione Lombardia, CIN notice).
- The CIN. It comes from Decree-Law 145/2023, article 13-ter, and covers hotels and every other kind of licensed stay (Normattiva). Existing places had until January 1, 2025. Three of my 18 farms print it on their price page. For the rest, ask for it. For more on what the code proves, see my guide to Italy’s Airbnb rules.
- The sunflowers. A 2013 agriculture ministry decree created a national grade of one to five girasoli, sunflowers. Tuscany has required it since 2018, under the regulation that applies its regional law. In the Marche grid, three sunflowers need a private bathroom in every room, and points count for a coeliac menu, a pool, bikes and an owner living on site. Ask whether the farm’s region uses it.
- What the farm makes. Wine, oil, cheese, Speck, fruit, honey: 10 of my 18 farms name theirs on the pages I read. A “farm” that names no crop is a question to ask.
- The menu. Tuscany’s rules make farms say which foods on the menu are their own and where the rest come from.
- The region. Each region keeps the list of authorised farms. Your host can tell you their authorisation number.
One honest caveat. Not one of my 18 farms shows its sunflower grade on its price page. In Tuscany, look on site instead: regulation 46/R, which applies the regional law, makes farms fix the agriturismo plate at the guest entrance and display their sunflower requirements where guests can see them.
So which questions settle it? Ask what the farm grows, and whether dinner uses it. A real agriturismo in Italy answers both without a pause.
Do You Need a Car for an Agriturismo?
Almost always. In 2024, 84% of Italy’s agriturismi were in hill or mountain country: 53.6% in the hills and 30.7% in the mountains (ISTAT, 2024). Check whether any bus stops near the farm before you book, and expect the last stretch to be a country road. Plan on a rental car for the countryside leg.
The car has upsides. Parking is free, and you’re miles from the nearest ZTL, the restricted traffic zones that fine drivers in old town centres. Dinner at the farm also means nobody has to drive after the wine.
Can you do it without a car? Only if the farm sorts it out for you. If you don’t drive, ask the host how car-free guests arrive before you book, and get the answer in writing.
Before you rent, read my guide to ZTL zones, tolls and fines. Then keep the city nights car-free. My guide to getting around Italy has the trains that link the two.
What Are the Booking Rules: Minimum Stays, Deposits and Cancellation?
Two nights is a common minimum, and 5 of my 18 farms ask for a week-long stay for some or all units, mostly in summer. Where a farm states a deposit, it’s 30% to 50% of the bill or a fixed sum. Cancellation windows run from 7 days to 5 months. In 2024 foreign guests stayed an average of 4.2 nights, against 3.0 for Italians (ISTAT, 2024).
The week rule bites hardest. Volta di Sacco sells weeks from July 18 to August 23. La Fonte asks for weeks from May to September, shorter on request. Il Caravanserraglio lets only weekly flats in July and August. Ca’ de’ Gatti’s flats run Saturday to Saturday. Fohlenhof in South Tyrol sets a seven-night minimum.
Deposits come in three shapes. Four farms want a share of the bill when you book: 30% at Belagaggio and Ca’ de’ Gatti. Al Colle asks 50% and Cascina Sondrea a third. Two South Tyrol farms take a fixed sum: €100 a unit at Kamaunhof and €300 to €700 at Fohlenhof. Il Caravanserraglio takes a €200 refundable security deposit. La Fonte takes no deposit and holds your card. Ca’ de’ Gatti wants the balance by transfer 20 days before you arrive.
Cancellation terms vary the most. Qui e Ora in Umbria lets you cancel free up to 7 days before. La Fonte gives you 60 days. At Kamaunhof and Fohlenhof in South Tyrol the free window closes four to five months out, the full price is due inside four weeks, and Kamaunhof recommends Roter Hahn’s cancellation insurance. Masseria Camarda keeps the deposit if you cancel within 45 days.
Should you book direct? Booking direct is how I read these terms. My guide to where to stay in Italy compares whether to book direct or through a platform.
Which Region Is Best for a Farm Stay?
Tuscany for a first trip, South Tyrol for mountains, Umbria for value and Sicily for something newer. Tuscany has 5,274 agriturismi with rooms, about a quarter of Italy’s, and took 28.1% of all guests in 2024. But its new licences fell from 406 in 2022 to 219 in 2024, which ISTAT puts down to saturation (ISTAT, 2024).
Where should a first-timer start? Tuscany. The Val d’Orcia, Chianti and the Maremma are the classic farm stays, and among the dearest on my list. On my list, La Fonte in Pienza charges €170 a night and Volta di Sacco in the Maremma €85 to €125. I’d spend two or three nights at a farm on my five-day Tuscany itinerary beyond Florence. For the city nights first, see where to stay in Florence.
South Tyrol. The province of Bolzano has 2,944 farms with rooms, the most after Tuscany, and all three I read belong to the Roter Hahn farm-stay label. Schadnerhof raises cattle and pigs, Fohlenhof grows fruit, and the two that publish terms want cancellations four to five months out. Pair one with my Dolomites travel guide.
Umbria. It has 1,274 farms with rooms, and the cheapest bed and breakfast on my list: €50 for two at La Solfarola.
Piedmont, Puglia and Sicily. In the Langhe, Cascina Sondrea sits among vineyards and hazelnut groves. Puglia’s dearest farms are masserie; see my Puglia travel guide. Sicily’s farms grew 8.9% in 2024; my Sicily itinerary shows where they fit. My guide to where to stay in Italy maps all the regions in one chart.
Italy as a whole kept growing. It had 21,744 agriturismi in 2014 and 26,360 in 2024, up 21.2% (ISTAT, Tav. 2). Guests rose 4.3% in 2024 to 4.7 million, and 54.8% of them came from abroad. Americans are part of that: Coldiretti, the farmers’ association, estimates that 135,000 of them slept at an agriturismo in 2024 (Coldiretti, June 2025).
Kids, Pets, Winter and Tax: What Else Should You Know?
Children under three or four stay free at 8 of the 18 farms I read, and 8 of the 18 take pets, 6 of them for a fee. The tourist tax runs about €0.90 to €2.70 per person a night where the town charges one. Some farms close in winter.
Kids. Monaco di Mezzo takes 35% off for children up to eight. Masseria Camarda charges €35 a night from age four. Pools are common: 11 of my 18 farms list one. Ask whether it’s fenced if your children are small.
Pets. Ca’ de’ Gatti charges €5 a day or €26 a week for a dog and keeps a vet on site. Belagaggio charges €10 a night, Masseria Camarda €30 a week and Fohlenhof €15 to €20 a night. Schadnerhof and La Fonte take them free, though La Fonte bills any damage. Three of my 18 ban pets, and seven don’t say.
Tax. The tourist tax covers every kind of licensed stay, farms included, under Legislative Decree 23/2011 (Normattiva). Only some towns may charge it: provincial capitals, unions of towns and the towns on their region’s list of tourist or art towns. San Gimignano is one, and it charges €2.50 per person per night in agriturismi, with nothing after the fifth night or for under-14s (Comune di San Gimignano). A week for two costs €25. Bring cash: La Fonte and Al Colle collect it on departure. See my Italy tourist tax guide for other towns.
Winter. Ca’ de’ Gatti closed for January and February 2026, and Falciani opens only from March to November. Schadnerhof in South Tyrol stays open all year. Heating can cost extra: €5 a day at Volta di Sacco and €10 to €15 at Fohlenhof. For the best months, see when to visit Italy.
Agriturismo in Italy: FAQ
What does agriturismo mean in English?
It means a farm stay. The Italian word joins agricoltura and turismo, and the plural is agriturismi. Under Law 96/2006, only a licensed farmer can run one, and farming must stay the main business. Italy had 26,360 authorised agriturismi in 2024, and 21,449 of them had rooms (ISTAT).
Is an agriturismo cheaper than a hotel?
Roughly, it’s cheaper than a four-star and dearer than a three-star. On the 16 farms whose price includes breakfast, two people paid a median €91 a night in low season and €122 in high. Italian hotels averaged €75 at three stars and €176 at four in the second quarter of 2026 (Trademark Italia).
Can you stay at an agriturismo for just one night?
Sometimes, outside summer. Two nights is a common minimum on the farms I read, and 5 of 18 ask for a week-long stay for some or all units, mostly in summer. A farm that takes one night may add a short-stay supplement. Fohlenhof in South Tyrol adds €10 to €20.
Do agriturismi serve dinner?
About half do. In 2024, 49.7% of Italy’s agriturismi served meals, and 45% of those with rooms did (ISTAT). Where dinner exists, it’s usually a fixed menu at a set hour. Half board added €20 to €55 per person on the farms I read.
Do you need a car to stay at an agriturismo?
In most cases, yes. In 2024, 84% of Italy’s farm stays were in hill or mountain areas (ISTAT), so check for a bus stop before you book. If you don’t drive, ask the host how guests arrive before you book. The upside of driving is free parking and no ZTL fines.
The Bottom Line
An agriturismo in Italy is a farm first, and the booking terms show it. Read the price basis, check the summer week rule and plan for a car, and a farm stay can beat a four-star hotel on price.
- Price: a median €91 to €122 a night for two with breakfast on 16 farms. Check whether it’s per person.
- Dinner: only about half of farms serve it. Half board adds €20 to €55 a head.
- Rules: often two nights minimum, a week at some farms in summer, a deposit of 30% to 50% where one is asked.
- Real farm: ask for the CIN and what the farm grows.
- Car: you’ll need one. Have cash for the tourist tax.
Start with the countryside leg of my Tuscany itinerary, then book the city nights with my guide to where to stay in Italy. For a long lunch without the overnight, see things to do in Italy. For Puglia’s farmhouse hotels, see masserie and trulli in Puglia.
