OUR AGENCY |Cortona, Tuscany
AF Travel Ideas tour operator is born from the will of providing our guests with a modern and complete vacation planning service, taking care of every single aspect on one hand: starting from booking the perfect accommodation or the possibility to enjoy some of the activities and experiences our agency proposes, to the handling and resolving of any problem or issue that may arise during your stay. On the other hand, AF Travel is committed to become a leading partner to our affiliate tourist facilities, guaranteeing them visibility, professional advice, strategic networking and specific services. Our deep love and knowledge of our beautiful country plus our expertise in the tourism sector and hospitality are at the base of our daily work and make of us a valuable company. We personally create and choose every single tourist product proposed in order to offer our guests unique and enchanting travel experiences.
Our company is based in Cortona, one of the major tourist cities in Tuscany (Italy), boasting century of history and offering its visitors a variety of artistic, cultural, wine and culinary attractions. Moreover Cortona, overlooking the entire Valdichiana valley and in a strategic geographical position, is a perfect starting point to reach and discover Florence, Siena, Assisi, Rome, the Tuscan coast and its beaches or the Abetone with its ski slopes in less than 2 hours.
AF Travel Ideas manages two main activities to follow you in every step of your holiday planning: holiday rentals specialized portal offering high level accommodating solutions for your holidays in Tuscany and dedicated, thematic and experiential tours and complementary activities.
Tours, Experiences & Services
Amazing itineraries and tailored private tours led by local expert guides
Holiday Villas & Apartments
Hand picked private villas with pool and charming apartments for rent in the heart of Tuscany
OUR STORY It started on the steps of Theatre Signorelli in Cortona.
The story of AF Travel Ideas began before the company itself existed.
About a year and a half before we opened our doors, Angela and Federica attended a conference on innovation at Teatro Signorelli, in the heart of Cortona. Walking out of the theatre that morning, they stopped on the steps and started talking.
The conference had sparked something. Ideas were flowing, questions were coming one after another, and there was a shared feeling that tourism in Cortona could be approached differently. A few months later, Angela and Federica met again, this time with a genuine desire to build something new together. They brought their ideas together and began asking themselves a few important questions:
What if visitors coming to Cortona could find more than just a place to stay?
What if someone could bring together beautiful homes, local knowledge and authentic experiences, giving travellers one trusted local point of reference for their entire stay?
At the time, this kind of integrated approach was still unusual in Cortona. And so the idea began to take shape.
A year spent turning an idea into a business
For almost a year, Angela and Federica studied.
They researched the market, looked at different business models, explored what technology could offer, discussed how the company should work and developed its name, identity, brand and logo.
The aim was clear from the beginning: to create something modern, rooted in the local area and capable of combining accommodation with experiences and services.
In 2014, AF Travel Ideas was officially born.
From the very beginning, the company developed its vision through two complementary brands: Rent in Tuscany, dedicated to holiday homes and accommodation, and Do It in Tuscany, created for experiences, tours and local services.
They represented the two sides of the same original idea: a place to stay and a way to truly experience the destination.
Rather than simply helping travellers find a home, we wanted to create a complete stay — combining carefully selected properties with the experiences, people and places that make Tuscany special.
Around the same time, AF Travel Ideas took part in a start-up programme promoted by the Tuscany Region — and won.
Along with financial support that helped the business take its first steps, the programme included a period of training at H-FARM, an innovative environment focused on technology, entrepreneurship and new ways of doing business.
That experience reinforced something that has remained part of AF Travel Ideas ever since: the belief that even a deeply traditional world such as hospitality can — and should — continue to evolve.
From the first properties to a growing local company
The next step was turning the idea into everyday work.
We introduced professional property-management software, began building relationships with property owners and signed our first rental agreements.
Angela naturally focused more and more on the accommodation side of the business: selecting properties, developing relationships with owners, managing rentals and understanding what guests expected from the homes they chose.
Federica concentrated primarily on experiences and services, building the local network that could give guests much more than accommodation alone.
During this early period, their friend Kirsten learned about the project and decided to join them.
And so, in the beginning, there were three.
Three women, a new company and an idea that was still growing with them.
Growing also means evolving
Over the years, AF Travel Ideas grew.
More properties arrived, more guests trusted us, new partnerships developed and the organisation became increasingly complex.
And as the company evolved, so did the lives and ambitions of the people who had started it.
After different family needs, Kirsten eventually decided to leave the business and devote her time to a different chapter of her life.
Later, Angela and Federica also realised that the two areas they had developed together — accommodation and experiences — had grown enough to follow their own paths.
Rather than forcing two different businesses to remain under the same structure, they chose to separate them.
Angela continued developing AF Travel Ideas and Rent in Tuscany, concentrating on holiday rentals, property management and guest hospitality.
Federica took forward Do It in Tuscany as an independent business, specialising in experiences, tours and local services.
The businesses became independent, but the relationship between the two sides did not disappear.
Today they continue to collaborate. AF Travel Ideas can offer its guests experiences and services through trusted local partners, including Do It in Tuscany, while remaining their main point of reference for the overall stay.
In many ways, this reflects the original idea that started on those theatre steps years ago:
a beautiful property is only the beginning of a great journey.
And today?
Today AF Travel Ideas is no longer three people around a table. It is a team. A team that selects properties, works with owners, manages reservations, welcomes guests personally, assists them throughout their stay, takes care of villas and apartments, coordinates maintenance, prepares homes, looks after gardens, manages administration and technology, and continues to improve the way we work. The company has grown, but one thing has remained unchanged since that first idea in Cortona:
We believe hospitality should feel personal.
Behind every property there is an owner who has cared for it.
Behind every arrival there is a team preparing for it.
Behind every stay there are people ready to help.
And behind AF Travel Ideas there is still the same curiosity that started everything: the desire to look at what already exists and ask ourselves how we can make it better, more beautiful and more meaningful.
Our philosophy is simple: always strive for beauty and harmony, keep improving, and never stop caring about the details — because true hospitality is found in the little things.
MEET OUR TEAM!
ANGELA BUCALETTI
Founder & Managing Director — Property Relations, Partnerships & Design
Angela founded AF Travel Ideas with a clear idea of the kind of hospitality company she wanted to create: personal, reliable and deeply connected to the places and properties it represents.
Today she leads the company, looks after relationships with property owners and travel agency partners, coordinates the team and guides the development of the business.
Naturally meticulous, Angela has a habit of looking closely at every process, questioning how things can be improved and checking that the standards set by AF Travel Ideas are consistently maintained.
Her attention also extends to the homes themselves. With a particular passion for interiors and hospitality, she is personally involved in the design, styling and improvement of many properties, always considering them through the eyes of a guest: how a space feels, how it works and what would make staying there even more enjoyable.
For Angela, a successful holiday rental is never simply a beautiful property. It is the combination of the home, the people caring for it and the experience created around it.
Her philosophy is simple: always strive for beauty and harmony, keep improving, and never stop caring about the details — because true hospitality is found in the little things.
GIANLUCA POESINI
Property Management & Guest Services
Gianluca plays a hands-on role in the management of our properties, making sure that the practical side of villas and apartments is taken care of throughout the season. He is also responsible for our pre-arrival grocery service — a small detail that can make a big difference after a long journey. Guests can arrive to find their fridge and kitchen already stocked with the groceries they requested. As Angela’s husband and business partner, Gianluca has become an integral part of AF Travel Ideas, bringing a practical approach to property management and helping us make guests feel welcome from the moment they arrive.
FRANCESCA CHIARABOLLI
Administration & Accounting
Francesca looks after the administrative and accounting side of AF Travel Ideas. Her work touches almost every area of the company, providing the structure and precision needed to manage a business involving guests, owners, properties, suppliers and professional partners. Much of what Francesca does happens away from the guest experience, yet it is fundamental to keeping the organisation accurate, efficient and dependable. Methodical and precise, she provides the solid administrative foundation that allows the rest of the team to concentrate on properties, partners and guests.
GIANLUCA BUCALETTI
Property Selection, Owner Relations & Agency Reservations — Cortona & Rome
Gianluca is one of the key figures supporting the day-to-day direction of AF Travel Ideas, working closely with Angela across several areas of the business. He manages reservations for selected travel agency partners, contributes to the selection of new properties and maintains direct relationships with property owners, with a particular focus on Cortona and Rome. Based near Cortona, Gianluca combines a strong knowledge of the local market with a practical understanding of what makes a property work well for both owners and guests. He is involved not only in evaluating new homes, but also in following their ongoing management and coordinating the many details that connect owners, agencies, properties and the internal team. He also personally welcomes guests at selected properties and remains a point of reference throughout their stay, providing dedicated assistance when needed. For some of our key clients and partners, Gianluca follows the experience particularly closely, ensuring that more complex or high-priority stays receive careful attention from arrival to departure. His broad overview of the business and close collaboration with Angela make him an important point of reference within the company, helping turn decisions into day-to-day action and maintaining consistency across the areas he follows.
GLORIA DEL GIUDICE
Booking & Guest Relations Manager — Cortona, Florence & Venice
Gloria is responsible for reservations and guest relations, with a dedicated focus on our apartment collection in Cortona, Florence, and Venice. She also manages bookings for selected travel agency partners, ensuring that all enquiries, confirmations, and pre-arrival arrangements are handled with precision and efficiency. She is often the guests’ main point of contact beyond the booking process. Gloria regularly welcomes guests in person at check-in and remains available throughout their stay, providing support with practical needs, local insights, and personalised assistance whenever required. Based in the heart of Cortona’s historic centre, she brings authentic, first-hand local knowledge to her role. Her understanding of both the charm and everyday dynamics of historic living allows her to offer practical, experience-based recommendations. Her organisational skills, destination expertise, and hands-on approach to guest relations make her a key reference point within the guest experience and operations team at AF Travel Ideas.
ALEN BOZZINI
Property Operations, Maintenance & Guest Support — Cortona
Alen works directly with our apartments and selected villas in the Cortona area, taking care of the operational side of the properties and coordinating maintenance whenever attention is required. He is also one of the familiar faces guests may meet when they arrive. Alen carries out personal check-ins and supports clients throughout their holiday, stepping in quickly when a practical issue needs to be solved or something at the property requires attention. His role is hands-on and solution-focused: he knows the homes, understands how they work and is often the person on the ground making sure everything continues to function as it should. For our guests, that means knowing there is a real local person nearby who can help when needed — not simply a telephone number or an online support service.
ALESSIA ARDIZZONE
Reservations, Guest Relations & Agency Partnerships — Cortona & Sicily
Alessia focuses primarily on our villas in the Cortona area and Sicily, assisting guests with their reservations and maintaining relationships with selected travel agency partners. She also looks after the more personal side of the guest experience, welcoming guests at check-in and remaining available throughout their stay for advice, local information and assistance whenever needed. Living in the countryside near Cortona gives Alessia a natural understanding of the villa experience: the privacy, space, outdoor living and slower pace that make a stay in rural Tuscany so special. Sicily, meanwhile, holds a special personal meaning for her, as her grandparents live on the island. This family connection gives her a genuine affinity with a destination that she also knows and follows professionally. Her role brings together reservation expertise, personal hospitality and destination knowledge, allowing her to accompany guests from their first enquiry through to their stay at the property.
VALENTINA OLIVIERI
Guest Welcome & Local Support — Florence
Valentina is our local point of reference in Florence, where she lives and works closely with guests staying in our city properties.She personally welcomes guests at check-in, helps them settle into their accommodation and remains available throughout their stay for practical support, local information and any assistance they may need.Her first-hand knowledge of Florence allows her to offer the kind of help that goes beyond the property itself, making guests feel supported by someone who genuinely knows the city and is nearby when needed.With Valentina, our Florence guests have a real local contact from the moment they arrive.
SIMONE MOZZORECCHI
Digital Systems, Web, and Cybersecurity
Simone manages the technology that powers AF Travel Ideas, from our websites and social media presence to the first line of defense for our company’s systems. He ensures that our digital channels are always up-to-date and fully functional, while also working to protect the tools and infrastructure our team relies on every day. His role straddles the line between communication and technology: ensuring that guests can find us and interact with our online presence, while safeguarding the digital environment that supports our work internally. In an industry where reservations, communication, and operations increasingly depend on technology, Simone ensures that our digital presence receives the same attention as our physical facilities. He manages the digital infrastructure and automates certain aspects of the company team’s work processes— including chatbots and AI agents.
THE TEAM BEHIND EVERY STAY
Housekeeping, Gardens & Property Care
A great stay begins before the front door ever opens. Every villa and apartment we manage is supported by a local team of people whose work guests may not always see, but whose contribution can be felt throughout the property. Our housekeeping staff prepare villas and apartments before each arrival, taking care of the cleanliness, presentation and details that make a home feel welcoming from the first moment. At our villas, gardeners look after lawns, plants, terraces and outdoor areas throughout the season, preserving the spaces that are such an important part of a Tuscan holiday. Their work requires time, care and consistency, and they are an essential part of the standards we set for our homes. Because hospitality is not only about the people you meet. It is also about all the care that has gone into a place before you arrive.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR PROPERTY OWNERS
Our team would not be complete without the owners who entrust us with their homes. Every property we represent carries a story, a vision and the care of the people who have created it, restored it, preserved it or simply loved it over the years. Their attention to their homes, their commitment to maintaining them and the trust they place in AF Travel Ideas are an essential part of the experience we are able to offer our guests. Without their properties, their passion and their dedication, there would be no stays to create, no doors to open and no memories for our guests to take home. That is why we consider our property owners much more than partners. They are part of our extended team and an essential part of the AF Travel Ideas story.
To all of them, our sincere thank you.
Legal Notes
RENT IN TUSCANY
A BRAND by
AF TRAVEL IDEAS DI BUCALETTI ANGELA E C. SNC
ITALIAN TOUR OPERATOR
Registration REA no.: AR - 169859
VAT: 02212120519
General and Liability Insurance:
Policy n. 203891695 stipulated with NOBIS Insurance company in accordance with Art. 13 of the Law of the Region of Tuscany no. 16/94 and subsequent amendments and additions and with the coverage cap approved by the Regional Council of Tuscany with resolution no. 5283 of 30/05/94 as well as L.R. 42/00.
Headquarter and office:
AF TRAVEL IDEAS DI BUCALETTI ANGELA E C. SNC
Piazza Pescheria 1
52044 Cortona (AR) - Italy
P.Iva: 02212120519
Phone: +39 0575969415
WhatsApp: +39 0575969415
Mail: info@rentintuscany.it
Web: www.rentintuscany.it
OBBLIGHI DI TRASPARENZA:
“Nel corso dell’anno 2020 la società ha ricevuto aiuti oggetto di obbligo di pubblicazione nell’ambito del Registro nazionale degli aiuti di Stato di cui all’art.52 della Legge 234/2012”