On the waterfront of Lake Como, you\u2019ll find a dreamy, minimal-meets-neoclassical villa nestled against the cliffs. The 19th-century home, now a collection of seven suites named Villa L\u00e0rio with 11 more in adjacent villas, looks directly onto Como\u2019s calm waters (with George Clooney\u2019s sprawling estate in the background). Chef Davide Maci\u2019s seasonal cooking earned the villa\u2019s restaurant a Michelin Key. A vintage speedboat jets to a neighbor\u2019s groves to bring lemons, grapefruit, and yuzu for the day\u2019s cocktails. Como\u2019s market goods and nearby biodynamic farms fill the open kitchen. \u201cWe don\u2019t aim for perfection, we want life,\u201d explains the property\u2019s head of brand, Flore Pilzer. This means a laid-back, locally-rooted approach that feels as personal as it is slow-living indulgent. \u201cThere are no TVs in the room,\u201d she continues. \u201cSometimes people ask for one and we find them two days later playing chess in the garden.\u201d<\/p>\n
The villa represents a new kind of luxury: it\u2019s owned by a family, and a stay has a relaxed intimacy\u2014and a sense of spontaneity\u2014that sets it apart. Nothing is cookie-cutter, from the foraged ingredients used in Chef Maci\u2019s pizzas and carpaccios to the Pietro Castagna-renovated interiors and the way the owners celebrate. (The hotel\u2019s first party, years ago, featured a piano hoisted on a boat that sailed by guests as the sun set, classical music echoing through the lake.)<\/p>\n
Photo by Carson Grzegorczyk<\/p>\n
The family-run property, which was restored in 2020, may be one of the most elegant and refreshingly authentic ways to spend time in Italy this summer and fall. And Villa L\u00e0rio is not alone. See: a 17th-century convent (Monastero Santa Rosa) between Amalfi and Positano with a legendary spa Italians travel for, co-designed by a mother and son; an 11-room castle (Castello di Vicarello) in the heart of Tuscany run by two brothers crafting the most exciting new vineyard in the region; an oceanside Sicilian resort, Verdura, with the family farm providing both produce for the rustic pizzeria as well as the natural products in its cutting-edge spa; and a Tuscan villa (Villa Lena) doubling as a serious artist residency and serene escape for its guests, the vision of a husband-wife duo. <\/p>\n
These are just a few of the newer villas and estates, joining beloved family institutions like JK Place Rome, Capri, and Milan; the Rocco Forte hotels of Rome and beyond; and Positano\u2019s Le Sirenuese, which turned 75 earlier this year and continues to stun guests. The projects beg the question: are the most luxurious and forward-thinking Italian properties run by families?<\/p>\n
The founders of Villa Lena, a Tuscan hotel and artist residency in an estate built from the ruins of a medieval castle, are the first to suggest that their partnership makes room for new ways to look at Italian hospitality. \u201cItaly has so many incredible properties and has such amazing offerings,\u201d says Lena Evstafieva. \u201cWe thought, \u2018We need to be able to stand out in some way.\u2019 And the only thing we knew really well was culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evstafieva came from the fine-art world\u2014she was the head of exhibitions at Garage Museum of Contemporary Arts, then a director at Pace London\u2014before taking over her family\u2019s land. (Her husband, the musician J\u00e9r\u00f4me Hadey, is signed to Maison Kitsun\u00e9. He\u2019s collaborated with Daft Punk and Wu-Tang Clan.) \u201cWhen I was working with the artists, I loved it. But when the final work would be finished and it would go on the walls, I felt the magic of the process wasn\u2019t open to viewers,\u201d says Evstafieva. \u201cThat\u2019s why the residency idea worked so well in the context of hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Villa Lena\u2019s interior featuring works by Mark Borthwick<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Villa Lena<\/p>\n
The property brings guests directly into the process, as 45 artists (past residents include Lola Schnabel, Lizzi Bougatsos, Kon Trubkovich, and Celia Hempton) land at the estate each season and travelers drop in over the weeks. \u201cWhat\u2019s nice about Villa Lena is: there\u2019s always something new,\u201d Evstafieva adds, describing over 1200 acres filled with olive trees, 300-some animal species, and a growing, 1800-piece-plus art collection. \u201cHotel settings are usually quite static. Here, you can do a workshop or visit the studios. We have music performances. Sometimes there\u2019s an impromptu exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n
This attitude of warmth and an embrace of the personal is echoed by Brando and Corso Baccheschi Berti, the two brothers at the helm of Castello di Vicarello, an impeccably restored 12th-century castle two hours south of Villa Lena by car. The Baccheschi Berti family purchased the property in the late 1970s and spent 25 years transforming it, building out 11 suites and slowly filling them with their grandmother\u2019s furniture, original midcentury Italian design pieces, and even a kitchen found outside a convent. <\/p>\n
The brothers work with their father to nurture the land\u2019s vineyards\u2014Castello di Vicarello produces a number of beautifully complex organic red and ros\u00e9 wines\u2014and welcome guests into the eccentric space, complete with a black marble infinity pool and garden- and grape-filled hills. There\u2019s a level of care that feels directly linked to the fact that this was, for many years, the family\u2019s home. \u201cMy parents thought they would retire here,\u201d Corso says. Now, the property is much bigger than the original dream suggested\u2014and it\u2019s fast-becoming a Tuscan wine destination.<\/p>\n
Photo by Valentina Sommariva<\/p>\n
Along with the newcomers, some of Italy\u2019s family-run hotels are so fabled they\u2019ve reached a certain legendary status. The JK Place properties are known for their strong design aesthetic and personalized service. Father and son Jonathan and Ori Kafri run the hotels\u2014they\u2019re more like upscale homes\u2014together. The newest addition is Casa JK Place Roma, a set of 12 distinctly opulent residences that offer complete privacy amid decadent green velvet sofas, black marble bathrooms, and Assouline and Taschen-filled bookshelves. The residences may be one of the most modern ways to travel as a couple or family. You can make yourself at home while reserving all the services of the full staff.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Casa J.K. Place Roma<\/p>\n
Nearby, Rome\u2019s Hotel de Russie has been the residence of Sophia Loren and Richard Burton, Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau over the years. Since 2000, the Forte family has been at the helm. \u201cEvery family member has their area of expertise or is driving something,\u201d explains Irene Forte, daughter of Sir Rocco Forte. \u201cMy aunt has always done all the interior design, my sister is running all the food and beverage side. And she is great because my father and aunt are slightly older, so things like sharing food concepts would have been, \u2018No way.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The hotel brings together the traditional with some very current elements from the younger generation, like Aquazzura designer Edgardo Osorio\u2019s namesake mescal and tequila bar and Irene Forte\u2019s fabulous spas. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the most magical addresses in Rome, a hidden oasis in the heart of the city,\u201d Osorio adds. \u201cWhat makes it truly special, beyond its beauty, is the spirit of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Casa J.K. Place Roma<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hotels are very much driven by what the family\u2019s taste is, and what they like and don\u2019t like,\u201d Forte says. \u201cUltimately, that\u2019s why it feels more like a home.\u201d Perhaps this is the way forward in Italian hospitality. Today\u2019s properties certainly make the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the waterfront of Lake Como, you\u2019ll find a dreamy, minimal-meets-neoclassical villa nestled against the cliffs. The 19th-century…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[392,8239,5,2343,614],"class_list":["post-29196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-features","tag-homepage","tag-italy","tag-life","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}