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R E A S O N S
A FINE ROMANCE
Combining art and culture with a unique natural and historical setting, Italy’s Villa Lena showcases a new, exciting type of travel destination that blends holiday relaxation with creative inspiration.
t’s an origin story redolent with romance: a country villa, situated close to the Tuscan village of Palaia – midway between Pisa and Florence – is built by a wealthy family of Italian aristocrats in the late 19th century. It soon becomes a famous venue for parties and meetings (and hunting), and the family cultivates olives, grapes and wheat on the land. But after its early 20th century heyday, and with the death of the original owner in 1931, the estate goes into decline, undergoing many changes in ownership as the subsequent decades go by. As a result, when the current owners bought the San Michele estate in 2007, it was in a state of extensive disrepair. Fortunately, art world professional Lena
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Evstafieva, musician and producer Jérôme Hadey, and Parisian restaurateur and nightclub owner Lionel Bensemoun had a plan: they’d combine their skills and knowledge to redevelop the property, and found the Villa Lena Agriturismo Experience and Art Foundation. Today, Villa Lena is the kind of hybrid travel destination that we’re expecting to see much more of in the coming decade: it’s a creative residence, an agritourism hotel and a tranquil holiday escape. Guests interact with Villa Lena’s creative family – and in the process, they celebrate local Tuscan history, culture and food in an environment that offers international artists, writers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, creatives, chefs and agricultural experts the space to explore and hone their respective crafts.
