A ROOM IN THE GARDEN VISIT ITALY INVITES YOU TO DISCOVER THE BEAUTY OF THE ITALIAN ART OF OUTDOOR LIVING
Guide 2013
Esperienza d’eccezione
VISIT ITALY invites you to discover the beauty of the W Italian rt of outdoor living
Italian Gardens are world renowned for being some of the most important gardens in the history of art. Visiting Grandi Giardini Italiani means moving off the beaten track and discovering some of the most beautiful landscapes in Italy. Visit Italy now gives you the opportunity to stay the night in these living works of art, walk around after closing hours and, as a highly exclusive experience, wake up in a real paradise;something that you will remember for the rest of your life!
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G
ardens have been built, throu-
gh the centuries, all over Italy,
form the lake area in the north right down to Siciliy in the south. That means that Visit Italy is able to pick out the finest places to stay,organize special functions and lunches with the help of garden owners that are part of the Grandi Giardini
Italiani
network.
It doesn’t matter how much time you have to spend the important thing is not to spend it in a queue, or in a caotic traffic jam. Visit Italy wants you to spend your time in a relaxing walk round a magnificent garden, sipping a good cocktail under a grapevine on a mild meditteraean evening, or
stress reading a good book under a century old Oak tree looking out over fountains and perfectly kept lawns.
Esperienza d’eccezione
just taking time off from everyday
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Index
1 Castello di Roncade 2 Villa Pisani Bolognesi Scalabrin 3 Villa Arvedi 4 Villa Melzi d’Eril 5 Villa Matilde 6 Palazzo Malingri di Bagnolo 7 Palazzo Fantini 8 Villa La Massa 9 Relais Badia di Campoleone 10 La Foce 11 Grotta Giusti 12 Villa Gamberaia 13 Fonte dei Medici 14 Borgo San Felice 15 Villa Armena Buonconvento 16 Fonteverde 17 Parco Idrotermale del Negombo 18 Grand Hotel Terme di Stigliano 19 Parco dei Principi 20 Borgo Seghetti Panichi 21 Planeta Estate 22 Casa Pennisi
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a room in the garden
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Castello di Roncade (Treviso)
Villa Pisani Bolognesi Scalabrin (Vescovada, Padova)
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Villa Arvedi (Grezzana, Verona)
5 Villa Melzi d’Eril (Bellagio, Como)
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Villa Matilde (Romano Canavese, Torino)
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Palazzo Malingri di Bagnolo (Bagnolo Piemonte, Cuneo)
8 9
Palazzo Fantini (Tredozio, Forlì-Cesena)
Relais Badia Campoleone (Capolona, Arezzo)
La Foce (Chianciano, Siena)
Grotta Giusti (Monsummano Terme, Pistoiai)
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Villa La Massa (Candeli, Firenze)
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Villa Gamberaia (Settignano, Firenze)
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Fonte dei Medici (Monteridolfi, Firenzei)
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Borgo San Felice (Borgo San Felice, Sienai)
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Villa Armena (Buonconvento, Siena)
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Fonteverde (San Casciano dei Bagni, Siena)
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Grand Hotel Terme di Stigliano (Monterano, Roma)
17 18 19 20 21 22
Parco Idrotermale del Negombo (Lacco Ameno, Isola d’Ischia, Napoli)
Hotel Parco dei Principi (Sorrento, Napoli)
Planeta Estate (Menfi, Agrigento) Casa Pennisi (Catania)
Parco Storico Seghetti Panichi (Castel di Lama, AP)
LOCATION The landscapes in the region are characterized by an extraordinary variety. In Veneto region you can find natural beauties, such as the sceneries of the Dolomites, the shores of the lake of Garda, the landscape of the Euganei and then the seaside towns. The large natural variety of environments offers the passionate many paths to discover, while the greedy will be able to enjoy the flavors of the local traditions. To complete the picture, you will also find many local fairs and cultural shows, folk appointments and thermal centers of international fame.
Treviso
ADDRESS Via Roma, Roncade (Treviso) Treviso Venice Padova Vicenza Verona
9 Miles 22 Miles 36 Miles 54 Miles 80 Miles
An ancient moat and powerful medieval walls, with squat square towers at the four corners and well-proportioned circular towers placed at the entrance gateway, surround and austerely 15th century Venetian villa of severe elegance. This has a loggia with two tiers of arches, for its architecture it is considered among the first examples of Venetian villas. A small army of seventeenth century statues representing infantrymen from the Venetian army marches along the central avenue from the entrance gateway to the Villa. The open space seems much larger then it really is due to the presence of four monumental trees, two Magnolia grandiflora and two Cedrus libani planted symmetrically, which have a grandiose, extensive spread. The specimens of Lagerstroemia indica which border the stairway facing the Villa are also more than a century old. GARDENS The garden is located inside the walls, in a square space with an avenue along the perimeter. An Italian style garden serves as invitation to the private chapel, while behind the building the garden still continues for a brief line with great mastings of quality, among which Taxodium, and cypresses along the ditch. Little beyond it takes the upper hand the countryside with the rows of grapevine that testify the actual vocation of the ownership. Plan a visit: open all year round from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 12pm and from 3pm to 7pm.
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Esperienza d’eccezione
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Surroundings
Castello di Roncade
ACCOMMODATION The kindness and the professionalism, with which the guest is welcomed, have the purpose of making the environment extremely comforting, letting the most demanding clients also feel “at home.� Everything has been selected according to criteria of elegance and style. The Baroness Illaria Ciani Bassetti, wife of Vin-
cent and mother of Claudio, provided herself the choice of furnishing with taste and imagination. Also the Buffet breakfast gives the visitor the possibility to live an awakening of absolute pleasure, tasting the best gastronomic products that the Venetian territory has to offer. The apartments, extracted within the seductive and ancient medieval structures, provide all the modern comforts. In the winter there is a centralized heating system that perfectly heats the spaces, while in the summer, the same walls of the tower provide a natural air conditioning system.
Villa Arvedi Verona
GARDENS Villa Arvedi is also known for its Italian style garden. It is an elegant and sober accessory to the Villa and is characterised by its refined double fan drawings, unique in Italy. It is bordered by a low wall and extends onto a terrace that looks out onto the front of the villa. It is open on the east side where there is the access road and open countryside, whilst on the north side a high wall protects it from the cold winds. Century-old boxwood bushes line the path, complete with its central fountain. It is from here that a complex design unfolds, consisting of antique low boxwood bushes, which create an extraordinary feeling of space and are in harmony with the building’s facade. The magnificent road that leads from the estate’s entrance to the villa is lined with boxwood trees that have been pruned into geometric perspective shapes. Plan a visit: Guided tours daily by appointment for groups of 10 persons
ph. Alessandro Rania
LOCATION Villa Arvedi is located only 9 km away from Verona and it is a perfect place to discover the town, the Lake garda and Vicenza with its beautiful Venetian Villas. ph. Alessandro Rania
ACCOMMODATION La Villa dispone di 11 appartamenti ph. Alessandro Rania
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Verona Peschiera del Garda Vicenza Mantova Padova Venezia Treviso Ferrara
9 miles 32 miles 39 miles 42 miles 56 miles 80 miles 91 miles 101 miles
Surroundings
Villa Arvedi in Cuzzano, Grezzana, was registered as the property of Mastino, Alberto and Cangrande della Scala since 1200. In 1432 it was described as: ”a holding with a battlemented house, and wine and oil presses”. It is situated on the slope of a hill and surrounded above by an ancient olive grove and a wood full of oaks and hornbeams. Towards the middle of 1650 it took on its current form based on the architect’s G.B. Bianchi designs. The room on the first floor and the small church are covered in frescos painted by Ludovico Dorigny (1654-1742). There are also frescos created by Farinati, Fralezza and Santo Prunati. In the centre of the rear courtyard there is a small baroque church dedicated to San Carlo Borromeo (he stayed here during his journey to Trento for the 1485 Council). Just a note: here was filmed the movie “Letters from Juliette”.
ph. Alessandro Rania
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Villa Melzi d’Eril Como The Gardens of Villa Melzi stretch out along the lake shore and are harmoniously inserted into the hilly scenery of the Bellagio peninsula that divides the two branches of Lario lake. Inland, the Villa, the Chapel and the orangery, today transformed into a historical museum, are splendid expression of neo-classical style and as such stated national monument. This architectural complex was realized between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d’Eril (1753-1816), Duke of Lodi, Vice President of Italian Republic under Napoleon and afterwards Gran Chancellor of the Napoleonic Reign of Italy. Francesco Melzi d’Eril relied upon the architect and decorator Giocondo Albertolli (1742-1839), an exponent of great importance in neo-classicism, asking for a villa looking sober and polished whose simple lines and volumes would emphasize the surrounding amazing countryside. Through the contribution of great artists and artisans and the special concordance between them and Francesco Melzi the whole complex was shaped like a place of rare harmony and was admired, among the others, by Stendhal who described its beauty in his book “Rome, Naples, Florence” dated 1817. ADDRESS Via Lungolario Manzoni Bellagio (Como)
GARDENS The English style gardens, enriched by sculptures, were designed by the architect Luigi Canonica and the botanist Luigi Villoresi, both responsible for the setup of the gardens of the Villa Reale in Monza. The greater glamour of the property resides in the extraordinary park facing the lake and in the expedients adopted to expand optically the space, in reality narrow, between l’ incipient hill (also a monumental park) and the water mirror. To welcome the visitor a pool of ninfee, little beyond a kiosk in Moorish style with charming sight on Bellagio and, opposite, the monument to Dante and Beatrice of the Comolli, that seems have inspired “La Sonata to Dante” of Liszt. The walk of the avenue of the plane trees, trimmed low with mastery to umbrella, ends in the immense terrace opposite the villa, framed from ancient and valuable statues. In the park exotic plants alternate with rare age-old trees, gigantic hedges of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. Between the more precious plants you can find Liriodendron tulipifera, cedars of the Lebanon, red beeches, camphors, Ginkgo biloba; many others, of botanical and historic value, are highlighted to add interest to the visit. Plan a visit: from March 24 till end of October 2012 . Daily from 9.30am to 6.30 pm LOCATION The gardens of villa Melzi are stretched along the shore of the lake and they are harmoniously inserted in the hilly picture of the peninsula of Bellagio that divides the two branches of the Lario.
ph. Daniele Cavadini
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AC-
Palazzo Malingri di Bagnolo Cuneo
The Gardens
COMMODATION
The park of original design in the 600, has gone thru a ro-
“The Cascine -Farmhouses” located around the
mantic remake in the 800. Covering about two hectares,
castle fortitude in the year Thousand, in the agri-
is rich in centuries-old trees as much as 40 metres tall,
cultural estate of over 50 hectares among lawns,
with examples of pinus nigra, pinus austriaca, cedri deo-
vineyards, orchards and secular woods, are an-
dara, taxus bacata, metasequoie as well as fagus tricolor,
cient rural buildings in stone built between 1500
oaks, chestnuts, libocedrus and criptomeria japonica. As
and 1800. Restored in 2006 as accomodation
a main feature of the Parco Malingri there are bloomed
of charme in the local rustic style, preserving
bushes for every season and a collection of acidofile,
the characteristics of the ancient use, each has
rododendri, azaleas, ortensie and camellia. Plan a
their own well and firewood oven, portico or
visit: by appointment only
hayloft and large size green and in bloom spaces to live the countryside.
The slope of the Piedmont hill of Valle Po is
LOCATION
broken by an earthen platform held in place by
Tranquility, intact nature and landscape, outskir-
ADDRESS Via Palazzo, 23 Bagnolo Piemonte
dry stone masonry. The park of Malingri Palace
ts of great tourist value the cities of art Saluz-
(Cuneo)
in Bagnolo stands on this platform.
zo and Pinerolo, the Po Valley and the splendid
Within the Palace, or “slow Castle”, that has been
Cuneese valleys; possibility to do many different
the residence of the Melingri family since XV sec.,
sports, to train or to walk on the signed paths
there is a romantic English garden. From the yard,
inside the property.
thru a small door, you can enter the park welcomed by the imposing volume of the tulips tree (liriodendron tulipifera), the sight often surprises
Cascina Bruce’
for the magic of shadows, lights and colors. The drawing of the paths travels all around the garden closed from wall. There are two large meadows that seemed framed by high age-old trees, conifers and broadleaves of different species and flourishing collections of shrubs like rhododendrons,
(5 guests)
Il Cravot
(2 guests)
Guest room
(2 guests)
Cascina Castlin
with pool
70mq (2 guests) (2 guests) 36 mq (4 guests)
offers shelter to small fish that graze around the ph. Dario Fusaro
Il Forno
(2 guests)
La Mangiatoia
(2 guests)
Il Pozzo
(4 guests)
Pinerolo
9 miles
Salluzzo
14 miles
Torino
32 miles
Cuneo
34 miles
Alessandria
78 miles
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Surroundings
Cascina Bedassot
man” with reference to some story lost in time,
ph. Bruno Cattani
Available accommodation
La Vite
elliptical stone bath named “fountain of the green
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La Vecchia
La Torre
center of meadow towards the valley, there is an
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(4 guests)
Le Colonne
azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, camellias. In the
stems of the ninfee.
Il Tinaggio
Palazzo Fantini Forlì GARDEN The elegant but rather austere eighteenth century façade does not give even a hint of the welcoming secrecy of the garden. Nothing can be guessed from outside, but after passing through the doorway into the first courtyard, guests are welcomed by a game of carved box hedges, salvia splendida and a pond containing water plants. The courtyard is surrounded by private entrances and a series of buildings which were once part of the farm. Suddenly there is a surprise, an Italianate garden which is raised in comparison to the level of the house, and which can only be reached by a flight of steps by the side of a large bulkhead. The garden consists of various sections which are set down on the hill and on the slope. The Romantic garden was designed in the nineteenth century, reflecting the classical themes of the period, such as the secret paths, the fountain with water lilies, the precise geometry of the hedges, the topiary hedges and the ancient rose bushes with lamb’s ears plants and borders of “old-fashioned” flowers, such as dahlias, begonias, irises and lantanas. The corner of Aromatic Herbs, in contrast, was designed and created more recently.
ph. Gabriele Angelini
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ACCOMMODATION At clients disposal four nice rooms and a suite. The interiors, simple
but elegant, are functional and highlight the original rustic characters with beams to sight, floors with “cotto” and furnishings of nineteenth-century taste. On the ground floor is located the suite “Il Forno” with a queen size bed, bathroom with shower, kitchenette and small living area with sofa bed. On the first floor is located “Il Camino”, queen size bed with fireplace, garden view and bathroom with shower and “La Vecchia Torre”, queen size bed with valley view and bathroom with shower. On the second floor is located “Il Nido dei
Rondoni”, double room with valley view and bathroom with shower and “Le Ginestre”, double room with garden view and bathroom with shower. ADDRESS Via San Michele, 47 Tredozio (FC)
Faenza Ravanna Bologna Firenze San Marino
Esperienza d’eccezione
19 miles 50 miles 52 miles 56 miles 73 miles
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Surroundings
Palazzo Fantini is the splendid result of a series of layered constructions made at time. The original constrution is from Sixteen Century, but the palace got its actual shape around the middle of Seventeen century, The valuable decorations Liberty are from the Nine hundred. On initiative of the actual owner the stables, the wine cellars, the two ample courts and the barns have been faithfully recovered, typical of the ancient nobility estates of the countryside. Park and garden Italian style are jewels of notable charm. The part dedicated to the park offers recurrent kind you can find in the great Italian landscape gardens: besides holm trees, chestnut trees, white poplars, hollies, make beautiful show of itself conifers as Abies pinsapo, Pinus nigra and above all stately cedars (Cedrus libani, C. deodara and C. Atlantic). On this grandiose background they jump the hems in trimmed boxwood, within which in the summer they detach for contrast colored seasonal flowers. The lawns, the tubs of ninfee, the bushes of ancient roses, the mixed hems, the festoons of begonie underline and they enliven the sketch.
LOCATION Tredozio, in the heart of “Romagna” Tuscany, a town at borderline, in the middle of two wondurful regions that still live of that set apart nature, away from the contemporary frenzies in a panorama of woods and tortuous roads. Torre Fantini B&B is located at the doors of the National Park of the Casentinesi Forests, 17 Miles from Faenza, along the old Street Faentina.
ph. Gabriele Angelini
Villa La Massa Firenze Immersed in the heart of Tuscany, where nature predominates, this splendid mansion is a place where refined elegance meets total relaxation from the moment you arrive. Part of the Leading Hotels of the World, Villa La Massa is the exquisite jewel of the Villa d’Este Group. The 16th Century estate sits on the banks of the Arno River, on 20 acres full of lemon trees and olive groves that surround the property. Its reflection on the Arno River renders it almost like a Renaissance painting of the most magnificent bucolic landscape. Located just a few kilometers outside Florence, you may wish to immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of the Tuscan capital city, making use of the comfortable shuttle bus that the hotel provides. But at the end of a busy day, the peace and serenity of the Villa calls you so you return to a place where time and your mind, stop in time.
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ACCOMMODATION Two Villas dating back to the days of the Medici (16th century): the Noble Villa (Villa Nobile), the Old Mill (Vecchio Mulino) and the more recent little Villa (Villino) are the highlights of Villa La Massa which, from an ancient dwelling of the aristocracy, was turned into a hotel in 1948. The hotel offers its guests 37 rooms, all different from one another, and all recently refurbished in the tra-
ditional Florentine style. Recently a new and splendid Presidential suite with private garden has been open to the public. The spacious and airy rooms are decorated with antique furniture, fabrics woven at the historic Florentine textile mills, wrought iron and woodwork from the famous old-time Florence cabinet makers. Bathrooms and their fittings are done in a style reflecting the atmosphere of times gone and are fitted with Carrara marble. Most have windows framing the beautiful Tuscan landscape. ADDRESS Via della Massa, 24 Firenze, Candeli
Florence Greve in Chianti Siena San Gimignano
Esperienza d’eccezione
4 Miles 13 Miles 41 Miles 32 Miles
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Surroundings
GARDENS Villa La Massa is graced with 22 acres of gardens that surround it, full of paths that lead you to the Arno River and from which you can only see the beautiful panorama of the Chianti Rufina hills that surround it. A limited number of precious olive oil bottles is produced every year from the olive groves that surround the property. Plan a visit: during the opening of the Hotel (from March 24th till November 5th 2011) from 10.30am till 11.30am and from 2.30pm till 4.30pm.
LOCATION Villa La Massa is comfortably situated to the south of Florence, only a few kilometers from the exit “Firenze sud” of the A1 motorway. It is at the gateway to the famous Chianti wine region, with most notable villages reachable within 30 minutes and ideally positioned for day trips within the Tuscan region. Guests enjoy complimentary shuttle service to and from the Ponte Vecchio 7 days a week.
La Foce Siena Villa and garden embrace the spectacular view of the Val D’Orcia and Monte Amiata beyond. Antonio Origo was chiefly concerned with bringing prosperity and modern cultural methods to the then very poor valley, while Iris concentrated on the garden, her books and welfare end education of the farmer families. The garden grew together with the works and progress on the farm. For the Origos, the garden represented a haven from the harshness of the land, and a place to welcome their friends, to treasure the shade, the flower blossom and to shelter from the harsh temperatures of the Valley in the summer. Today la Foce is a center for cultural and artistic activities. The incontri in Terra di Siena festival organized concerts and exhibitions of contemporary art and Etruscan archaeology, and several other activities provide points of interest in most season. GARDENS The garden grew gradually, between 1925 and 1939. The house is surrounded by a formal Italian garden, which is divided into geometrical ‘rooms’ by box hedges with lemon trees in terracotta pots. Travertine stairs lead to the rose garden and a winding wisteria-covered pergola bordered by lavender hedge. Plan a visit: from November thru March every Wednesday afternoon at 3,00 Pm and 4:00 Pm, from April thru October at 3:00 Pm, 4:00 Pm, 5:00 Pm and 6:00 Pm: every first week-end in the months of April, May, June and October every hour from 10:00 Am to 12:00 Pm and from 3:00 Pm to 6:00 Pm
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ACCOMMODATION The compound of La Foce features the Villa, the main Residence, few houses used in the past by farmers living on site and the medieval castle of Castelluccio. In the Castle, every summer, a music festival takes place, an event organized and directed by musician Antonio Lysy. The Villa, built at the end of the 15th century as an inn along the route, has been a property of the Gre-
at Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala of Siena. It features three floors, uphill and surrounded by the famous garden created by Iris Origo and the English architect Cecil Pinsent The palace is only 500 Meters away from the Villa la Foce on the way to Chiarentana, the only B&B of all the featured accommodation but can be rented weekly by a family or a group of 8 passengers. ADDRESS Strada della Vittoria 63 Chianciano Terme (Siena)
Florence Perugia Siena Cortona Orvieto Montalcino
Esperienza d’eccezione
76 miles 55 miles 52 miles 35 miles 35 miles 21 miles
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Surroundings
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LOCATION The farm of La Foce is nestled in the Hills of Val D’Orcia, a lovely valley in the southern Tuscany, miraculously intact. Half way from Florence to Rome, short distance from Siena, Arezzo, Perugia, Assisi and Orvieto. Also jewels from medieval and reinassance villages such as Pienza, Montepulciano, Monticchiello and Montalcino are a short distance away. The countryside offers wonderful paths in the woods and hills of Siena, the cuisine is among the best in the region and in the local wineries you can sample most famous wines such as Vino Nobile and Brunello. Cultural events (Concerts, Galleries, Seminars) are organized in the nearby sites.
La Gamberaia Firenze
GARDENS The most interesting part of the park is south side of the building. Here opens a beautiful parterre, wanted by princess Ghyka. The floor is separated in four rectangular flower beds of water, from the course very lengthened, underlined by hedges of boxwood (often double) that finish in a hemicycle-belvedere marked by cypresses shaped to arches with a scenic effect similar to an eighteenth-century theater of verzura, that allows perspective views of big suggestion over the Florentine country. PLAN A VISIT: Daily Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm - On Sunday from 9am to 4pm
carefully restored, furnish with ancient furniture of family and offering modern equipments: Cappella, Nettuno, Limonaia (ancient fifteenth-century farm that dominates the lemon garden and has a vine-trellis, ideal to have lunch) and Villa. ADDRESS Via del Rossellino 72 Settignano (Firenze)
LOCATION Located on the Settignano hills, two steps from the city but surrounded by the silence of paradise, Villa Gamberaia has an exceptional view of Florence and the Arno valley. Strolling in the beautiful Italian style garden that for centuries have been the mean attraction of the Villa, the visitor can admire the surrounding view and feel absorbed in the heart of Tuscany. ACCOMMODATION At Gamberaia there are four houses
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Cappella Nettuno Limonaia Villa
180mq (6 guests) 180mq (6 guests) 180mq (8 guests) 750mq (18 guests)
Available accommodation
The most ancient news of the location know as “Gamberaja” goes back to the second half of ‘300 when a farm with an agricultural house was once owned by the nuns of S. Martin to Shelf. The name referred to the presence of a course of sweet water where the shrimps were fished. It is a monument rich in history, its enchantments are revealed little by little to whom who spends the time to discover them. The garden is a bright and clever game of heights and voids, in which water’s tubs delimited by the boxwood replace the parterres. The longitudinal axle is constituted by a great lawn path; at the intersection with the secondary one, is located the decorated cabinet with statues, games of water and four stairways that give access to two woods of secular holm trees and the lemon garden, with arboreal peonies and backs of roses “Albértine.”
Esperienza d’eccezione
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Parco idrotermale del Negombo Isola di Ischia The Duca Luigi Silvestro Camerini, humanist and traveller, arrives to Ischia in 1946 to research a location where he could create a park that could express his great passion for botany. The charm of the place and its surprising analogy with the bay of Negombo, from him admired at Ceylon, makes the choice fall on the bay of San Montano. Here the nature finds its more significant expressions in the thermal sources, proff of the volcanic history of the island of Ischia that is possible to use according to a tradition that has roots from the classic age. The present aspect of the park owns a lot to the passionate intervention of the landscape painter Ermanno Casasco. GARDENS The landscape painter Ermanno Casasco has created a garden deeply connected to the millennial culture of the island, full of surprises and unexpected solutions. From 1998 in the park you can find important sculptures of contemporary art. In this garden the landscape is integrated with the splendor of plants arrived from Australia, Japan, South Africa, Brazil. They signal examples of variegated Orbea, Hakea, Encephalartos, Macrozamia, Cycas media, Dasylirium, Erythrina, Schinus terebindifloria, a centenary Ficus magnolioides and wondeurful Eucaliptus ficifolia. Plan a visit: from April 20 to October 14 . Daily from 5:30pm to 7pm (last entrance 6pm). Baths and seaside establishment are open from 8.30am to 7pm
LOCATION The island of Ischia is located at the northern end of the gulf of Naples and is not far from the islands of Procida and Vivara. The whole island, other is not than the summit of the Mountain Epomeo, the part in surface of the undersea volcano. Ischia is famous for its thermal waters, used since the antiquity. Already the first farmers Euboici (VIII century a.C.), as seen from the many archeological finds recovered in the site of Pithecusa and preserved at the Archeological Museum of Villa Arbusti in Lacco Ameno, appreciated and used the waters of the thermal sources of the island. ACCOMMODATION The Hotel della Baia, That faces the Park of the Negombo, counts sixteen rooms (two of which with Turkish bath), provided of every comfort, terraces with garden, five independent dependences with garden, American bar and breakfast in hotel. Lunch and dinner are served at Negombo that offers besides the restaurant, pools with sea water, thermal, kneipp, private beach. At the Wellness Center it is possible to do thermal treatments and aesthetic curative treatments. There is also a Turkish bath and covered pool. ADDRESS Via S. Montano Lacco Ameno - Isola d’Ischia (Napoli)
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Esperienza d’eccezione
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Grand Hotel Terme di Stigliano Roma The Grand Hotel delle Terme di Stigliano is located in one of the most suggestive frames of the Lazio Region. The structure was built in the year Seven hundred, when the thermal baths became property of the royal family Altieri, and it built above remaining’s of Roman temples. The first testimonies on the existence of Stigliano go back to the times of the “etruscans”; known fact is that this ancient population was very tied up to the cult of the thermal baths and these places considered sacred. In Roman epoch, the waters were called “Thermae Stygyane”, to comparison of the magic powerful waters of the swamp Stygia. The hotel is inserted in a botanical park, an appealing spot for the quality, the kinds of plants and for the waters: nine different rising and two rivers cross the park and make it a unique place. The park, completely restructured, extends along the run of the thermal sources that assure a great nourishment to the ground, guaranteeing an exuberant and luxuriant flora. Maples, secular oaks, giant bamboo and tall pines frame the horizon and the landscape.
GARDENS in the park you can still find the remains of the Roman thermal baths, made bigger from the Imperor Tiberio. The presence of the thermal waters and the exceptional microclimate has made the flora of Stigliano extraordinarily exuberant. Some exclusive kinds of this park, exhibit different spontaneous flowerings in every season. The park of more than 20 hectares, undue along a magic itinerary: maples, centenary oaks, lecci, oaks, cores, tamerici and giant bamboo unite to the Roman pines. Extremely complex also the fauna: herons, hawks, owls, porcupines, rates, foxes, weasels. Plan a visit: from March to January, with group visits for party of 10 minimum by appointment only.
LOCATION The Grand Hotel Stigliano is located in a beautiful area of the inner land of Lazio Region not far from Bracciano Lake and the Etruscan settlement of Cerveteri. ACCOMMODATION The hotel offers an elegant and refined environment in tone with the splendor of the past and the mo-
dern comforts of today. The interior design, the decor along the walls, make Stigliano an enchanted place, with the addition of the typical warming atmosphere known from the buildings of that epoque. The Grand Hotel offers 46 rooms between charming and romantic in the main building and the delightful dependance and 2 suites, all with a
beautiful view of the famous Stigliano Park. Every room is characterized by the individuality of the décor and furniture, a strong classical call in harmony with the history and the charme of the style of the building. ADDRESS Via Bagni di Stigliano Canale Monterano (Roma)
ph. Alberto Nardi
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Parco Storico Seghetti Panichi Ascoli
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Catania
with a third bed option, a living room, a breakast nook overlooking the roof gardens, where weather permitting breakfast is served. The fresh and natural products are brought directly from the Family farm.
ACCOMMODATION On one wing of the house there is a large apartment, elegantly furnished, can be used for lodging or exclusive receptions. The apartement features two large double rooms
Taormina Siracusa Noto Modica Palermo
ADDRESS Piazza Pennisi, 29 Acireale (Catania) 24 miles 50 miles 66 miles 86 miles 133 miles
The Palazzo Pennisi of Floristella dates back in the ‘800, located in the historical city center of the Baroque city of Acireale, set between Piazza del Duomo and the Basilica of S.Sebastiano. A Family residence since its early creation by Baron Agostino Pennisi of Floristella as it stands today. One of the two rooms was once an important numismatic collection of Greek-Sicilian coins dated back to the 6th-9th century B.C. today displayed in an exhibit at the Regional Archeology Museum of Siracusa. A distinctive value is given by the monumental marble staircase, in neo-classical style. The interior space of the Palazzo are still featuring the original decor. The gardens of Palazzo Pennisi of Floristella was planted at the end of the XIX Century as frame to the prestigious Grand Hotel des Bain. The Grand Hotel was built by the Florentine architect Mariano Falcini to host the clients of the contemporary Terme di Santa Venera in an harmonious environment. Acireale was a quite renowned thermal destination and counted among its hosts the Italian Royal family, Richard Wagner family and prominent Doctor Antonio Cardarelli GARDENS The Architect assigned to design the gardens was Mariano Falcini, who characterised it with a classical structure, with paths delimitated by high box hedges and impressive flower-beds. Tropical plants, that can still be admired, were also inserted together with Mediterranean essences creating an incredibly fascinating and attractive ensamble As a result, nowadays ancient palms (Washingtonia, Chamaerops, Poenix), colossal Yuccas, Sterlizias, Guaiabos, Cycas, Laracandas, Chorysias come towards visitors, surrounded by walnut trees, cluster pines and mulberries. Plan a visit: by Appointment only
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Surroundings
Casa Pennisi
LOCATION Acireale is set at the edge of a large plateau on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. In the surrounding you can engage beautiful scenic routes, the sea is within walking distance thru a natural trail in the Natural Reserve of Timpa. Acireale is a popular thermal destination, famous for sulfur water since its ancient origins.