Upon arrival, WIMCO’s approach is to hand you the key, show you how everything works, and leave you to your own peaceful devices. We were warmly greeted by the property’s key holder, a realtor from Home In Italy, WIMCO’s continental partner, and the family’s maid of 18 years, Josephina, who had family stories and legends to share, to be sure, had my Italian been up to snuff. We did learn immediately that the house dated back to the early 19th century, with some additions and restorations made in the 1980s by the father of the current owner (a director of the national Italian TV channel, but that was about all we managed to eek out of Josephina).
While the thought of a cocktail hour swim in the circular pool that offered views over the heavy, ripening vines and olive
groves was intriguing, the wind had picked up—the first signs of automno, Josephina assured me—and I opted instead to settle
into my new digs.
Villa Monti’s décor reeks simultaneously of aristocratic good breeding and laid-back, carefree charm that has seen many years of family gatherings and boisterous bashes. Little wonder, for a central stone fireplace and French doors that open onto the patio overlooking a circular pool—all carefully designed by the family patriarch—practically demands a good house party. We half expected the cast of Gosford Park to descend at any moment for cocktails.
Save for the house’s “bones”—elaborate beamed ceilings, exposed stone walls, terracotta tiled floors—the details
offered the only clues to our mysterious owner. All the classic components of a rustic home are there: a large fireplace
and hearth whose heady aromas from fires past had infiltrated the needlepoint sofa and ottoman that invited conversation;
deep window seats for an afternoon whiled away with a good book; a rich wood-paneled two-story biblioteca filled with tomes
in multiple languages about Egon Schiele, investment strategies, Art Deco and billiards—one of the owner’s more obvious
passions, as evidenced in the gorgeous entry hall billiard table complete with bronze lion heads for pockets. Ubiquitous
botanical paintings and hunting scenes throughout the villa were offset by eyebrow-raising lithographs of libertine
ladies and naughty aristocrats hinting to the master of the house’s cheeky sense of humor.
While there were five quaintly appointed rooms to choose from, each with its own full bath (including a Sheherazade-inspired Arab themed room with a domed ceiling painted with gold stars and custom-made Moorish lattice shutters), I couldn’t resist the master bedroom, primarily for its Old World claw-foot tub centrally placed to maximize the views to the west. Outside, a terracotta veranda with wicker lounges overlook a prim apron of rose-lined lawn (noticeably mown the day before our arrival, yet another WIMCO touch). In sum, the house is the very essence of solitude and peace. No room service, no bellhop, just the utter sense of contentment. With not another house for several miles, we could do little but surrender to the local pace—slow, slow, slow.
Ideal for family reunions or a week-long house party—something to consider when planning a villa stay is appropriate usage—a separate entrance on the side allows fellow guests the privacy to come and go as they like, returning in the evenings to the villa to recount their day’s experiences.
Continued
| 1 | 2 |
3 |
Next>>
