The Most Luxurious Stay in Italy? A Family-Run Villa

On the waterfront of Lake Como, you’ll find a dreamy, minimal-meets-neoclassical villa nestled against the cliffs. The 19th-century home, now a collection of seven suites named Villa Làrio with 11 more in adjacent villas, looks directly onto Como’s calm waters (with George Clooney’s sprawling estate in the background). Chef Davide Maci’s seasonal cooking earned the villa’s restaurant a Michelin Key. A vintage speedboat jets to a neighbor’s groves to bring lemons, grapefruit, and yuzu for the day’s cocktails. Como’s market goods and nearby biodynamic farms fill the open kitchen. “We don’t aim for perfection, we want life,” explains the property’s head of brand, Flore Pilzer. This means a laid-back, locally-rooted approach that feels as personal as it is slow-living indulgent. “There are no TVs in the room,” she continues. “Sometimes people ask for one and we find them two days later playing chess in the garden.”

The villa represents a new kind of luxury: it’s owned by a family, and a stay has a relaxed intimacy—and a sense of spontaneity—that sets it apart. Nothing is cookie-cutter, from the foraged ingredients used in Chef Maci’s pizzas and carpaccios to the Pietro Castagna-renovated interiors and the way the owners celebrate. (The hotel’s 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.)

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 Làrio 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.

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’s 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?

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. “Italy has so many incredible properties and has such amazing offerings,” says Lena Evstafieva. “We thought, ‘We need to be able to stand out in some way.’ And the only thing we knew really well was culture.”

Evstafieva came from the fine-art world—she was the head of exhibitions at Garage Museum of Contemporary Arts, then a director at Pace London—before taking over her family’s land. (Her husband, the musician Jérôme Hadey, is signed to Maison Kitsuné. He’s collaborated with Daft Punk and Wu-Tang Clan.) “When 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’t open to viewers,” says Evstafieva. “That’s why the residency idea worked so well in the context of hospitality.”

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. “What’s nice about Villa Lena is: there’s always something new,” Evstafieva adds, describing over 1200 acres filled with olive trees, 300-some animal species, and a growing, 1800-piece-plus art collection. “Hotel settings are usually quite static. Here, you can do a workshop or visit the studios. We have music performances. Sometimes there’s an impromptu exhibition.”

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’s furniture, original midcentury Italian design pieces, and even a kitchen found outside a convent.

The brothers work with their father to nurture the land’s vineyards—Castello di Vicarello produces a number of beautifully complex organic red and rosé wines—and welcome guests into the eccentric space, complete with a black marble infinity pool and garden- and grape-filled hills. There’s a level of care that feels directly linked to the fact that this was, for many years, the family’s home. “My parents thought they would retire here,” Corso says. Now, the property is much bigger than the original dream suggested—and it’s fast-becoming a Tuscan wine destination.

Along with the newcomers, some of Italy’s family-run hotels are so fabled they’ve 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—they’re more like upscale homes—together. 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.

Nearby, Rome’s 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. “Every family member has their area of expertise or is driving something,” explains Irene Forte, daughter of Sir Rocco Forte. “My 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, ‘No way.’”

The hotel brings together the traditional with some very current elements from the younger generation, like Aquazzura designer Edgardo Osorio’s namesake mescal and tequila bar and Irene Forte’s fabulous spas. “It’s one of the most magical addresses in Rome, a hidden oasis in the heart of the city,” Osorio adds. “What makes it truly special, beyond its beauty, is the spirit of the place.”

“The hotels are very much driven by what the family’s taste is, and what they like and don’t like,” Forte says. “Ultimately, that’s why it feels more like a home.” Perhaps this is the way forward in Italian hospitality. Today’s properties certainly make the case.