Life at the villa

Vivo d’Orcia has kept a vivid image of Marcello II in its heart.
Sep 21, 2012
Trust & Travel and the Popes…

At a recent dinner party, a friend of mine introduced me to Cassius, her young lively nephew. “So tell me, young boy, I asked him, what would you like to be when you grow up? – ...

My friend Marla trying to reassure me: “He won’t swallow you whole!”
Aug 31, 2012
The Falcons of Frassanelle

“How about letting our little friend here perch on your hand? – Um… well… Is he in a good mood?” The “little friend” whom Stefania was introducing me to was a ...

A century later: the Gioli brothers’ studio in the villa’s tower.
Aug 26, 2012
Italian Impressionism at the Villa Gioli

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” This beautiful phrase hasn’t just come right off the top of my head – even though I think it might have if I had been laz ...

Aug 9, 2012
A Restaurant on a Green

My obsession with good food and restaurants should be somewhat familiar to you by now, I guess. Well, we all have our little failings and addictions, don’t we? This week, I’d l ...

Refugee children from Genoa and Turin, welcomed to La Foce during the war.
Jul 27, 2012
Love and War in Tuscany (part 3)

Here we are for the third and final episode of the Origo family epic. Historically, a dark and trying one for both the family and the country. From June 1943 to June 1944, Italy ke ...

Antonio Origo La Foce
Jul 20, 2012
Love and War in Tuscany (part 2)

In my last post, I undertook to tell you the story – well, to outline the story, I should say – of the Origo family. A family who has played a key part in my life, as I said. S ...

Antonio and Iris Origo
Jul 13, 2012
Love and War in Tuscany (part 1)

I was only 19. And already in love with Italy. Images and Shadows, an autobiography by Anglo-Irish author Iris Origo, kept me company during the long hours I spent on the Tuscan be ...

tuscany villa arrival dinner
Jul 5, 2012
Little Extras that Make the Difference!

“Phew! We got there, at last!” You left home early this morning and have been travelling all day. Now it’s the evening and you have just arrived at your Trust & Travel de ...

tremblement de terre Italie
Jun 8, 2012
Shaken but not Broken

Even though he tried, over the phone, to sound calm and composed, I could descry in his voice and tone that he had been thrown off his usual balance ...

cooking course italy ravioli
May 23, 2012
Private Cooking Classes in Tuscany

You like Italian cuisine, don’t you? Of course you do. Wish you could cook some great Italian dishes yourself? ...

Grottoes Villa Frassanelle Venetia
May 4, 2012
Grottesque with Two T’s

When I go to Frassanelle – one of the estates featured in our Trust & Travel catalogue, – I sometimes turn into a cavewoman. Or a “grottowoman”, to be more prec ...

Busatt Old proven tools are still used today to weave magnificent fabrics.
May 2, 2012
Rustic elegance at its best

If I have always had a passion – and, I think, some flair – for design and interior decoration, I most certainly owe it to my dear Mom, who was an accomplished expert in these ...

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