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Location: Umbria, Italy
Designer: Benedikt Bolza
On offer: Situated on 3,700 acres of pastoral countryside in the Umbrian hills, Reschio Estate has been the Bolza family’s labor of love for nearly 30 years. When Count Antonio Bolza, a former art book publisher based in Germany, and his architect wife, Countess Angelika, first purchased the crumbling property in 1994, they set out to restore it to its former glory. The couples’ son and daughter-in-law, Benedikt and Nencia Bolza, have since taken the reins, meticulously refurbishing the decaying farmhouses into private homes and rental villas. Now comes the pièce de résistance, a 36-key hotel situated inside of a 10th-century castle on the grounds. A former 1940s tobacco factory on the premises serves as Benedikt’s studio and workshop, where he custom-fabricates beds and lighting fixtures as part of the B.B. for Reschio furniture line. Available for purchase online, the pieces reside in each of the suites—30 inside the castle, six outside near the Parish Church of San Michele—which are done up in terracotta brick and wooden floors, hand-stitched linen curtains, and Italian–crafted brass vanities. Artful flourishes accent the furniture, including Nencia’s trompe l’oeil paintings and vintage olive presses sourced from local antique markets.
Standout features: The estate’s agricultural splendor—olive groves, vineyards, beehives, and an on-site organic kitchen garden—powers the culinary offerings, particularly at Ristorante Al Castello, where house-made pastas are served on a terrace bedecked with fig trees. Elsewhere, natural light floods the solarium-esque Palm Court, the place for aperitivos and Negronis among lush greenery and fin-de-siècle decor. From the cooking school and Roman bathhouse–inspired spa to day trips to nearby wineries, there’s no shortage of activities to keep guests engaged. But you’re just as well to laze by the majestically mirrored pool shaded by umbrella pines, spending languid days ordering paninis and cocktails mixed with Reschio’s house-distilled gin from the bar occupying a converted watchtower.
