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The Italian region of Toscana is tailor-made for romance, so it’s no wonder it was the muse for films ranging from Under the Tuscan Sun to Stealing Beauty. A 'nation within a nation', its vibrant culture gave birth to the Italian Renaissance, the dazzling city of Florence, and museums such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. As if that wasn’t enough, it also has more churches, palaces, galleries, museums, villages, piazzas and scenic villas than you could possibly visit in one lifetime.
With a fairly mild climate along the Tyrrhenian Sea, its rainier interior provides lush soil ideal for growing wines such as Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Brunello di Montalcino. The perfect pairing with haute-rustic cuisine and falling in love with a mysterious stranger.
A 1720 Chianti estate of three stone farmhouses, reborn by Austrian architect Nina Mair as a creative sanctuary of craft, olive groves and unhurried Tuscan soul.
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Fabulous farmhouse luxury decks this Italian bolthole in the hilltops of Versilia close to Tuscany's coastline hot picks Forte dei Marmi and Viareggio.
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John Voigtmann swapped rockstars for Renaissance, reviving a 500-year-old convent into La Bandita Townhouse – boutique luxury, Tuscan feasts, and courtyard aperitivos in Pienza’s UNESCO-stamped soul.
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An architectural-statement, this minimalist hideaway in the Dolomites is the perfect basecamp for those who appreciate design, food, comfort and doorstep nature.
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Como’s crafted outsider – a modernist lakeside escape stitched into the land, made for lovers of design, detail and chilled luxury with a bold architectural soul.
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Once the home of devout Sisters, its aged cloistral heritage has been recast following an exacting narrative of preservation, reframing the monastic aesthetics for the modern nomad without corrupting the patina of austere beauty and timeworn touchpoints.
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Wrapped by the Dolomites, this modern eco-resort pairs mountain lifestyle with simple elegance and luxury wellness vibes. An authentically pastoral location accented with the local Ladin culture that feels at once both holistic and fun.
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A smooth design den pearled in white with an interior design that is eminently simple: a clean alpine aestheticism that borrows from Italian design, the Danish principles of hygge and a touch of sweet sophistication in the Japonesque detailing.
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Birch and smoked oak hug the thick walls and capture the house’s DNA from the days as a farmhouse barn. Once a resplendent Renaissance home to the Bishop and favoured lodgings for the merchant traders heading along the Romanesque Via Claudia Augusta.
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Rising up like delicate meringue-whipped peaks, mirroring the Dolomites panorama that surrounds it, the architecture and design of Hotel Milla Montis create an impact.
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A groovy icon from the seventies, Seehotel Ambach, presides over the shores of Lake Caldaro in Italy’s South Tyrol with its perfectly formed, curvaceous marshmallowy walls of laid-back glamour and a canvas of tangerine, vert and oxide red, which drape mid-century furniture pieces.
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Remodelled over the centuries, 'Cinematic Italian' is the interior design mantra that consummately knits the restored historical elements to the nostalgia, style and flamboyance from the height of Italian film and design of the 1960s.
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Sleep under medieval frescoes, sweep down labyrinthine corridors, lord it up on the lofty ramparts or stroll through the Mediterranean garden, admiring the ivy-clad castle backdrop.
A design refuge for those that like their head in the clouds but feet firmly placed in architectural modernism, set at 1850 metres, the hotel is lofty enough to be able to ski straight out of its door, as well as hiking in summer.
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History, design, calmed wellness and an interior of modern heritage make this hotel-apartment refuge close to Merano the perfect pitstop for some downtime and closeness to nature.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.