Romantic Italian Hotels in Tuscany, Florence, and beyond
Photo courtesy of Relais Monaci delle Terre Nere1/8Relais Monaci delle Terre Nere in Zafferana Etnea, Sicily
With Mount Etna puffing behind and the Ionian Sea shimmering below, this aristocratic pink-washed villa surrounded by gardens and vineyards seems the essence of timeless Sicily. Inside, owner Guido Alessandro Coffa has fashioned six stylish suites, whose lava-stone walls are offset by contemporary textiles and furnishings such as Philippe Starck’s Ghost chair. Plus, all have air-conditioning and Wi-Fi—not always a given in Sicily. The Relais takes sustainability seriously in its Mediterranean-view terrace restaurant, using its own organic olive oil, fruit, honey, and vegetables for the traditional Sicilian dishes it serves. Rooms from $190; monacidelleterrenere.it
Photo courtesy of Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa2/8Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa in Conca dei Marini, Amalfi Coast
Once a Dominican monastery famous for its sfogliatella pastries and briefly a no-frills pensione before being abandoned, this gloriously located 17th-century pile has been transformed by its South Carolinian owner into the Amalfi Coast’s latest must-stay boutique hotel. Each of the 20 rooms, many with original cross-vaulted stone ceilings, has a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The decor is minimally elegant; its soothing cream, white, and blue tones make little attempt to compete with the panorama. A plant-fringed path winds down a series of terraces to an infinity pool dramatically perched at cliffs’ edge. Rooms from $700; monasterosantarosa.com
Photos courtesy of Monteverdi Tuscany3/8Monteverdi Tuscany in Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Tuscany
The medieval hilltop hamlet of Castiglioncello del Trinoro, with its sweeping views over Tuscany’s pastoral Val d’Orcia, stood largely neglected until a pair of its houses were renovated by Italian designer Ilaria Miani and recently opened as the Monteverdi resort. The same formula of rigorous structural restoration combined with refined rustic-chic interior design has been applied to a third building that will open on August 1 as the Hotel Monteverdi, a luxurious seven-room haven that makes this exquisite, unspoiled village as enticing for cocooning couples as it is for larger groups and families. So perfect an escape is Castiglioncello—its narrow pedestrian lanes dotted with wildflowers and its silence broken only by birdsong—that’s it’s almost a shame the Wi-Fi works so well. Rooms from $315; monteverdituscany.com
Photo courtesy of Villa della Pergola4/8Villa della Pergola in Alassio, Liguria
The lost world of the expatriate Italian Riviera lives on at Villa della Pergola, a delightfully eclectic residence built in the 19th century by a Scottish general in the hills above the seaside resort of Alassio. Little used after the death of its last British owner, Lady Hanbury, in the 1980s, the villa, along with its colonial India-style annex, Villino della Pergola, and its verdant terraced gardens, was restored a few years ago and opened as an intimate 13-room luxury guesthouse. It’s the kind of place that inspires one to throw on a summer linen suit and sip gin and tonics on the wisteria-shaded terrace. An elegant English-country style has been used to decorate the guest rooms, perhaps the most romantic of which is the sky-blue, sea-view Thomas junior suite in the main villa. Rooms from $315; villadellapergola.com
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Photos courtesy of Relais Villa Vittoria5/8Relais Villa Vittoria in Laglio, Lake Como
This property is a rarity on Lake Como: a good-value boutique hotel. Smaller and a tad more aristocratic than the neighboring Relais Regina Teodolinda, its sister hotel, the apricot-hued villa surveys one of the lake’s most sought-after stretches (George Clooney has a home nearby) from across a pretty garden. It features a handsome Moroccan-style spa, and the rock-hewn basement restaurant provides a striking setting for dinner (though the Mediterranean cuisine has received mixed reviews). The bedrooms have walls painted in earthy hues, whitewashed beams, and comely decor. Be sure to book one with a lake view. Rooms from $230; relaisvillavittoria.it
Photo courtesy of Casa Manni6/8Casa Manni in Rome
Another property that’s been open for a couple of years, Casa Manni isn’t a hotel but a luxurious two-person apartment in the center of Rome. It provides services that go beyond the standard offerings at five-star accommodations, from access to owner Armando Manni’s thousand-bottle wine cellar to bespoke archaeology tours. Fashioned by interior designer Adam D. Tihany, the four-room apartment is ineffably chic, with custom-made furnishings and a Roman-style shower mosaic by Tihany, as well as contemporary artworks by, among others, Mario Schifano. Design books and other curated details add a lived-in character. Especially appealing is the terrace with swoon-worthy views across weathered terra-cotta rooftops to the 2nd-century Column of Marcus Aurelius. From $785; casamanni.com
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Photo courtesy of The St. Regis Florence7/8The St. Regis Florence
With 81 rooms and 19 suites, Florence’s newest luxury sleepover option may not sound like a place for amorous couples. But the St. Regis never feels crowded, and its sumptuous, operatic bedrooms are among the city’s most romantic hideouts. Brocade, linen, and silk textiles dominate, with gilded mirrors, antique writing desks, and (in some suites) faux-Renaissance frescoes of Florentine scenes combining in an opulent mix that avoids feeling heavy or cluttered. For a guaranteed view down the river to the Ponte Vecchio, book one of the Arno River View rooms with a balcony, or, even splashier, one of the top-floor Grand Deluxe suites. The hotel offers butler service and other elite amenities, and the elegant Restaurant Etichetta serves sophisticated Italian cuisine. Don’t miss the hotel’s signature Bloody Mary—whose kick comes not from vodka but Brunello di Montalcino grappa. Rooms from $400; starwoodhotels.com
Photos courtesy of Resort Bufi8/8Resort Bufi in Molfetta, Puglia
The pale limestone walls of this starkly glamorous new boutique hotel in the Puglian town of Molfetta sink their foundations into the hotel’s private white-pebble beach. From the shore, steps climb to a terrace with open views of the wide blue Adriatic. Resort Bufi’s five spacious rooms are strikingly white, their utter simplicity broken only by occasional vibrant wall mosaics, each based on a digitized version of an artwork by Gianni Veneziano, half of the Milan studio Veneziano + Team, which designed the hotel. Though ornament is kept to a minimum, the four sea-facing rooms (the Terra suite looks onto a quiet lane behind the property) offer inspiring views. Downstairs, a striking mosaic-lined spa—located in a former rainwater cistern and adjacent cellars—offers massages, skin treatments, and a Turkish bath. Rooms from $315; resortbufi.com
