Villa Ardore fuses high contemporary luxury with authentic Tuscan aesthetics and offers privileged access to everything its storied location affords. From yoga retreats and culinary odysseys to road touring in a Ferrari, this sublime retreat puts it all at your fingertips.
Both of Italian descent, LA-based husbands Stephen Lewis and Christian Scali took their first trip to their ancestral homeland in 2013. It was the first of many, and while they loved their early adventures in Venice and Rome, it was Tuscany that most stirred their souls – and inspired them to pour years and millions into creating the home of their dreams, a home today they are proud to offer as an extraordinary holiday retreat for exclusive private hire.
After viewing around 30 properties, in 2021 they discovered a down-at-heel bed and breakfast perched on one of Tuscany’s highest hills, close to the tiny medieval town of Castellina-in-Chianti in the heart of the world-famous wine region. And both quickly knew that, in this former 16th-century farmhouse, whose commanding views across vineyards and forests to the medieval towers of San Gimignano had made it a prized lookout in the days when Florence and Siena, both less than an hour away today, were perma-feuding republics, they’d found ‘the one’.
An 18-month, $2.5-million renovation later, Stephen and Christian transformed the property into Villa Ardore. Set in 1.5 hectares of established, beautifully landscaped gardens with an 18m saltwater infinity pool framed by an elegant row of cypresses, tended lawns and generous stone terraces, the converted farmhouse and barn together offer eight spacious ensuite bedrooms across two buildings, and deftly combine world-class contemporary luxury with its owners’ deep love of authentic, rustic Tuscan culture. Set at the end of a forest-flanked strada bianca – an unpaved ‘white road’ named for its limestone gravel surface and typical of local landscapes – it wraps guests in a heady sense of seclusion and the raw beauty of this unusually rugged part of Tuscany.
Stephen and Christian personally sourced many antiques, vintage, and contemporary artworks from the area, most of which are available for guests to buy, giving each room a unique look. In the large, primrose-yellow living room, a colourful, 2m by 2m male nude by Fabiola Quezada, a Mexican feminist artist who has lived locally for 30 years, hangs above an elegant dark-wood side table Stephen found in an Umbrian antiques store. The brazier in the huge stone fireplace, which Christian designed, hails from a medieval castle. Nearby is a reclaimed, ornately carved Parisian bar, behind it a custom-built, state-of-the-art wine cellar housing some 500 meticulously curated Italian varieties.
Eclectic artworks also feature in the bedrooms, some with private terraces, which blend 21st-century comforts such as hand-tufted St. Regis mattresses, air con and underfloor heating with rugged original roof beams and exposed ancient stone walls. Between them, the villa’s bathrooms lavishly showcase four kinds of marble.
This Basecamp review is an extract from a longer feature article, first published in print. To read the full article, click here.
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Culturalist | FLR | GMT +1 |
| While you’re Out There |
| Don’t just swoon over the distant silhouettes of San Gimignano’s medieval towers from your Villa Ardore poolside lounger. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this 13th-century walled town owes its unique skyline to an architectural dick-swinging contest between rival first families, and these elegant edifices, bona fide skyscrapers of their day, preside over an extensive, impossibly romantic and beautifully preserved tangle of streets, piazzas and fresco-rich churches that’s a dream to explore. |
By contrast, the shell of the imposing stone barn has become two supersized suites with more modern finishes, proportions and amenities such as a galley kitchen and an accessible bathroom.
Gracious shared spaces are plentiful, from the capacious central terrace, with its large firepit perhaps the best sunset viewing spot on the property, to the poolside cocktail bar and gazebo, to the large indoor and outdoor communal dining spots, the latter with its own wood-fired pizza oven, used to our delight one evening by Pizzaiolo Gianluca, owner of Pizzeria del Borgaccio in nearby Poggibonsi. The barn also hosts a sleek, hotel-standard spa featuring a sauna, eucalyptus steam room, ‘sensory shower’ and ten-person sunken hot tub with a garden view through large glass doors. Treatments from expert local practitioners are available on request – we took our massage, with a perfect Negroni, by the pool.
Guests are contacted long before they arrive by the villa’s dedicated stay planner, and can choose from a prodigious menu of bespoke excursions, classes, indulgences and celebrations, all personally vetted by Stephen, Christian and their core team. On the premises, these range from custom-designed yoga and wellness programmes to Tuscan cookery classes with a Michelin-rated chef to bespoke wedding celebrations to a poolside serenade by opera singer Gianluca Margheri (also a gay, habitually shirt-averse fitness model. Just saying).
Off-site, the cultural, culinary and active choices are virtually endless, including everything from an early-morning hot-air balloon ride to a road tour of medieval towns in a convoy of button-cute Fiat 500s – or Ferraris, or Lamborghinis – to a shopping-concierge-guided, Prosecco-powered spree around Florence’s designer boutiques. Adventure hikes, mountain-biking and bespoke excursions to any number of local festivals and events also feature.
Service and staffing levels are entirely as guests choose, from absolute privacy to five-star-hotel-style ministrations or anywhere in between, overseen by gregarious villa manager Francesco ‘Franci’ Goracci. For us perhaps the most exceptional feature of our stay was how tangibly it was shaped by Stephen and Christian’s deep love for the local culture and community, so it made perfect sense when, over an ambrosial, al fresco last-night fine-dining feast showcasing the finest fare from that day’s local markets, we learned that Franci is the first friend the husbands made in Tuscany, when he and his boyfriend Massi served them drinks at Florence’s Piccolo Café on their very first visit. Che bello.
Photography courtesy of Villa Ardore
