Owner's Note:
We are not the first Americans to dream of owning a villa in Italy. Most of you probably remember "Under The Tuscan Sun," a movie about the trials and tribulations of undertaking such a project. Thankfully our project went quite smoothly. First, we hired a local architect who worked with Villa partner and American architect Paul Bertelli. Second, even before we started our restoration project we hired a local couple, Matteo Turchi and Lisa Jane Cappannini to manage the property for us. They've been with us ever since. The truth is that without the two of them I don't know what we would do. They've stayed with us through Italy's Coronavirus shutdown, and they've stayed optimistic and encouraging the whole time. Now we're beginning to welcome back EU guests and have our fingers crossed that we'll be able to welcome our American friends back at least by next summer. I've talked with Lisa and Matteo almost every day since the Italian shutdown began. Lisa sends us photos almost daily. When she sent me these photos of our gardens I could hardly believe my eyes. This spring and summer our garden truly blossomed. And the vegetable gardens Lisa Jane planted are producing an amazing bounty as well. I asked Lisa to send me photos for this post and hounded her until she wrote the following notes about this year's success. What I really want to say is, "Thank you Lisa and Matteo. We couldn't have done any of this without you."
Villa Palazzetta's Garden Has Never Looked So Glorious
By Lisa Jane Cappannini
Villa Palazzetta Property Manager and Concierge
The work on the garden was completed during the summer of 2018 and we knew that we would have to be patient before we could see the plants grow and achieve satisfactory flowering. Our agronomist is Matteo who started almost as a beginner and in a short time developed an immense passion for it. During the low season he attended several specific courses and in these two years his knowledge has grown together with the plants themselves.
In the meantime, some of the plants initially planted have been replaced by others more suitable for the type of soil and exposure to the sun.
In the pots around the pool and the overlook terrace, we chose to put some beautiful stipa plants, collectively known as feather grass, or flax of the fairies in Italy. This specific plant requires a very limited amount of water and doesn't suffer the heat of the summer. This spring was ideal for a healthy development of the plants, a combination of lots of good sun and a fair amount of rain. And we gradually started admiring a wonderful bloom.
We are currently experiencing an explosion of lavender, sage, rosemary, santolina, St. John's wort, cistus, all typical from the Mediterranean Basin, and others like hypericum, abelia, buddleja, tulbaghia, perovskia ... so a beautiful collection. Lots of happy butterflies and precious bees are enjoying the blooming and having a real ball.
Villa Palazzetta’s garden has never looked so glorious!!!!
