Monteverdi Tuscany Boutique Hotel Refurb by Ilaria Miani

Part of a fifteen-year restoration, luxury boutique hotel Monteverdi Tuscany has opened new rooms in hilltop buildings that were once part of the semi-abandoned medieval village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro. In their largest property expansion to date, the hotel now offers six additional guest suites, culinary academy, spa, and terrace bar overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage Val d’Orcia.

Aiming for the establishment to be both as beautiful and timeless as Tuscany itself, Monteverdi founder and owner Michael Cioffi enlisted Rome-based artist and interior designer Ilaria Miani, who has built a reputation for restoring historic Italian homes. The project was guided by a strict avoidance of folkloristic restoration techniques, in not wanting to turn the village into a tourist cliché.

In conducting prior research, Miani met with residents of Castiglioncello del Trinoro, collecting old photographs and studying their belongings. She then called on local artisans to rebuild the village using ancient stone-working techniques that are on the verge of extinction. The walls of the new Monteverdi suites were built with indigenous materials including stone, timber and metal, reclaimed from centuries of Tuscan history and imbued with the memories of local villagers.

Miani took inspiration from the hues of the Val d’Orcia and dialled them up a notch, with risqué floor to ceiling shades of green, purple, blue and pink in the guest rooms. Her perspective is that the hotel is a living work of art itself, the colours referencing the alluring Tuscan landscape and Renaissance masters with a contemporary edge. Each room is completely unique, with bespoke furnishings, accessories and original artwork by leading Italian contemporary artists.

The new spa is reminiscent of ancient Roman baths, surrounded by greenery with an underground heated pool and cold plunge pool. A Hammam room revises ancient cleansing rituals that hark back to the Roman and Ottoman Empires. Outdoor travertine bathtubs allow guests to soak in the views of the Tuscan hills (pun intended).

The culinary academy is set within the former village school building, now featuring stainless steel fixtures, purple walls and red floors. An alfresco dining area is surrounded by Monteverdi’s organic herb and vegetable gardens, which centuries ago belonged to the village parson.