Villa Paola

There’s no place on Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast that’s hard on the eyes, exactly, but the sixteenth-century sisters who founded the St. Francesco of Paola convent chose their location with an eye worthy of a twenty-first-century property developer. One imagines that thanks to their duties they didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time basking in the views, but present-day visitors are under no such constraint; anyone unlucky enough to miss out on a sea view from their guest quarters (read: anyone on the ground floor) will find no shortage of postcard-perfect vistas from Villa Paola’s patios and gardens.

You’ll want to spend some time looking at what’s inside as well. In Italy, like perhaps nowhere else, they’re comfortable spanning centuries in architecture and design. Here clean-lined contemporary Italian furniture blends seamlessly into sixteenth-century spaces, with modern conveniences included as a matter of course. For while the house represents its era well, it hardly shows its age; the hotel conversion included a very thorough restoration, and it’s doubtful whether it’s ever looked fresher. The village of Tropea makes for a pleasant stroll, if a quiet one — just be back by sunset for a cocktail on the terrace, or for dinner at Villa Paola’s restaurant, under the guidance of the Calabrian chef Giulio Ierace.

Please note: Villa Paola is open seasonally, April through October. Children under 12 are not permitted.


How to get there:
Villa Paola is 5 minutes by car from Tropea train station (15-20 minutes walking). Lamezia Terme Airport is approximately 60 minutes by car.