Castello di Reschio

Italian hoteliers in general are no strangers to working with heritage buildings, but the Castello di Reschio is an extreme example. Set on a vast estate in the picturesque hills of Umbria, near the border with Tuscany, the castle dates back all the way to the tenth century, which makes the decade-plus its owners, an architect and an artist, spent on careful restoration seem like the blink of an eye by comparison.

Given the results you’d have to agree it was worth the wait — the rooms and suites are impeccably well designed, and widely varied, each one featuring thousand-year-old architectural details, contemporary Italian design furniture, and artworks and objects that provide echoes of the centuries in between. Some of the grander suites occupy a neighboring building, once the church’s vestry, but the most extravagant one spans five floors of the castle’s ancient tower, with a spectacular view of the Umbrian landscape.

Just outside the castle walls sits a dramatic oval-shaped swimming pool that seems to be cut directly into the lawn; the castle’s wine cellars are now the Bathhouse, complete with a Roman bath, hammam, Swedish-style sauna, and a treatment room. And the castle’s social venues are numerous — there’s the Palm Court with its grand piano, there’s the Library and another bar in the Old Kitchen, there’s the Ristorante alle Scuderie with its stylish Bar Centrale, there’s Il Torrino, the pool bar set in the old watchtower, and last but not least is the Ristorante al Castello, with its far-ranging views, its custom-designed furniture and décor, and its menu of Umbrian classics made from ingredients sourced from the estate’s own gardens and vineyards.