At the Villa

The owners and managers of Villa Michaela hope to share with you the beauty and history of Tuscany and especially the Lucchesia. Walk in the time aged village of Vorno down quaint little paths overlooking verdant vegetable gardens and crystal streams   ..

Gaze toward gracious faded villas looking down on the city of Lucca and its famous towers. Dine al fresco by the pool under the mulberry trees or under a canopy of wisteria overlooking the olive groves, or indoors in the ornate frescoed dining room where the table seats 36. Exhaust yourself on the floodlit tennis court, mountain biking up the hill, or more leisurely walking through the olive groves stopping to drink from the famous mountain springs. Dip into the Villa Michaela “Recommended Italian Reading List” and feel the Tuscany of Byron, Shelley, Heine and Ruskin. Cool off in our vast limpid pool or treat yourself to a trip back into the civilization of the Renaissance.  Visit  the famous Lucchese villas – Villa Torrigiani with its famous ‘Le Notre’ Garden and Rococo architecture , Villa   Mansi  and Villa Reale  and of course Palazzo Pfanner within the walls of Lucca with its costume museum and  architectural lemon garden . Stroll down  off road from  the villa  along the Vorno river to the magnificent   Lo Scompiglio   restaurant with far reaching views over  vineyards and an organic vegetable gardens towards the Alpe Apuane ( Apuan Alps ) . Play some bridge , backgammon , chess  or Mahjong ( new  villa craze  !!) And of course old favourites like Monopoly and  Boggle for the yonger generation………….!!!  For musicians there are  2 grand pianos – one in the chapel with its wondergful acoustics and one in the first floor drawing room.

Spend the night relaxing with your friends or family, whether enjoying a long moonlit dinner, playing pool in the billiard room or even just unwinding with a classic Italian film in the villa’s cinema. For those with more adventure and energy in their hearts the villa is within striking distance of the beautiful Cinque Terre (a  stunning walk with  panoramic views, fresh fish for lunch and the inevitable swim), the Carrara marble quarries ( see where the world’s most famous marble came from, and the origin of Michalangelo’s ‘David’) and of course wine tasting in Lucca at the Enoteca Vani with its vast subterranean wine cellar running under the walled city itself.