Villa Dragonetti

If you are one of those travelers who long to get off the beaten track and really mean it, this is a most magnificent destination for you. Only 90 minutes from Rome and 7 km from the captivating old city of L’Aquila (reached via a bus that stops in front of the villa), nestled at the feet of Gran Sasso (one of Italy’s most spectacular peaks), and surrounded by an intricate Italian garden created in the 17th century, this fantastically ornate and painstakingly restored patrician villa offers a chance to actually live in a setting that could rival many world-class museums, while at the same time allowing you to reside only five minutes’ walk from an authentic village that has retained its character and vintage. No Hollywood movie crews have come along and “beautified” the crumbling façades of these local homes; no nouveau riche Milanese industrialists have attracted upscale boutiques and expensive restaurants to these winding alleys; no tour buses are lined up at these gates waiting while their flocks of tourists swoop through, take pictures, buy souvenirs and flutter away. No, the only people you are liable to see here are the residents whose families have lived here for centuries, perhaps in the very same house. These people are proud of their colorful customs, their delicious cooking (which has spawned a large portion of the world’s finest Italian chefs), their deep-seated traditions and their age-old lifestyle, which might seem provincial and old-fashioned to some big city dwellers, but which is based on the solid foundations of friendship and kinship. If you truly want to see a part of Italy that has not been “globalized,” this area is bound to fascinate you. And what’s more, while you’re exploring the area you can take the rare opportunity to stay in a one-of-a-kind 16th-century aristocratic home.

After you pass through the carved stone gates, through the sculptured park and past the imposing stone lions that guard the palazzo’s front door, you will find yourself in a fancifully painted gallery lined with ancient Roman busts. This is your clue that you’ve entered a neo-Classical world, where every detail harks back to glorious olden times. On the first floor, the apartments of the noble family are totally frescoed with delicate trompe l’oeil depictions of flora and fauna, as well as painted imitation tapestries and friezes, all the rage when the Marquis invited a team of French painters to his country home in the 18th century. They decorated grand salon after grand salon, each one more breathtaking than the last. Our favorite? Oh, it has to be the master bedroom, whose wooden casement ceiling is covered with intricate paintings of 100 local flowers, and whose twin bed chambers (divided from each other by a semi-wall) each have a window that opens onto the family’s private chapel. (When you have a cardinal in your lineage, you have a chapel in the house!). Nowhere else in Abruzzo, and in few homes outside of Rome, will you see such dazzling use of the decorative arts, which reaches its apogee in the villa’s superb restaurant, where you are bound to feel like landed gentry, whether you’re enjoying a four-course gourmet dinner or a rich buffet breakfast (including homemade breads and cakes, fresh fruit and juices, local salami and cheeses, made-to-order omelets and of course, strong Italian cappuccino and espresso).

Now let us go up the stairs to the sleeping quarters, which are more intimate but almost as ornate. There are four double rooms, two junior suites and one suite, all with painted walls and/or ceilings, furnished with the family’s own priceless antiques, luxurious fabrics and upholstery, framed photos, objects and mementos. The two junior suites are Celeste and Verde. Celeste has a hallway to a master bedroom with a queen bed and two windows, a hall to a single bedroom with a window and its own TV, and a bathroom with stall shower. Verde is one gigantic room with massive crossbeams on the ceiling, a chaise lounge, one king or two twin beds, a table, desk and big bathroom with tub. Oro is the Suite: it has a living room, a bathroom with stall shower, a bedroom with queen bed and en suite bathroom with stall shower, plus a staircase up to a twin-bedded room. The four rooms are Azzurro, Ocre, Gialla and Arancio, each with en suite bath with stall shower. Azzurro has cross beams, two windows and a full-sized bed for one person. Ocre has a queen bed (no twins), a beamed ceiling and a window. Gialla is very spacious and has a frescoed vault ceiling. Arancio has two full-sized beds (no queen) and a small but spectacular bathroom with “fresco views.”

Next door to the villa is the guesthouse, where three air-conditioned double rooms, all on the ground floor, are decorated in charming country style. Each has a queen bed (no twins), a bathroom with stall shower, and a patio outside. 21st-century amenities are not the reason to come to Villa Dragonetti; still, each room has satellite TV, complimentary mini-bar, electric kettle and tea/coffee makings, direct-dial telephone and safe. Also available to guests are a cozy cocktail lounge, an Internet point with printer, several sitting rooms, and a large in-ground swimming pool.

If you are looking for atmosphere so pure that you can truly feel you have slipped back 200 years in time, this wonderful property will offer you an opportunity it will be tough to surpass anywhere. Take the bus that stops 100 yards from the villa to explore the fascinating city of L’Aquila (click here to read more); visit the countless medieval castles that dot this hilly terrain, once contested by all the great powers of the Mediterranean (click here for more about the castles); spend a day driving and/or hiking through the spectacular Gran Sasso National Park, only 5km away. Or simply get to know the local Italians and soak up their wonderful way of life.

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Nightly Rates for 2008 (per room) One-Night Stays OK!
Includes taxes, services & breakfast
	Low Season: Jan. 8-March 31 Nov. 1-Dec. 2: see 2009 below	High Season: April 1-Oct. 31
Double Room for Single Use (Guesthouse)	110.00 EURO	140.00 EURO
Double Room in Villa for Single Use	140.00 EURO	165.00 EURO
Double Room in Guesthouse	110.00 EURO	140.00 EURO
Double Room in Villa	140.00 EURO	165.00 EURO
Junior Suite (2 people)	160.00 EURO	185.00 EURO
Junior Suite (3 people)	200.00 EURO	225.00 EURO
Child 5-14 years old in Parents' Double Room	20.00 EURO	20.00 EURO

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CLOSED DECEMBER 3, 2008 - JANUARY 7, 2009 

Nightly Rates for 2009 (per room) One-Night Stays OK!
Includes taxes, services & breakfast
	Low Season: Nov. 1-Dec. 2, 2008 Jan. 8-March 31 Nov. 1-Dec. 2	High Season: April 1-Oct. 31 Dec. 3-Jan. 7, 2010
Double Room for Single Use (Guesthouse)	94.00 EURO	119.00 EURO
Double Room in Villa for Single Use	128.00 EURO	148.00 EURO
Double Room in Guesthouse	110.00 EURO	140.00 EURO
Double Room in Villa	150.00 EURO	175.00 EURO
Junior Suite (2 people)	170.00 EURO	195.00 EURO
Junior Suite (3 people)	210.00 EURO	235.00 EURO
Suite (2 people)	180.00 EURO	205.00 EURO
Suite (3 people)	220.00 EURO	245.00 EURO
Suite (4 people)	260.00 EURO	285.00 EURO
Child 5-14 years old in Parents' Junior Suite	20.00 EURO	20.00 EURO

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Children 4 years and younger pay nothing in their parents' junior suite. A baby crib is free of charge and must be reserved at time of booking.

There are no guest rooms on the ground floor of the villa. The guesthouse rooms are all on the ground floor, so if you prefer not to climb the stairs, please request the guesthouse. These rooms are slightly smaller and simpler than those in the villa.

There is ample free parking at the villa.

Dinner at the restaurant costs 25 Euro/person plus drinks. Room service is free of charge in low season and costs 5 Euro in high season. If you want eggs at breakfast, please ask as they are made to order.

Small pets are allowed and cost 20 Euro/day extra paid at check-out.

Click here for information about private transfers to the property.

Please note that it is not possible to guarantee Internet access at any property, because the property does not generate the service, it merely provides access from a server. If the server experiences any kind of problem at all, the property regrets it cannot be responsible for any inconvenience caused by subsequent lack of service.

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Booking Terms and Cancellation Penalties