One Of Our Favorite Spots - Villa Reale di Marlia
April 26, 2017
We got lost one day, looking for our 2nd rental. (Ever the producer, I thought it best to scout the new location before actually moving there. So glad we did!) It was out in the country where all roads seem to be named Via delle Villa and therefore tough to nail down with google maps. We pulled into what looked to be a tiny parking lot/ticket office for a huge villa. I popped in to ask for directions (being the most fearless of our group with my .05% Italian language skills.) The two women there were almost able to help me but more importantly, I learned we were at the Villa Reale di Marlia. I promised we would come back for a tour and I'm so glad we did.
Upon our return, I went back into the tiny ticket office and the two same women were there. One turned to the other and said excitedly, in Italian, "This is the woman who was lost!" I laughed and bought tickets. At first it was disappointing to learn that all the buildings were closed. They are being restored and will be closed for probably years. (They only started restoring in 2015.) We went in anyway to view the gardens and man oh man did my disappointment disappear quickly. The tour map smartly takes you away from the buildings down to the lake first. Then you get this stunning view back up to the main house.
Then you walk back up to the main buildings via all the amazing side gardens.
The wisteria was stunning and smelled soooo good.
There is a pool and pool house tucked away on the side. I can't wait to go back and see this fully restored.
There is a Grotto, of course. All the best villas had them...
Inside the Grotto it was about 10 degrees cooler and looked like it used to spray water from all the fountains into the center. I suspect on hot summer days this would be the place to relax and cool off as you walked from the lake back to the house. ("house")
There were many other gardens and pathways - the Spanish Garden, the Green Theater, etc. But my favorite is the Lemon Garden. Kurt estimated it is a bit smaller than a football field. Half is lemon trees in pots (so you can move them indoors during winter!) and the other half is a big pond with a fountain.
A view from behind the fountain looking back at the Lemons:
Turns out, my favorite painter, John Singer Sargent, came here to paint. And he painted a few watercolors from this very Lemon Garden.
When you arrived in a carriage to the main house, this is what you saw when you exited the carriage - a huge fountain with multiple levels of water coming down. This photo does not do it justice except to show how large it is!
Here's a close up of the center. Also surprising, you could walk along that upper level next to the statues and giant urns. There were lovely little secret pathways through the trees and bushes back there. Excellent fun for this old romantic.
The huge water fountain (they call it the Water Theater) is behind this main building. We stopped halfway to empty rocks from our shoes.
The whole time we were there, walking the grounds, we saw one other family. Total. In the whole giant place.
When we left, I thanked the women again and they said they were having an event on Easter Monday - a Botanical Treasure Hunt for the kids! Um, yes, sign us up. So we came back! This time with a picnic and blankets (because you are always welcome to come in and picnic any time you want) and Harper really enjoyed the treasure hunt and of course the gift at the end. (Amazingly she wore the exact same outfit!)
Here she finds Boxwood and Lemons.
She hugged and kissed many of the trees and plants we found.
SWAG
I love this place and I can't wait to go back often to see how things have come along. I want to picnic there all the time.
The true joy of spending a long time in one place is visiting wonderful things you find more than once. I highly recommend it.
Please visit the link of the villa - their photos are stunning and give you some better views. Villa Reale di Marlia