The History

The History

The villa was a residence for the Counts of Mansi, brought by the dowry of the well-known Lucchese noble, Lady Lucida di Vittorio Camminati, the widow of Diversi who married Gasparo di Nicola Mansi in 1635. This Villa has two identifiable sections. The oldest is to the left side of the façade with doors and windows decorated in local limestone and chiselled to form flattened arched lintels. There is no specific date for the very simple structure, but it appears to date back to the fifteenth century.

A taller section was added to this building to turn it into an exclusive residence. This section was built in 1644 and was used as a summer residence by Lucida Mansi and her step-sister Laura, who married Pier Lodovico Gamberoni in Livorno and convalesced here after giving birth.

At that time, the area of Santa Maria del Giudice was already considered a healthy and serene place where one could reinvigorate the spirit and body due to its location. Despite the enviable position in the middle of a natural landscape, with a rugged and wild beauty, this villa was later abandoned and used as a warehouse.

After the death of Lucida, her son from her first marriage inherited the property. It is difficult to reconstruct the entire story that came after, but local folklore has it that the last noble owner lost ii while gambling.

This is a plausible story since, within living memory, the Villa was used for agricultural purposes and was inhabited by numerous families of farmers and shepherds, and the splendid open gallery surrounded by stone columns (now magnificently restored) was closed with stone walls.

There is no exact date for when this transformation took place, but most certainly it was before the start of the nineteenth century, when the first Napoleonic land register was introduced. In fact, in was in this period that that the land registry lists an annex used as a stable in front of the Villa.

The Legend

To every good Lucchese the name Lucida still reawakens old fears.
It was claimed that this young lady was a beautiful seductress hungry for love who would satisfy her lust by copulating with men from all walks of life and then kill them atrociously.
Madly in love with her own image, she filled her rooms with mirrors, and even concealed one in her rosary book. When she saw a very small wrinkle appear on her face, a sign of the inevitable ageing process, her desolation was so great that it attracted the devil who offered her thirty years of youth in exchange for her soul. She accepted, and time passed without any signs of ageing appearing on her body. However, at the end of the thirty years, the devil dragged her away in a blazing carriage and, after circling the walls to let everyone hear her screams, plunged the carriage into the lake of the botanical garden.

Legend has it that on moon-lit nights, her face can be seen emerging from the lake.

The recent history

Our family’s history with this villa is relatively recent. We became owners at the start of the 1980s. My parents spent a holiday in this area and immediately fell in love with it..
They had wanted to return to live in Italy for a long time but once the renovation of the villa began, they realised that it was too big for a home and therefore, with a spirit of adventure decided to turn it into a hotel.
Many years have passed since then and what seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision has transformed into a real passion.

Today, after growing up in the middle of this business and being seduced by its charm, I have gladly taken over the reigns of the company, hoping to continue with the worthy traditions of caring for guests and attention to detail.

Emilio Zaffora



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