< Previous2021 LOVING THE WORLD Just a short drive from San Gimignano and travellers are met with Belmond’s second Tuscan property. The citadel cuts a striking shape on the forested horizon, the long driveway framed by slender cypresses building anticipation as you pull up to the pale-lemon façade. Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel sits on the site of an Etruscan village and many ruins and artefacts are still on show today. The impeccably restored 10th-century castle was once the estate of vaunted Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, where he hosted weekend parties attended by Sophia Loren, Burt Reynolds and the Italian glitterati. The same grandeur and glamour live on today – a Dior Vespa is parked outside, loungers are decked with Belmond’s signature striped cushions, there’s a sizeable glass-tiled infinity pool and the property is abundant in flora. Among the thousands of pink and yellow roses planted outside is a sculpture of a man gently caressing a tree – Castello di Casole’s contribution to the Mitico collaboration dubbed ‘Loving the World’. “To caress the present, to caress trees, to caress nature, like a human being would do,” explains Italian sculptor Michelangelo Pistoletto, who crafted four bronze sculptures, named Accarezzare gli Alberi (l’Etrusco), around the estate’s 4,200 acres of grounds. “The Etruscans represent the liaison between the ancient land and the future we are about to embark on. There are four Etruscans in different colours so that all human cultures are represented in harmony with each other.” Each sculpture stands next to ancient trees, showcasing the connection between Castello di Casole and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. “The work is a universal message of love, mutual care and peace,” continues the artist. “The sculptures are here to encourage us to embrace our differences, to love nature and to approach a third phase of humanity”. Take a walk through the bucolic grounds to best experience the installation, from the sophisticated main building to the suites and villas on the estate, hidden by towering cypress trees and looking onto vineyards and fields where hare, pheasant and deer roam free. What was once the hamlet-turned-medieval castle-turned-movie- producer-playground is now a quintessentially Tuscan country retreat of 39 bedrooms. Impeccable detail has been paid in bedrooms with touches like reclaimed timber and terracotta tiles along with period furniture and marble bathrooms. The former bell tower now houses two-story suites – miniature Tuscan castles in themselves with their evocative interiors comprising exposed stonework, lots of dark wood, mosaic bathroom floors, heavy drapes and paintings. Homage is paid to Visconti in the hotel’s Visconti Bar, seductively Italian serving aperitivo and nightcaps – the glamorous vibe spilling out into the terrace. Dinners take place out on the terrace, which, like Villa San Michele, offers some of the most breathtaking views in the region. While Villa San Michele’s terrace sees the Duomo and stars of Florence, Castello di Casole’s sees the charming hilltop village of Esola and rolling hills and vineyards: the hotel is not far from Chianti. Dine on slow- cooked wild Tuscan boar ragu and butter ribbons of silky truffle pasta locally sourced from the rich and fertile countryside. This page: a suite at Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel Facing page: dining in the hotel’s extensive grounds “THE SCULPTURES ARE HERE TO ENCOURAGE US TO EMBRACE OUR DIFFERENCES AND TO LOVE NATURE”222324 While Tuscany, undoubtedly, is the heart of Belmond and Galleria Continua’s Mitico collaboration, the gallery’s roots between the two Tuscan properties, the collaboration can also be experienced in two of Belmond’s other iconic Italian properties. Almost caught adrift between Europe and Africa, the sun-baked island of Sicily has lured guests with its sparkling bays, lemon-scented air, mountainous hinterlands and timeworn cities like Palermo and Catania. Belmond’s Grand Hotel Timeo is amongst the most beloved and revered establishments on the island, perched in the mountains of Taormina overlooking the cerulean blue bay and Mount Etna, and the third location for the Mitico collaboration – ‘Colouring the World’. The collaboration saw Cameroonian artist Pascale Marthine Tayou create his Les Routes du Paradis (paths to happiness), a coloured path from the hotel’s grand entrance through six acres of property gardens to the magnificent third-century Greek Theatre. Four crystal sculptures entitled Totem Cristal dot the path: human-sized totems each uniquely dressed and embodying creolisation – the mixing together of different people and cultures. The project perfectly encapsulates Sicily, a colonial crossroads conquered by Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans. “Sicily is a mythical place for a mythical project,” explains Tayou. “I told myself I would do a triumph of colours to set the energies free and celebrate beauty again. How is it that sometimes it all seems so dark around us? We need to look inside our souls. That’s where the light is, there is harmony there.” Galleria Continua and Belmond’s final Mitico installation lies in the ancient floating city of Venice, across the lagoon at the iconic Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel. Here, the theme pays homage to one of Italy’s greatest loves, cooking. Marked by the 59th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, Cipriani’s Mitico opened in the Casanova Gardens Giudecca island hotel and is the work of Indian artist Subodh Gupta. Echoing his work displayed in San Gimignano, Gupta crafted his installation using thousands of discarded cooking pots, pans and utensils. The piece itself named Cooking the World, inside is a kitchen, where Gupta himself has cooked his family recipes and hosted events. Belmond and Galleria Continua’s thought-provoking installations are available to view until November when the sun begins to fade and winter draws in across Italy’s rolling patchwork landscape. But for now, this merging of modern art, culture and the zeitgeist is very much alive, and with it, giving a renewed sense of life to these timeless and beautiful Italian escapes. Previous page: Accarezzare gli Alberi (l’Etrusco) by Michelangelo Pistoletto This page: Pascale Marthine Tayou’s Les Routes du Paradis at Grand Hotel Timeo Facing page: Cooking the World by Subodh Gupta at Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel PHO T OGR APHS: A G O S TINO O SIO , MAR C O V ALMAR ANA COLOURING AND COOKING THE WORLD252627 KNOWN FOR ITS OLD-WORLD GLAMOUR, BOUNDARY- PUSHING OPENINGS AND SHINY REFURBISHMENTS ARE BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO MONACO AND ITS ONCE SLEEPY NEIGHBOURS WORDS BY ISABELLA SULLIVAN RIVIERA REVIVAL28 WHERE TO STAY Monaco. The name conjures up images of timeless glamour, beauty, hedonism and wealth. Think of Monaco, and think of Princess Grace Kelly, of old-world hotels which have graced the silver screen, the Grand Prix and high society balls. To the east of Monaco lies Roquebrune-Cap- Martin, the once a sleepy village turned rendezvous spot for some of history’s most avant-garde figures. Nearly a century ago, Irish architect and designer Eileen Grey crafted her visionary stilted home Villa E-1027 here – refurbished and re-opened to the public in 2021 – and not long after Coco Chanel built her own Villa Pausa, hosting fabulous soirees for the likes of Picasso, Dalí, Churchill and Cocteau. Though undeniably glamorous, this glossy enclave of the Riviera has remained relatively set in its old ways, that is, until the past year, when boundary-pushing new openings and a slew of new refurbishments are changing up its tourism landscape. For summer 2022, there’s nowhere more exciting on the Riviera than this charming little corner. STYLISH STAYS Most people, at some time or another, sitting in Monaco or its nearby villages will find themselves staring at The Maybourne Riviera. It’s almost impossible not to. Most people know it, or if they don’t know what it is, they’ve wondered it. During the day, it appears as an imposing modernist façade of crisscrossed white blocks on the cliffside, and come night, its brilliant illumination could be seen from space. French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte’s ambitious ode to nouveau luxe design is the latest opening from Maybourne Hotel Group (of London’s Claridge’s, The Berkeley and Connaught hotels) and the second outside of the UK. The hotel lords above Monaco cantilevered on a rocky Roquebrune-Cap-Martin outcrop and heralds a new look for this corner of the Côte d’Azur with its futuristic yet sleek design. Before its glossy transformation, the arresting shell spent eight long years as a local eyesore, boarded up after the closure of the Vista Palace, as it was once called, before being snapped up by Paddy McKillen of the Maybourne Group for the brand’s long-awaited expansion into Europe. The position is second-to-none – overlooking the twinkling lights of Monte-Carlo and down to the beaches of Roquebrune on one side, and on the other, to the Italian border city of Menton. Five of the biggest names in interior design were hired for the project: André Fu, Bryan O’Sullivan, Pierre Yovanovitch and Michelle Yu, along with uber-luxury London-based firm Rigby & Rigby. Five unique designers may seem cacophonic, but the result is harmonious. What hits you when entering the soaring lobby is light, pouring in from the floor- to-ceiling windows leading to ocean-view terraces. Eyes are instantly drawn to a vast sculpture of an intertwined couple by French-American artist Louise Bourgeois hanging from the ceiling, then to the iconic Bibendum chairs, designed by Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier stained glass. From the lobby, it’s an easy glide out to Italian-Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco’s new Riviera Restaurant and out onto the terrace which is perennially bathed in Mediterranean sunshine. Renowned architect André Fu was brought in to craft the hotel’s holistic two-storey wellness space. Previous page: Monte-Carlo Beach at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin This page: Monaco’s Port Hercule Facing page: The Maybourne Riviera’s swimming pool Contrasting the blues and whites sweeping the hotel, Fu’s spa is full of solid oak, French limestone, polished rose gold and earthy neutral tones which adorn the curved sculptured walls. Behind the walls are seven treatment rooms, a hair and beauty salon, a boutique stocked with stylish local brands and a wellness suite. Rooms are just as soothing and sunlit, and ultra-modern meets retro-modernist with plenty of marble, soft powdery pastel pinks and blues. Terraces look onto the sea with baby blue loungers and charming dining sets or are shaded by pines with the occasional private pool. The view itself is superlative – out onto the endless blue Mediterranean and down onto the pool framed by bright orange umbrellas and the brilliant green lawns, which recently played host to the global launch of Rolls- Royce Motor Cars’ Phantom Series II. In 69 rooms – including 29 suites – bathrooms have Japanese Toto toilets and are stocked with Dyson hairdryers and crystal glassware for fixing drinks – after all, there are few better spots on the entire coastline to enjoy a sundowner than your panoramic terrace. What might grab your attention when nursing an aperitif is a sweeping terracotta- PHO T OGR APHS , F A CING P A GE: VIA T OLILA F OLL O WING P A GE: MEL ODIE MCD ANIEL F OR CHANEL29Next >