Il Bottaccio – Massa – Italy

At the foot of the green hills of Forte dei Marmi, in Montignoso, lies Relais & Châteaux Il Bottaccio. The luxury mansion is one of the most exclusive Relais & Châteaux in Tuscany, the result of a careful and wise restoration of the ancient water mill of the eighteenth century, transformed into the most exclusive 5-star luxury hotel with SPA of Forte dei Marmi and Versilia.

Water and marble. Boccaccio’s soul feeds on these two elements. On the one hand the sea of Versilia, the streams of the Apuan mountains, the watercourse that moved the great wheel of time in which there was a crusher. On the other, the white gold quarries, above Carrara, where Michelangelo chose marble for David or for Pietà. The water now fills the large tub where one time the oil was collected, at the center of the restaurant. Marble, however, is multiplied and transformed into works of art collected by the spouses D’Anna, the hosts. Galleries, patrons, owners of an exclusive English college, have created a Bottaccio family residence. A lounge for friends. An intimate haven for those who love art and nature.

Not far away from the world of Forte dei Marmi, this is the most strategic point in the region to satisfy at the same time the desire for serenity and culture hunger. Nearby are the cities of Lucca and Pisa, the Cinque Terre, Lunigiana and Torre del Lago with the Puccini Festival. Pietrasanta is a step away, a city of art between ancient marbles and recent exhibitions of artists such as Moore and Botero.

But it is among the fresh fronds of the garden of Bottaccio, with the stream that crosses it, that the luxury of tranquility reaches excellence. Species when combined with the kitchen of Nino Moscow, a happy and renewed encounter between the Tyrrhenian and Apuane forests. The freshest fish meets the mushrooms, berries, colonnade lard, goat cheese and Camaiore vegetables. The philosophy of cooking, as in the whole house, is summarized in the title of risotto scampi and porcini: “we are where we are therefore doing it”.