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Villa San Giulio - Lake Orta
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Accommodates 8+2 — 4+ Bedrooms
— 4 Baths
We’ve been coming to Lago di Orta since 1985. It’s
our favorite of all the Italian lakes. Sooooo charming. Its
principal town, Orta San Giulio, is utterly captivating, one
of our top-10 towns of this size in all Italy. The excursion
to the little island of San Giulio in the middle of the lake
is delightful. You can “do” all of Orta in a couple
of days. And then, it’s an excellent base from which
to explore the entire lake region, but especially the shores
of Lake Maggiore: Stresa, Pallanza, Cannero Riviera, the Borromean
Islands, Villa Taranto, the National Parks of the Valgrande
and of the Ticino Valley. Not to mention the mountain peaks
and valleys to the immediate west, including the Matterhorn.
Plus: golf, tennis, watersports, hiking, climbing, ecoactivities,
fine dining. You need more?
Our one offering on Orta, the
Villa San Giulio, is quite special. We’d call it a “character
villa”, not fancy but full of history, memories,
good feelings. Comfortable, faded elegance is another way
to put it. Antiques, beautiful old mirrors, book-lined walls,
interesting paintings and ceramics – you get the picture.
Flowers, flowering trees and
shrubs surround the villa, and a century-old wisteria greets
you in the courtyard. On the ground floor you’ll find
a matrimonial bedroom with its own bath (tub with telephone
shower); laundry room; and storage. Upstairs, the main level
of the villa contains the principal living quarters: a spacious
sitting room with fireplace and French doors giving out onto
a flower-filled balcony; breakfast room with table for 6;
quite small but adequate kitchen with dishwasher and two fridges;
study/single bedroom; matrimonial bedroom; and two baths,
both with tub and hand-held shower. The balcony leads to a
gorgeous outdoor patio which in effect becomes the summer
living room, with sofas, armchairs, dining table seating 10,
and a lovely view of the lake. Upstairs again, the master
bedroom has windows framing another beautiful lake vista;
its bathroom has a tub and separate stall shower. A pass-through
bedroom containing a single bed and a crib leads into an under-the-eaves
bedroom with joinable twins. Telephone for incoming and local
outgoing calls, plus internet connection; hair dryer.
Villa San Giulio holds 10 persons
comfortably, but it lacks a real indoor dining room, and the
kitchen is small. Those factors need to be taken into account,
especially if you’re into cooking, and if you’re
going to be traveling in a season when the weather might not
be perfect.
Villa San Giulio is above
and overlooking the lake, it is not on the lake shore.
A private, rather steep stepped path from the villa leads
down to the lakeshore road. You then have to cross
the road to reach the villa’s own little private dock
where, via a ladder, there’s a rowboat you can use on
lazy afternoons. Now, there are obviously things to keep in
mind here: Children must be watched and helped across the
road. And people with any physical mobility problem shouldn’t
attempt either the path or the boat. It’s just too awkward.
On the other hand, the villa
was partially adapted for use by the handicapped by its late
owner who, when he became infirm, wanted to remain. There
is an elevator connecting that ground-floor bedroom to the
patio and the main level of the house. Garden paths (other
than the one down to the lake) have no steps. But we’re
not talking full wheelchair accessibility here; there are
no grab-bars in the bathrooms. It’s just somewhat more
handicapped-friendly than other similar homes.
So, in summary, what we’re
talking about with Villa San Giulio is a romantic, panoramic
lakeview villa with 3 matrimonial, 1 twin, and 2 single bedrooms,
plus 4 baths. It’s great for extended family, two small
families, or a group of adult friends. Bedrooms are far from
equal, and bathroom positioning wasn’t planned with the
Four Seasons in mind. So it’s not a home for you suburban
Republican couples looking for en-suite bathroom facilities
with 2000-watt makeup mirrors. Villa San Giulio is a large,
unpretentious, lived-in home full of character in a splendid
position on Orta, our favorite Italian lake.
| Rates: |
Jun 28-Aug 30 |
Mar 22-29; May 3-Jun 28; Aug 30-Oct 4; Dec 20-Jan 10, 2009 |
Other periods |
3,350 euros / week |
3,350 euros / week |
not available |
| Extras: |
Final cleaning 150 euros; crib 100 euros/wk; extra bed 150 euros/wk; late arrival 50 euros
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| Arrival: |
Saturday generally, but inquire
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| Minimum
stay: |
1 week |
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