We have many updates to share so let’s get to it.
We found a name! Thank you to everyone that shared your votes, ideas and opinions. As with everything, this took much longer than expected. Each time we all agreed on a name and started the paperwork process, something would come up and it wouldn’t work. The domain was taken, other companies already trademarked it, or another property already was using it. We learned there are rules for naming farms in Italy and you must use the term Villa, Borgo or Agriturismo. So we continued down our list and arrived at a name we really like which is “Borgo Santolina”.
We have a very early and incomplete website. Please withhold your judgement as it’s a work in progress. We’re working on better photos and much more. We’ve also started posting on the socials so you can follow more real time updates on your favorite app - Facebook and Instagram. Give us a follow.
This summer we spent about 5 weeks working at the property. We had some friends and family traveling in Italy that stayed with us to give us an idea of what it’s like hosting real people. We were able to try things out with a full house. The best part was seeing our vision come to life - long shared meals under the stars, pizza making with everyone hanging around the oven, lots of pool time, walks around the farm. It was magical.
Anna, our workaholic manager was everywhere all at once, keeping things running, supplies arriving, meals prepared and always with a smile, she’s been amazing. Special shout out to Scott and our Interns (Brayden, Grant, Olin, Murphy, Kaitlin, Lyra) who worked really hard in the heat replacing fencing, grading the driveway, cutting weeds in the orchard, clearing out the basement, hauling trash from all parts of the property, pressure washing, bartending and so much more. Thank you!
One way to get over a fence
We hired a chef, Cesare, who did an incredible job with a range of meals from pizza night, teaching pasta making classes and making my favorite cheesecake which inspired the new hit song “The Best Cheesecake in the City”
We’ve also settled on a business model. Santolina will be an exclusive use, fully staffed, all inclusive weekly rental. This is a little unique in Tuscany as most villa rentals are bare bones - you rent the house and then pay for everything extra - even the AC. This is expensive to deliver and while we’ve priced it to break even, we realize this will limit our guests to a small audience that can afford to rent an entire resort for a week.
So to solve that, we will host several theme weeks each year where we’ll operate like a hotel and open up to individual room bookings so it will be more accessible to individuals, couples or a family that don’t want to rent the entire resort. More to come on this idea.
Santolina will be a perfect place for a small wedding, family reunion, group of friends or a group of families traveling together.
We’ve been deep in renovation planning working with OurToscana, an architecture, design and project management firm. They have scanned, photographed, measured and drone video captured all the buildings. They’ve discovered about 50 “irregularities” where buildings are missing permits or parts of buildings were constructed in a way that doesn’t match the building permit on file - this was not unexpected. So the first step in our renovation project is solving these issues with a process called regularization. For each issue, we will have to do one of the following:
Ask for forgiveness and pay a fine - For minor things, we can ask the municipality to approve the variance and we pay a fine.
Restore the building so it meets the plans - such as replacing a missing window or adding a door.
Modify buildings so we meet building codes - In certain area, we need to remove flooring so we have the allowable floor to ceiling height and move walls so we have the proper window to floor space ratio.
Re-engineer things - In some cases where there is missing approvals, we have to reconstruct the engineering and field test structural beams and walls to demonstrate things are up to code.
This in itself is a big project and is required to be completed before we can obtain our hospitality license. So fingers crossed we hear good news from the construction team and the local Municipality when everyone is back after August holidays.
The second part of the project is updating the borgo inside and outside. We’ve been spending long hours in design mode looking at colors, fabrics, appliances, furniture, fixtures, air conditioning units and more.
The areas we are updating include:
Repainting interiors with a historic lime wash
A new kitchen with space for the Tuscan breakfast buffet and cooking classes
Building a new pantry and cold storage room
Rebuilding the guest bathrooms on the main floor
All new electrical outlets, switches, lighting
Gutting and rebuilding all ensuite guest bathrooms
Mostly new custom built furniture in addition to selected antiques we’re keeping
New heating and cooling systems
Renovating the pool and surrounding area
Creating a new moody lobby bar filled with antiques
Adding outdoor patios and all new outdoor furniture
Road improvements
Landscaping improvements
The vibe of the bar we’re designing
The big question is can we get all this done by May 2026? I’m sure we will. Who’s ever heard of delays with a construction project, in Italy, where we don’t speak the language and are working on an 800 year old historic stone structure?
We’ll know more in the next few weeks as we hire a builder, figure out lead times and come to terms with our unrealistic expectations.
So cross your fingers and we’ll share another update soon.
