This New Italian Castle Hotel Invites You To Sleep Amid 1,000 Years Of History

14.05.2024 - 17:01 / forbes.com

A millennium ago, the folklore goes, Castel di Luco was the site of ritual pagan sacrifices. Now the round castle atop a travertine knoll in the untouristed Italian region of Le Marche is the site of a much happier history that’s still being rewritten. And a major new chapter is beginning this spring.

Several weeks ago, the castle emerged from a massive restoration and opened its doors to guests searching for a particular strain of luxury travel. Like many of Italy’s most impressive accommodations, this incarnation of Castel di Luco isn’t a place of ostentation.

Rather, the reborn castle offers a discreet, immersive time travel. It transports guests to a fantasy-past, one in which only the romantic parts remain, with none of the smells or discomfort. It feels like the ladies-in-waiting are still waiting in the room next door but the temperature is controlled, the toilets flush with water, the lighting is flattering and the internet works just fine.

“If these walls could talk” is a copywriting cliché when it comes to historic hotels. But imagine if they could. There’s the whole sacrifice thing, for starters; the 18th-century historian Colucci believed that Luco (from the Latin “lucus”) was a sacred forest where pagan rites were celebrated. Later on—written evidence of the castle goes back as far as 1052—it was home to religious rulers and aristocratic families. It saw invasions, liberations and at least one murder, not to mention the births, the confidences and the love affairs that don’t get documented in history books.

Throughout, it maintained its status as one of the rarest and most unique castles in Italy’s Piceno region, as well as its almost intact appearance as a medieval architectural structure. Eventually, it was transformed into a noble residence, housing the Ciucci family until the year 1800, when the last heiress, Maria, was married to Giuseppe Amici. Their direct descendants own and manage the property today.

A decade ago, it operated as an informal restaurant, where the mother of proprietor Francesco Amici cooked simple meals for visitors. But like much in the region, it was severely damaged in the 6.6-magnitude earthquake that struck Norcia in 2016. And like other owners in the region, Francesco and Laura Amici used the destructive event as an opportunity to create.

“The earthquake didn’t only make problems,” says their son, who gives tours in English. “The earthquake made all this possible.” He’s referring to the Italian government’s funding for cultural projects and rebuilding after the disaster, which enabled his family—along with many dedicated neighbors, historians and artisans—to undertake the meticulous, four-year renovation that resulted in the hotel’s current incarnation.

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