Villa D'Este Style

About this book

World-renowned for its sublime beauty and aura of enchantment Lake Como in Northern Italy has inspired poets writers and artists from the time of Virgil while luring travelers to its shores. For nearly five centuries visitors of celebrity fortune and power have come to rest revel and marvel at Villa dEste the luxury hotel as spectacular as the lake it graces. Named the best hotel in Europe by Travel & Leisure magazine Villa dEste has dazzled an impressive array of guests including King Leopold of Belgium Caroline of Monaco Evita Peron Clark Gable Frank Sinatra and Alfred Hitchcock. Today this top resort destination is famed for its breathtaking gardens its unique floating swimming pool its exceptional cuisine and its gala celebrations. But Villa dEste also boasts a fascinating history filled with intrigue passion murder and mystery. Villa dEste Style opens the doors of the celebrated hotel to reveal the secrets of its colorful past and luxurious lifestyle. Jean Salvadore public relations director at Villa dEste for more than three decades delves into the estates private archives to present an unprecedented guided tour. From its birth in 1568 as Villa Garrovo a summer estate commissioned by a prominent cardinal; to its christening as Villa dEste in 1815 by its most famous resident Caroline of Brunswick-the estranged wife of Englands King George IV; to its debut as a hotel in 1873 the early life of Villa dEste unfolds through vintage sepia-toned photo-graphs and evocative line drawings. From its annual "Midsummer Night" extravaganza to its acclaimed cooking school; from its popularity with the Hollywood glitterati to its sensuous yet understated guest rooms todays Villa dEste comes alive in more than 100 glorious full-color photographs. Throughout engaging anecdotes capture the essence of the hotel-its splendor and grandeur its devotion to the personal and its undercurrents of daring. The walls of Villa dEste have many astounding stories to tell-including the truth about the notorious murder at the Biki fashion show and the elaborate ruse behind the erotic photo shoot for Helmut Newtons provocative illustrated book classic White Women. For armchair travelers connoisseurs of Italian history design and lifestyle and all enthralled by the inside scoop on the rich and famous Villa dEste Style is the ideal escape. With a preface by Jean Marc Droulers Villa dEstes C.E.O. for the last 24 years and a foreword by Joseph Heller acclaimed novelist playwright and author of Catch-22 this exquisite book stands as a tribute to a resort hotel truly in a class of its own.