Belmond begins to reopen its Italian portfolio this week with Belmond Hotel Cipriani, Venice and Belmond Hotel Splendido, Portofino on Friday, June 19. To celebrate the reawakening, the brand has also collaborated with Emmy award-nominated director and renowned photographer Francesco Carrozzini on a new film titled, My Love Letter to Italy. Written, directed, and narrated by Francesco, the film is a personal and nostalgic reflection on his love for Italy, inviting viewers to dream about his home country again.
Along with reopening dates for the Italian collection, Belmond announces a series of private experiences that will be available starting this summer. Following Belmond Hotel Cipriani and Belmond Hotel Splendido’s reopening this Friday, Belmond Hotel Caruso, Ravello and Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, Taormina will open its doors on July 1. Belmond Castello di Casole will welcome guests back to Tuscany on July 2 while its sister property Belmond Villa San Michele in Florence reopens on July 23. Across the hotels, travelers can enjoy private offerings including alfresco dining, excursions in nature and local community interactions.
Belmond offers intimate dining experiences in secluded settings from the vineyards of Tuscany to the hills of Taormina. Guests can enjoy a picnic with local delicacies throughout Belmond Castello di Casole’s 4,200-acre Tuscan property, while Belmond Villa San Michele offers a private, garden terrace complete with sweeping views over Florence. In Sicily, couples can enjoy a candlelit evening on the terrace of Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo – the very spot where DH Lawrence penned Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
As the country awakens, travelers can explore Italy’s diverse natural landscapes with Belmond from hiking Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, to biking through the undiscovered islands of Venice, such as Sant’Erasmo, with Belmond Hotel Cipriani. Out in the rolling hills of Tuscany, guests can join Belmond’s resident astronomer in the open-air amphitheater for views of the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy and the constellation of Orion.
Belmond guests will also have the opportunity to connect with and learn from the local communities through private experiences. On the Amalfi Coast, foodies can meet with a local fisherman to learn about colatura di alici, the world-renowned anchovy-based sauce only produced in Cetara, before returning to Belmond Hotel Caruso for an exclusive tasting. Sail to the small fishing village of Acitrezza for a private tour through the Rodolico family boatyard, the last master ship makers in Eastern Sicily. Overlooking Portofino’s Cala degli Inglesi, guests can join an expert agronomist who is pioneering the sustainable eco-farm La Portofinese for a tour through the vineyard, apiary and honey lab.
Ahead of the reopenings, Belmond releases its new film with Franceso Carrozzini, the renowned film director and portrait photographer and son of the late Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani, to reintroduce travelers to Italy’s beauty, landscape and people by recalling his favorite facets of his home country.
“I have been staying at Belmond hotels for as long as I can remember and, as an Italian, I always felt they captured the true spirit of Italy. During lockdown I kept dreaming of the Italian summer and I was longing to go back home. Now more than ever, I appreciate what I had too often taken for granted about Italy – its food, its beauty and of course, its people. I made this film to capture that feeling, to make us Italians fall in love with Italy all over again,” comments Francesco.
To view the full film, please visit https://www.belmond.com/italy.