Originally an austere medieval fortress, it was converted by Pope Julius II, its sober outline becoming the elegant Renaissance villa that today is home to 12 suites, the most exclusive in Relais La Suvera.
Each one is dedicated to a character connected with the Ricci and Massimo families, characters that come to life among the sumptuous furnishings, mementos and keepsakes.
The suites have been designed by the Marquis Giuseppe Ricci himself with his unmistakable passion for detail and history, as well as a touch of his characteristic irony.
The Papal Villa also houses the Museum with its family collections and the archives of the Ricci Paracciani family.
As you enter you actually become part of Italian history and the fabulous culture of the Renaissance in the company of the Marquis and his ancestors.
In 1990 the family of Marquis Ricci decided to open the doors to what previously had been their country residence, to share its beauty, the richly fascinating tapestry of family histories and the place itself which had been sensitively restored in full respect of the times with passionate dedication.
This is the secret to the unmistakably unique atmosphere all guests staying at La Suvera cannot help but fall in love with, inspiring them to record their own most precious memories while sojourning there.
The suite most sought after by newly-weds for their honeymoon is without doubt this one, thanks to its awesomely romantic atmosphere.
It is dedicated to Maria Gabriella di Savoia, the owner, Princess Eleonora Massimo’s great grandmother.
These rooms mark the great love story between her and her husband, Prince Camillo Vittorio Massimo.
Despite their union having been sanctioned at a very early age for the convenience of the Savoia and Massimo families, theirs was a profound and intense love.
Each piece of furniture is truly from the royal houses of Savoia and Saxony, the furnishings are 18th century, the great canopy bed surmounted by a Royal crown, the family portraits, the Saxony porcelain and the other family mementos make it one of the Relais’ most important and impressive suites.
Dedicated to Ferdinand of Savoy, commander of King Carlo Alberto’s Piedmontese army and great grandfather to Princess Eleonora Massimo, this suite encapsulates all the pomp and splendour of the Royal family of Piedmont.
Here you will sleep in the Duke’s field canopy bed, beneath the Royal crown insignia and blue drapes held aloft by the poles of his battle tent, at each side of the bed the drums that once upon a time called his soldiers to battle.
The furnishings, of Royal provenance, belonged to the families of Savoy and Bavaria, like the paintings on the walls, portraying the king in uniform, queens and princesses in their magnificent gowns.
Two French windows let in the light and overlook the Lemon Garden, offering breathtaking views over the Elsa valley.
The walls of this suite have been entirely covered in wall paintings by the contemporary artist, Emilio Farina, painter and visionary who has exhibited in a great many Italian and overseas galleries, no novice when it comes to installations and operations in a historical context.
In this 1987 visual tribute to Marquis Ricci, he represents the four elements symbolised by floating mythological figures.
The fresco and the spirits of water, air, earth and fire are portrayed in the drawing room in a whirling riot of dance.
They are lit from high up, by a great skylight which highlights the beautiful Regency furniture of ancient and oriental inspiration furnishing both this room and the bedroom with its pure white walls.
This suite is dedicated to the Bourbon princess Maria Carolina di Borbone, daughter to Francis I, King of the Two Sicilies, ancestor of Princess Eleonora Massimo.
Maria Carolina became the bride of Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry. Their marriage was, however, short lived and after his assassination, and a great many other difficulties, she returned to Palermo.
In fact she much preferred to be the Sicilian Lucchesi princess to being Queen of France.
In the suite dedicated to her name, you will find a portrait of her in widow’s weeds, with a tear running down her face, in homage to her sad destiny.
On display too are her magnificent court costumes in embroidered blue velvet, worn on the occasion of a meeting with the King of France, the extraordinary 19th century golden Sicilian canopy bed and the impressive portrait of the first King of Naples, Carlo III.
The Pope’s Suite is of course dedicated to Julius II, the ancient owner of the Villa at whose hand the medieval fortress became an elegant Renaissance mansion.
This welcoming belvedere with its mansard roof and five windows overlooking the Tuscan countryside create an atmosphere that is at once serene, bright and sumptuous.
This suite offers a taste of France in all its 18th century splendour.
Pink and gold predominate in this elegant room made quite unique by its Baroque furnishings and two original 18th century beds whose provenance is a royal palace. The suite is completed by a historical portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette.
The same evocative atmosphere pervades the drawing room covered in scenes from life at Court shown in an original tapestry painting, a fashionable technique in France at that time, using colours from plants mixed in water and painted on to fabric, inmuch the same way as the more familiar watercolour is applied to paper.
This luxurious suite is dedicated to one of the Marquis Ricci’s ancestors, Rosalia Eustace Ricci, who wed Giovanni dei Marchesi Ricci Paracciani in 1853.
Traumatised by her brother’s death during a fox hunt some years before, the young noblewoman cut up her hunting clothes and made an original tapestry which can now be admired in the suite’s drawing room.
Spacious, bright and harmonious, the rooms in this suite enjoy a most elegant atmosphere as well as magnificent views over the Tuscan valley and the vineyards.
Full of period mementos, the suite is furnished with beautiful 19th century English furniture, such as the 4 metre high canopy bed, the numerous paintings on the walls portraying Rosalia’s relations as well as a Chinese tapestry showing the coupling of a rooster with a dragon, a symbol of the link between the two wealthy aristocratic families.
The bathroom is almost as large as the drawing room with its great crystal chandeliers, pink hangings, comfortable armchairs and Venetian mirrors.
It was once said that Napoleon, on his way to Elba, may have stopped to rest at La Suvera.
There is no proof of this claim, but here, in this suite, is to be found Marquis Ricci’s great love and appreciation for history as well as his creative genius.
He has managed to breathe life into a particularly evocative atmosphere with quotations and period furnishings.
Dedicated to the great French Emperor and his dramatic gestures, this room has been designed as a kind of “divertissement”, a great field tent furnished with pieces of furniture from the Napoleonic period, a great “papier peint” showing Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt and two original chairs used during the ceremony in which he wed Josephine in Notre Dame. And yet another surprise awaits in the bathroom. Napoleon with his full army deployed, standing to attention
The Paladin’s Room is on the first floor of the ancient Medieval tower and overlooks the piazza and aviary.
In the late Medieval period, Charlemagne built a road for pilgrims, the Via Francigena, connecting France with Rome and it went through the woods that surround La Suvera today.
One can hardly help but wonder if the Emperor possibly had the chance to stop for a rest at La Suvera. In fact, one of Charlemagne’s warriors inspired this room, the Paladin Dudone, who was the first to arrive at the wall of Jerusalem and the first to fall in battle too.
It was also inspired by the verses of Torquato Tasso’s “Jerusalem Delivered” and tells of Dudone’s heroic gesture and his crusader companions who all left together under the leadership and command of Goffredo di Buglione, serving their faith in order to liberate the Holy Sepulchre in 1096.
Here dreams of glory and magic await among the elegant furnishings and breathtaking views over the enchanting medieval borgo.
This room is dedicated to the Marquises’ daughter, Elena, and Elena from Montenegro, the second Queen of Italy, consort to Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy, who was also the godmother of the current owner, Princess Eleonora Massimo.
The pretty floral wallpaper and paintings of animals are a tribute to their illustrious ancestor’s sensitive soul and great love for nature.
The rooms have the grace of a princess with a canopy bed and late 19th century light wood furniture.
Serene but bright, the room enjoys one of the most beautiful views in the hotel, particularly at sunset.
At the top of the medieval fortress’s northern tower is the Tower Room, one of the parts that best shows the ancient origins and history of La Suvera. If you raise your eyes above your head you cannot help but admire the beams and brick roof of the tower dating back to 1324.
A touch of mystery is given to this room by the enigmatic gentleman in the 18th century painting at the foot of the bed.
Cesarino is portrayed atop his white charger.
You can relax beside him in a unique atmosphere that is literally timeless, created by the combination of Swedish 19th century furniture in light coloured wood and elegant English pieces in the style of Charles X.
Those who sojourn in the Russian room will witness at close quarters the love affair between Count Miniato Ricci Paracciani, Marquis Ricci’s ancestor and the Russian princess Zenaide Volkonskaya. A lover of the arts and the first translator of Russian literature into the Italian language, Miniato met and enchanted Count Volkonsky famous spouse, a talented authoress, poetess and musician, a leading light in European cultural life during the first half of the 19th century.
Their times as well as their love story are the inspiration for this room which cannot but remind us of the atmosphere in a Pushkin play, full of passion and pathos, while the 19th century Russian furnishings, the tapestries, damask curtains and mansard roof create a truly romantic and welcoming setting.