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The Philosophy of Villa Ferraia
Roman otium “wellbeing”: Villa Ferraia follows precisely these models of daily life, replete with cultural ideas and motives of reflection.
The philosophy of Villa Ferraia is rooted in a return to the original meaning of the relationship between thought and nature, in an effort to understand the deepest influences that the natural world has exercised on the development of the human mind.
This may seem rather complicated but, arriving at Ferraia, you will grasp its extraordinary simplicity: here the relationship with nature is authentic, free of the corruption brought by contemporary society. Thus it is able to restore us to a balance that we thought no longer existed and one that, instead, is only revealed in places which are close at hand and yet forgotten, since they are regarded as almost inaccessible.
By linking “wellbeing” to the rhythms of Roman otium, Villa Ferraia – and when we say villa we mean something like the ones built by Hadrian and Tiberius – follows precisely these models of daily life, replete with cultural ideas and motives of reflection. The villa is surrounded by two hundred and fifty acres of unspoiled woodland, with spots that look like the interior of a cathedral (a shady ridge with slender trees that, crowded together, soar for tens of meters in search of light – resting one against the other – and thus reveal the source of inspiration for the finest Gothic architecture); by a crag of conifers that acts as a natural backdrop to an equally natural amphitheater and by an ancient olive grove that, not wishing to perish and vanish, begs for mercy from choking ivy and encroaching evergreen and cork oaks.
Vittorio and Patrizia Cambria, the hosts of this extraordinary world, have drawn on their own aristocratic origins in order to come up with an abundance of ways of reinforcing the perfect balance of the nature that surrounds them, conducting themselves more like custodians than proprietors. The construction of pools filled with hot, warm and cold salt water integrates the concept of the domus with those of the calidarium, tepidarium and frigidarium.
Immersed at one and the same time in the waters and in the vegetation, you will be offered saunas and massages with essences that Vittorio, a qualified herbalist, produces in his own laboratory, taking care to keep their composition natural.
And then, in search of yourself: a stone’s throw from the large swimming pool, a ledge with a view over a green and silent valley invites you to meditate. Your sole companion, the fire to be lit at the center of a mystic circle reminiscent of the druids. A little further on you come to an enormous organic kitchen garden. Everything in it is grown for consumption by guests at the villa and, using two rustic but functional structures next to the vegetable garden and the greenhouses, you will be able to cook, eat, learn and participate in humanity’s oldest ritual: that of understanding how to make use of nature to survive.
On the grounds of the villa now almost forgotten breeds of cows, pigs and horses are raised in a totally natural setting, using the same principles and showing the same respect as the Etruscans and the peoples that preceded them: the respect that is due to the nature which is the foundation of human sustenance.
From the astronomical observatory, equipped with modern telescopes and computers linked to star charts that help you to interpret what you are seeing, you can study the sky, absolute protagonist of the nights at Ferraia. After gazing at distant stars and planets, you emerge from the comfortable observatory and, after strolling a short distance, can sit in the stone circle or lie down on the grass, or go on to the amphitheater and, in silence, merge with the sky and start walking among the stars; you will feel yourself to be “The Little Prince” and all your doubts, fears and worries will vanish so as not to disturb the inner peace you have regained. This is a miracle that only the sky of Ferraia can work.
Ferraia is not just a place for a vacation. Ferraia is a place of real repose for the soul and much more.
