TFabulous Roman villa:To book,call 020 7935 0888:

Or visit the website,www.countryclubuk.com

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When in Rome, live innoble Roman style

You are invited to stay in a palatial villa ownedby the Count and Countess Spalleti Trivelli, just

across the park from the Presidential Palace

HERE can be no finer place in Rome tostay than the Villa Spalletti Trivelli. It isthe elegant family palazzo of a RomanCount and Countess. Neighbours includethe Italian President,Giorgio Napolitano,whose 17th-century Palace is just acrossthe leafy park. The Trevi Fountain is astroll away. At the Villa Spalletti Trivelli,guests not only live as the Romans live—they live as the Romans would like to live.

Italian aristocrats on Roman holidayslove to stay here, in the cultural heart oftheir own capital city: it is every inch ahome-away-from-palatial-home,a salmonpink mansion from where everything onedoes takes on extra resonance: the joy ofa performance of Verdi at the Teatro dell’Opera; the spectacle of the Coliseum litby a rising moon; dinner beside the Pan-theon; a picnic on the banks of the RiverTiber; a feast of fine art in the footstepsof Bernini and Michelangelo. ExploreRome at its most magical, after dark. Af-ter each experience, return to your palaz-zo, to be welcomed home by your butler,no matter what time of day or night …

The magic ofRome, even moremagical when‘home’ is the VillaSpalletti Trivelli.Right:The salon.Lower: Luxurious rooms and Spa.

Every detail at Villa SpallettiTrivelli creates an aura of tasteand tradition within a family at-mosphere that is not only cul-tured but relaxed. Its owner isthe present Count Spalletti Triv-elli, Giangiacomo, with his wifeSusanna—daughter of the un-forgettably dark and dashing in-ternational show jumper Cap-tain Raimondo d’Inzeo.

Neo-classical in design, theVilla was inspired a century agoby the Countess Gabriella, nieceof Napoleon Bonaparte’s sisterCarolina, and widow of CountVenceslao Spalletti Trivelli, Sen-ator of the Kingdom. Under thispowerful and cultured womanthe Villa, with its lofty ceilings

and rich furnishings, became apolitical and cultural magnet,her Thursday afternoon salonsattracting the eminence griseamong politicians,writers,artistsand intelligentsia of the day.

Ultimately, Gabriella left theVilla to her son, Count Cesare,who became a Knight to theCourt of Queen Maria Josè ofBelgium. His own son, CountPiero,a writer and poet,was nextin line,and it is his son,Count Gi-angiacomo, who with CountessSusanna has converted the fami-ly’s private residence into onethat welcomes discerning guests.

Into the Villa the Count andCountess have poured theirfamily heirlooms,hospitality and

history. Nothing is overlooked:Japanese-inspired papier peintin the dining room, tapestries inthe Sala degli Arazzi, a boiseriein the library, where the bookcollection is protected by theMinistry of Natural Heritageand Culture.The 12 guest roomsof five suites and seven deluxebedrooms are decorated withthe family collection of antiquemaps and prints, as well as per-sonal portraits and photographs.Their Afghan carpets line theoak floors, as they always have.Large oak-framed windows giveon to the private, peaceful Ital-ian gardens where generationsof Italian nobles have whiledaway the day in the shade of a

gazebo, in conversation, or wita book, letters, or an aperitif.

The beds are dressed in embroidered linens yet have ultramodern therapeutic mattresseto aid a perfect night’s rest. Thbathrooms are Italian marblewith large showers and bathtubs, and fine toiletries. Fluffmonogrammed robes and slippers are to hand. Iced drinkawait guests’ selection in a private bar.There are high-tech facilities too—the vast plasmtelevision sets, broadband access, laptops at the disposal othose who can bring themselveto work amid such eleganceMore in the spirit of relaxationthe Spa offers beauty and thera

Rome: feast of culture, architecture and art. Below: St Peter’s Square in The Vatican.Above: St Peter’s Basilica (left) and the Trevelli Fountain

peutic treatments, from the clas-sical, in the Roman sense, toTurkish baths, yoga and mas-sage, regenerative baths withdead sea salts,and a fitness roomwith powerplate and Pilate.

Another aspect of the Villawhich sets it apart is the serviceof the resident chef, Adriano.The day begins with a large buf-fet of homemade cakes with ri-cotta cheese, fresh croissants,sugar brioches and bread rollswith that Roman speciality fou-ettee cream, as well as cold cuts,cheeses, salads, fruits and yo-gurts. One may ask for pancettaand eggs, cooked specially, Ital-ian style. For lunch or dinnerAdriano will prepare gourmet

dishes according to your wishand his advice as to the freshestfoods of the season, from a sim-ple lunch of mushroom and truf-fle risotto to a banquet for 25guests, or a romantic dinner, têtea tête. What a pleasure it wouldbe to give a dinner party here.

All in all, staying at the Villa isakin to being given the run of aminiature palace whose wealthyowner has gone away and lefteverything to you, including his15-strong staff.Everybody knowsjust what to do, and with graceand efficiency makes you com-fortable and cosseted withoutfuss. It is not for everybody. It is,however, La Dolce Vita forthose who enjoy the finer things.

THINGS TO SEEMany of Rome’s iconic sightsare on your doorstep, startingwith the Piazza del Quirinaleand the Presidential Palace (opento visitors on Sunday).The piaz-za crowns the highest of the sev-en ancient hills of Rome, whereAugustus’s Temple of the Sunstood; it now holds the giantstatues of Castor and Pollux.

Within five minutes’ walk ofthe piazza you will be at the Tre-vi Fountain, unmissable as art,spectacle and cultural icon. Thegiant figure of Oceanus standsgleaming as he tames the waters,a metaphor for the feat of theaqueducts that brought water tothe city. But who can forget the

night scene in Fellini’s La DolcVita of Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni stepping intthe fountain? A dip now willand you in trouble, no mattehow hot it is. (Nearby stands thintriguing Church of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio, containinthe hearts and intestines of several centuries’-worth of popes.

Not far from the fountain iPiazza della Trinità dei MontWith its soaring Egyptian obeliskand lavish baroque symmetry, iis one of the most theatrical piazzas in Italy—and it leads on tthe famous Spanish Steps. ThSpanish had nothing to do withthese spectacular flower-lineSteps, which were designed b

Below: Choir in the Church of St Ignatius, built where the Temple of Isis had stood in Imperial Rome.Above, right:The infamous Coliseum.

an Italian, Francesco de Sanctis,in the 1700s.At the bottom is thehouse where the poet JohnKeats lived and died, aged 25.

Also near the Villa is one ofthe miraculous 13th-centuryicons of Madonna, housed inSanta Maria in Via, as well astwo gems of Baroque architec-ture: Bernini’s masterpiece,Chiesa di Sant’ Andrea al Quiri-nale, which he considered hisfinest work, and Borromini’sSan Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.

Among other gems is the tinychurch of Santa Mario in Trivia,which conceals a rich Baroqueinterior.But just 10 minutes awayis architecture on a differentscale—the Pantheon, the bestpreserved Roman monumentwith the biggest brick dome inthe history of architecture.Michelangel said it was the workof angels, not of men.Accordingto Roman legend, it is the placewhere Romulus was seized byan eagle and taken up into theskies to join the gods.

Only 15 minutes’ walk fromthe Villa stands the Coliseum,ancient Rome’s greatest archi-tectural legacy. Vespasian or-dered the construction of the el-liptical bowl in AD72, and it wasinaugurated by Titus in AD80with an initial bloody combatbetween gladiators and wild

beasts that lasted weeks. Itselfnow tortured by traffic, yet theColiseum has to be experienced.

On the lighter side, the Villa isner the heart of Rome’s shop-ping district, minutes from Viadel Corso and Via Condotti, allfilled with wallet-reducing Ital-ian and international designerlabels—Bulgari, Valentino, Fer-ragamo, Cartier, Armani andDolce & Gabbana among them.

THE OFFEROur members enjoy preferentialrates at the Villa when booking aGrand Deluxe Suite for two.With views on to the landscapedprivate gardens of the villa, thisKing or Twin bedded suite is60sq metres and has a separateliving room and walk-in ward-robe. Decorated with antiquesfrom the family’s personal col-lection, it has a luxurious marblebathroom with bath and walk-inshower. The Club rate includeshomemade buffet breakfast,complimentary honour bar inthe Sala degli Arazzi and mini-bar in the suite,access to the gymand hammam, two 60-minuteWellness treatments, and morn-ing newspaper.This would usual-ly cost 1,320e (£1,169) per night.As a special Blue Ribbon offer,our members pay just £595 pernight, whatever the season.

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Fabulous deal in Rome:To book,call 020 7935 0888:Or visit the website,www.countryclubuk.com

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Villa Spalletti Trevelli.Above:The gazebo. Right:The library.