It all started with an 800-year-old stone farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside. Danish couple Claus and Jeanette Thottrup, who purchased the property as a vacation home in 2001, decided to open it up to guests who dream of an idyllic Tuscan getaway surrounded by nature. Only 90 minutes from Florence, the peaceful retreat feels a world away from the city’s crowds. The 300-acre estate is planted with organic gardens that provide fruit, vegetables and herbs for the Michelin-starred restaurant as well as ingredients for the property’s skincare line, Seed to Skin, which is used at the spa and available for purchase.
Guests of Borgo Santo Pietro can choose to stay in the 12th-century farmhouse or one of the luxurious villas with a private garden or pool. The day might begin with a breakfast of eggs laid by Borgo’s hens, then a stroll through the gardens, relaxing by the pool, a healing massage and perhaps a picnic by the stream. Be sure to try both restaurants: the Michelin-starred Saporium for inventive tasting menus and the casual Trattoria sull’Albero for classic Tuscan dishes like pappa al pomodoro and bistecca fiorentina. Borgo recently added a fermentation lab where they pickle and preserve vegetables from the garden for year-round use. Sustainability is one of the property’s core tenets.
With plenty of activities, from tennis and archery to cooking classes and organic honey tastings, it’s impossible to be bored. On the contrary, it might be hard to go back to real life after a few days at this tranquil escape. The rarest luxury, after all, is having time to slow down and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.