The European economic downturn of the early 1300s, forced the family to relocate to the ancient Calabrian village of Ardore. They remained in Ardore until the twentieth century, when much of the family, including the grandparents of co-founder Christian Scali, emigrated to the United States.

Christian Scali and Stephen Lewis have honored this history with the renovation of what is today Villa Ardore. Like the Scali family, the villa started with a proud Florentine history, its most ancient section having served as a watch tower for the Medici forces in their wars with Siena. When the wars ended, the tower was converted to a farmhouse and was added to until it became a sprawling family estate. However, by the mid-twentieth century, the property was abandoned and was left in ruins. [photo of this?]

The property was saved when, in the 1980s, it was converted to a bed and breakfast, which it remained until The Scali-Lewis family bought it in 2021. After a more than two million Euro restoration, the property is now a private home worthy of the family’s storied history, honoring the villa’s deep roots in Tuscan history without sacrificing the comfort and luxury for which the family has long been famous.

Read the CNN Travel article about Christian and Stephen by Blane Bachelor here