As the season begins and the new gym at Villa Ardore nears completion, we have been thinking a lot about wellness. Anyone who has been following travel news over the past few months has probably been thinking a lot about wellness, too. It’s a word that seems to have worked its way into nearly every recent travel-related magazine article, blog, and newsletter.

But what does “wellness” really mean? To be sure, the word conjures up concrete visions: windchimes, gongs, and lotus gardens walked in by beautiful people in loose-fitting shirts and flowing trousers in various shades of beige. For some, it may also bring to mind fitness and beauty trends like cold plunges and red-light therapy.

But a Zen aesthetic doesn’t by itself lead to a healthy body or mind, any more than treatments with minimal and dubious benefit are a substitute for a healthy diet and reasonable exercise.  So what is “wellness”? Does it amount to anything more than a marketing trend?

We think that it can, and that it should. Every human being knows what it means to feel well: to be free of illness; to be free of aches and pains; to feel rested and mentally sharp; and to feel in tune with one’s body and surroundings, and with the people in one’s life. The question that the pursuit of wellness poses (or at least, in our view, should pose) is how best to achieve those states. The answer, we believe, is something that we all know intuitively.

Most of us have had the experience of returning from a wonderful vacation and being told by friends or colleagues that we look refreshed, more relaxed, or even younger. Or if we haven’t had that experience ourselves, we’ve been on the other end of it, saying something like that to our own friend or colleague who has just returned from a vacation. In many cases (maybe most), the rejuvenating holiday wasn’t focused on wellness, but was simply a relaxing time away with loved friends or family.

And that holiday may have included a list of things that never get marketed as “wellness:” a glass of wine at sunset or a perfectly-mixed cocktail by a crackling fire, a cheese tasting, or simply talking and laughing with those we treasure, without preoccupations about work or money or how we look or what others think of us. Maybe even an amazing dessert here and there. These are all things that bring unself-conscious pleasure. They give us joy and make us feel connected with the beauty of the world we live in.

It’s that feeling of connection—with oneself, with loved ones, with the world, and with the local Tuscan culture that surrounds us—that guided us when we created Villa Ardore and continues to guide us as it evolves. We have ourselves had the experience of beginning of the day at the villa, waking up well rested after a night of exquisitely comfortable sleep, and going downstairs as Salvatore, the villa’s breakfast manager, is laying out the morning’s eggs, pastries, fruits and grilled vegetables and other assorted breakfast treats. We have walked into the kitchen in our pajamas—it’s a home, after all, not a hotel—to get a cappuccino to start the day.

We have had the experience of the unhurried breakfast with loved ones, who come down as they awake on their own relaxed schedule. We have walked out to the villa’s piazzetta, often with our second cappuccino of the morning, and felt the early sun slanting golden on our face, as we look out at San Gimignano perched on the hill opposite. And we have done these things without forethought, and yet with intention—the intention to pause, and to allow ourselves to experience the beauty of what is right before us: the physical comfort, the tastes, the aromas, the sights and sounds, and the people we love.

As we went through the design process for the villa’s new gym last year, and as we built it over this past winter, we held onto this sense of connection—to the local Tuscan culture that surrounds us and to oneself and others. And this informed every part of the design process. We sited the gym below the pool, away from the villa, so that no one feels nagged by the sensation that they should be working out if it’s not what they want to do at a given moment. And we positioned it to afford a spectacular view of rolling vineyards for those who choose to go there.

Sited where it is, with forest at its back and vineyards in front, we thought that it would be a shame to feel disconnected from those things while working out, so all four of the gym’s walls are glass. And, because there is nothing quite like the Tuscan country air and sunlight, we made the roof retractable at the touch of a button. Of course, summer afternoons can get hot, and winters cold, so the gym is equipped with solar-powered heating and air conditioning.

As we chose the materials used in and around the gym structure, we bore in mind not only how it would look in its environment, but also how it would feel, in both the tactile and the emotional sense. We used as few support pillars as necessary, so as not to obstruct the view, and decided against the typical rubber mat flooring in favor of a locally-made cork flooring, which we chose both for its environmental sustainability and for its aesthetic quality. We continued the cork outside of the gym, but used a much thicker, softer version, for a patio that can be used for stretching, Pilates, and yoga just outside the gym’s doors.

We even thought that it was important to consider one’s passage to and from the gym, so we created a footpath that leads through a small garden between the pool and the local-stone stairs leading down to the gym’s cork patio.

The architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said, “God is in the details,” and we agree. It is details that make up our lives, and details, even the smallest of them, that sustain our fondest memories, like Proust’s madeleine or, in my perhaps more prosaic case, the aroma of coffee in the morning at my grandmother’s house.

So when we discovered that the stone pavers that previously surrounded the pool were uncomfortable under bare feet, we replaced them with a more comfortable pietra serena stone. When we chose the sheer draperies that hang from the daybeds overlooking the pool, we chose a locally-made fabric that is wispy enough to allow through dappled sunlight, but robust enough to block the sun’s heat. When Chef Roberto designs a menu, it is always seasonal, with ingredients that are local and fresh.

We have made these choices, and countless others, with you in mind, with ourselves in mind, thinking always of what will create a deep and lasting connection with this beautiful place, and allow you to be connected, without the need for conscious thought, with those with whom you share it. Because it is in that atmosphere of contentment and togetherness that real wellness, or what might instead be called wellbeing, is found.

This month’s recipe

Parmesan Asparagus

In keeping with the theme of connection with the physical world around us, this month’s recipe is highly seasonal, as it is now the height of asparagus season in Tuscany.

Early in the growing season, asparagus are pencil thin (maybe even a little thinner) and tender. While the tenderness of these young asparagus is pleasing, their taste is extremely delicate, such that their flavor is overwhelmed by nearly any other ingredient. Now, in May and early June, the stalks are much thicker, with a more discernible, bolder flavor. But the lower end of the stalks can be woody and stringy and, if not properly prepared, unpleasant to eat.

Luckily, one need not choose between tenderness and flavor, because there is a simple preparation that will allow one to enjoy the vegetable’s full flavor without entirely losing the thicker end of the stalk, but also without experiencing its difficult texture. By using this method, described in the body of the recipe below, one can enjoy asparagus as it is meant to be enjoyed, at the height of its season and the height of its flavor.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. (900 g.) of fresh, full-grown asparagus

2/3 of a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 ½ oz. (75 g.) of butter

Salt.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
2. Cut off the lower inch or two of the thick end of each stalk. Check to see if there is a tender inner core to the freshly exposed bottom of the stalk and, if not, cut off another inch. Then use a sharp knife to strip away just enough of the hard, dark green outer layer from the lower part of the stalk to expose the tender green interior (about 1/16 of an inch or 0.2 cm), beginning from the base and making the cut shallower; i.e., removing less and less of the outer layer, the closer you get to the spear.
3. Using a pan that is large enough to accommodate the asparagus when laid flat, bring to a hard boil enough water to just cover the asparagus, but do not yet place the asparagus in the pan. When the water is rapidly boiling, drop the asparagus into the water, lying flat. Cover the pan just long enough to bring the water back to a rapid boil.
4. Allow the asparagus to boil until just tender, which will take only a couple of minutes once the water is rapidly boiling again. The moment the asparagus is just tender, remove it from the water and rinse it under cold water to prevent it from cooking further.
5. Smear the bottom of a baking dish with some of the butter, then place the asparagus into the buttered dish, laying them side by side, partly overlapping but not in a deep pile. Sprinkle the asparagus with salt and the grated Parmesan cheese, then dot it with the remaining butter.
6. Bake in the top rack of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until a light, golden crust forms on the top.
7. Allow to cool for only a few minutes, then serve.