The Hotel Garden: a story that began in Siena many years ago

Hotel Garden: a place suspended between past and present

To tell the fascinating story surrounding the Hotel Garden, we have to leave our present time and return to a splendid bygone age. So let us imagine that time in history when Siena occupied an important strategic position. Indeed, the town was a major staging post on the route between Northern Europe and Rome, the centre of the Christian world. The pilgrims hurried along the Via Francigena without stopping for the night, eager to reach St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. During their tiring journey, they were offered welcome shade and refreshment under the walls of Villa Poggiarello, now home to the Hotel Garden. They were provided with bread, eggs and fresh water and treasured this wonderful gift of hospitality. The centuries have not affected the heartfelt welcome still extended to guests who stay at the Garden Hotel.

The Garden Hotel: a chronicle of the families who helped immortalise Villa Poggiarello

Before the last members of the ancient Capacci family died out, there were considerable efforts to make Villa Poggiarello into a smart and welcoming home. Then, in the sixteenth century, the house became the property of the Bargagli family, who used it mainly as a country residence. Villa Poggiarello became finer and more prestigious over the years, due largely to the increasing status of its owners. However, after this period of splendour, the villa was abandoned and left to decay. It was Umberto Stasi who brought Villa Poggiarello back to life. In 1964, he transformed it into a hotel, restoring all the beautiful features of the building that had been coated in dust. The Garden Hotel of today reflects the richness of Sienese culture, offering its guests a setting that evokes the splendour of a noble past and the sort of welcome that once delighted pilgrims.

Magical tales of parkland and rose gardens

Nowadays, as in the past, visitors to the Garden Hotel (a four star hotel) are entranced by its delightful setting. The lush greenery of the lovers’ garden has a timeless beauty, with the heady scent of roses and shade from oaks and ilex trees. The gardens also seem to have a story to tell. Indeed, it is said that the nobles of that time had clandestine trysts with the Sienese farm girls, concealing themselves in the “laurel maze”, which still holds the secrets of their love. In springtime, guests can admire the wonderful sight of the Bargagli roses in bloom. It is a truly evocative spectacle, which has been quietly repeated since time immemorial. The Hotel Garden is a place where past and present converge, creating an environment that offers every modern comfort, while remaining true to its origins. It is a welcoming setting that has all the flavour of times past, but which lives on every day, renewing the tradition of hospitality that made Villa Poggiarello such a haven for pilgrims in search of rest.