Reschio, an 11th-century castle on a hilltop on the Tuscany-Umbria border, comprises 3,700 quite outrageously beautiful acres of rolling hills, olive groves, vineyards, forest, farm buildings and, looming darkly over it all, a curtain-walled 11th-century castle. The most radical of the many changes Castello di Reschio has undergone in its long history is the most recent: its transformation from a place designed to keep people out to one redesigned to welcome them in. After a thousand or so years as a fortress, the castle opened, in 2021, as a 36-room hotel.
Within the grounds, activities include hiking, cycling, wild swimming, tennis, boating, foraging, truffle-hunting, cooking classes, and riding. Riding above all, because Reschio happens to be – along with everything else it happens to be – a noted breeding and training ground for Andalusian horses. The equestrian facilities are world-class and lessons at all levels are available. Even if you don’t want to ride, you’d be mad not to go and pay a visit to the stables and see with your own eyes these extraordinary, otherworldly creatures. The hotel’s head concierge, Sara Rocco, will help get you organised and, if you wish, saddled up. Steve King
