When hospitality in the Italian countryside became luxury, at “L’Andana”, in Maremma

A historic summer residence beloved, in the 19th century, by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II of Lorraine, in which the true and authentic soul of the Maremma and the splendors of the past come together, for a good 20 years “L’Andana”, the exclusive resort of the Terra Moretti Group born in 2004 in the Tenuta La Badiola, immersed in 500 hectares of wild nature, between the sea and the hills of Mediterranean scrub, vineyards and olive groves of Tuscany, greeted by the two-kilometer avenue of cypresses and maritime pines, a symbol of Castiglione della Pescaia’s landscape and to which the Tenuta owes its name, is a pioneering project in Italy in making luxury hospitality in the Italian countryside, combining hospitality of excellence, haute cuisine, great wines, but also signature design and wellness, with the Spa and thanks to exceptional partnerships, and the beauty of the territory. Two decades that, WineNews, retraced, yesterday, with the Moretti family, and Enrico Bartolini, Italy’s most Michelin-starred chef, who, with La Trattoria restaurant, has brought a Michelin star to the estate, continuing the tradition of the highest level of dining that has always distinguished L’Andana, inaugurated by the “roi”Alain Ducasse, with the French chef’s first Italian restaurant, and reinterpreting in a contemporary key the flavors of land and sea that make the area and its biodiversity unique, thanks to the raw materials that, as in the past, are cultivated there, including vegetables, fruits, herbs, oil, wine, alongside the breeding from Maremma cows and the catch of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
“We fell in love with this estate that reflected the enlightened vision of the person who imagined it”, said Vittorio Moretti, president of Holding Terra Moretti, with daughters Carmen, Francesca and Valentina Moretti vice presidents, Massimo Tuzzi Ceo and Maurizio Romani, cluster general manager, recounting the purchase in 2000. “There was already everything, albeit in a bad state, and all thought out with a sense of beauty at once practical and productive. We breathed new life into this hamlet and, even today, there is a sense of order reflected in the commitment of the women and men who work here and are proud to embody a sense of hospitality and passion for the beauty of the area. As in our entrepreneurial DNA, we will continue to invest in this place in order to give value to the territory that hosts it and its history”. “Our family has strong ties to the land of Franciacorta, but Tuscany represented for us the ideal context in which to create a country house that could tell a story. We were impressed by this estate for its ability to preserve intact the flavor of a time when travel lasted days and the traveler had time for new discoveries and new encounters. Our efforts were focused from the beginning on this concept of time so that the magic of the encounter between a history of the past and a feeling of today could be repeated”, stressed Carmen Moretti, creator of the project with her father. “L’Andana is a magnificent, seasonal place in “my” Tuscany. A special place, nestled between the countryside and the sea, which we try to enhance through the biodiversity of the exceptional ingredients we have available, from vegetables to meats to fish”, explained Chef Enrico Bartolini. “This melting pot, together with the extraordinary richness of the territory and the talented Resident Chef Bruno de Moura Cossio define the cuisine of La Trattoria, which has in the “Brace” menu its ultimate expression”.
A village “of life and work”, wanted by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II (1797 -1870) as the propelling center of his great work of reclamation of the Tuscan Maremma, today a symbol of the hospitality of excellence according to the Italian style, which can be breathed in the great residences and territories in which the Moretti family has chosen, over the years to invest, starting in Franciacorta, with L’Albereta Relais & Châteaux in Erbusco, the progenitor of the Moretti family’s luxury hotels, founded back in 1993 with the master Gualtiero Marchesi and Henri Chenot Espace, and the Bellavista and Contadi Castaldi wineries; in Tuscany, where the Petra and Teruzzi wineries are also located; and in Sardinia, with the Sella & Mosca winery. That of L’Andana Tenuta La Badiola, in Maremma, is a hospitality model that integrates around a country villa a multiple offer rooted in the territory, its origins and its products of excellence.
Vineyards and wine, olive groves and oil, Estate Gardens and cuisine, now reinterpreted in a contemporary key in La Trattoria Enrico Bartolini, carved out of the old barn and which, just six months after opening in 2016, was awarded a Michelin Star (but there is also the “differently beautiful and good” proposal of La Villa Restaurant), and the Spa in partnership with the Esoa world founded on Sue Harmsworth's method and where the oil for massages is that which comes from the Estate’s historic olive trees: all in one place, all around a Manor Villa La Scuderia that, in its suites, welcomes with the warmth and personality of a “home” (but there are also La Casa Badiola, Il Granaio, next to a golf course), with the signature of architect Ettore Mocchetti, historical founder and director of “Ad Italia,”, as well as in the ancient residences where guest quarters and country activities were not a corollary to be hidden from the guest, but themselves unexpected places of hospitality, full of surprises and charm.