In 2004 my husband and I bought a run down villa called Le Pratola in the midst of Chianti and set about restoring it. After a four year project, I gave up my job in Banking in London to manage Villa Le Pratola and her team and provide luxury experiences to our guests. Our guests from all over the world would tell me how much they loved Tuscany, how they were curious to learn more about their surroundings, how eager they were to visit new places and experience new things. So we built an expert local community who could care for them, provide insider tips, recommendations, book excursions and tours and be their friend in Italy. Those friendships flourished, guests returned and asked us whether we had other similar properties where they could explore new parts of Italy. So we created Essenza and its collection of the finest Italian properties.
Essenza is reimagining the world of travel. At Essenza we want to bring back the joy and pleasure of planning a special trip, we like to get to know you and make the planning process fun and engaging, through on-line calls we will introduce you to our team of experts. We aim to deliver fulfilling and immersive experiences in one of the world’s culturally richest countries. Remote working and remote learning now means that many of us will be freer than ever so we can schedule longer trips in beautiful homes with offices and full support enabling you to both work and play.
Essenza is about following your dreams and passions and living the life you desire.
Call us and we can help make it happen.
Our Philosophy
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page
Essenza is the Essence of Italy
We aim to deliver the essence of Italy to our guests. We love Italy and would like our guests to fully experience her stunning natural and architectural beauty, her delicious flavours, renowned creativity and sophisticated energy.
Through our range of accommodation, experiences, curated itineraries and our community of experts we aim to introduce, inspire and guide our guests to Italy’s pleasures.
Essenza is Essential
We believe travel is an essential part of life. Visiting a foreign land liberates us from our routine, provides an insight to a different way of life and provides a chance for reflection and renewal.
At Essenza, by hand picking your accommodation in the finest locations and working with you to create a totally bespoke journey, we make the travel experience as high quality, simple and enjoyable as possible.
Essenza is Passion
We fervently believe that our lives are enriched when we pursue our passions.
At Essenza we yearn to support our guests who stay in our properties to live the life of their dreams in Italy – whether that is to live like a local, to hand pick olives, master cooking, grasp a foreign language, admire astounding art, horse-ride through stunning countryside, cycle in the exhilarating Dolomites or simply devour their favourite book whilst watching the sun set, we can arrange this for you.
Whether visiting for the first time, returning for a special event or choosing to spend a prolonged period in our favourite country, at Essenza we will do our utmost to create extraordinary experiences for life.
As we are leaving the villa this morning, once again I would like to thank you for your hospitality. What an amazing stay we had! From taking care of the little details to scheduling all our activities, we couldn’t be happier!Anne, US