In Italy, a new breed of luxury hotels has emerged — not adorned with stucco or staffed by liveried porters, but set within rural landscapes in their most authentic, everyday form. One might call them five-star agriturismi, yet they are, in every respect, exemplary working farms, where hospitality itself reaches the highest standards.
A perfect example of this style is Borgo Santo Pietro in Chiusdino, in the rolling Crete Senesi, just a short cycle from the church of San Galgano, famed for its sword in the stone. When Jeanette and Claus Throttrup bought the estate, it consisted of little more than a few crumbling ruins. Over time, the project took shape, guided by the owners’ vision. They began with the main building, adding a handful of rooms, a restaurant, a lounge, a reception, and a pool. Then came the first villas — all with private entrances, gardens, generous interiors, and spacious bathrooms. Later, villas with private pools followed.
Jeanette is the creative force behind the Nordic shabby-chic interiors and the Seed to Skin bath products, developed in the estate’s own laboratory using local medicinal plants, in collaboration with the University of Siena. The result is a natural skincare line used in the spa’s treatments and sold across the world including stores such as Liberty London . Claus, meanwhile, is the most exacting judge of their dining venues — from the whimsical treehouse trattoria to the Michelin-starred Saporium — where perfection is endlessly pursued in menus, dishes, and ingredients, almost all Tuscan and zero-kilometre. At the helm is Chef Ariel Hagen, a thirty-something with a crystal-clear vision for a cuisine inspired by home cooking yet delivered with elegance and restraint. He has assembled a talented team, each member specialising in a different craft: breads, pastries, ingredient sourcing, or organic cultivation.
The estate is a thriving ecosystem: vegetable gardens, vineyards, orchards, chickens and rabbits, a family of llamas, and a flock of sheep, along with a dairy and a fermentation workshop. The list could go on — but it’s best left for guests to discover as they explore the estate’s many hectares. One moment you’re wandering through a romantic garden, the next you’re in wild woodland, where a river invites you for a swim. There’s the florist’s cottage, where you can learn the art of bouquet-making, and the artists’ atelier, where resident creatives offer painting lessons.
Borgo Santo Pietro is among the most beautiful hotels with the finest service in Italy. Though its owners are Danish — and a subtle Nordic sensibility graces every corner — they have brought the art of Italian hospitality to its highest expression on this remarkable working estate.