Feeling like royalty in a nobleman’s hunting palace

I’m often up in the Italian town of Rieti, in northern Lazio. My youngest son is a runner, and joined the competitive track and field team here, although his daily training is (thankfully) in Rome.

His involvement with the team means I’ve had plenty of chances to explore this pretty medieval town about 90 minutes from Rome. When we go for a race, we usually make it a day trip.

On one of the race weekends earlier this month, I decided to think of it as a get-away, and was glad I did. I discovered a fantastic hotel, Park Hotel Villa Potenziani, that was formerly a hunting villa for the Potenziani, a noble family from Rieti.

With this great discovery, we chose to make a weekend out of it, enjoying a sumptuous life in “our” humble abode.

This luxurious hunting villa was built in 1778, and is still surrounded by nature on the top of San Mauro hill, with views of the ski slopes of Terminillo and surrounding mountains.

Located just outside of Rieti’s town center. it’s a peaceful place to stay, while still close to town. It also make a good base to visit all the interesting medieval towns in the province of Rieti.

We loved the sumptuous breakfast room, which is (generally) also open for dinner, but closed during our time because of the slow post-Corona opening.

There are plenty of beautiful public areas and plenty of frescoes. The outdoor garden spaces are also peaceful, and the ideal place to relax, chat, read, or just enjoy nature.

We didn’t use the gym or the tennis courts, but it was a very hot weekend, so we did make good use of the pool, surrounded by cypresses and pine trees.

The staff was extremely attentive and friendly, and we enjoyed our “royal” weekend.

Needless to say, we’ll be back to enjoy this spectacular villa and its grounds again. Do you blame us?

Welcome to our humble abode … : )

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