Dance Party by the Sea in Central Italy


In 1960, American-born oil tycoon J. Paul Getty bought his dream vacation home in Italy. He might have chosen a palazzo in a bustling resort like Portofino or Capri, but perhaps unsurprisingly given his obsession with ancient Rome – his collection of artifacts from the period included rare bronze statues and priceless friezes – in Getty, Italy, who died in 1976. It ended in Ladispoli, a quiet seaside town just 30 miles outside the capital. That’s not to say that his home there – a sprawling villa built in 1640 for guests of the noble Orsini clan who lived in the 13th-century castle next door – lacks splendor. Indeed, World War II, where it was heavily bombed and at various points dating back to the Roman Empire. NS A premier destination for Rome’s elite. During extensive renovations that Getty oversaw, builders unearthed the remains of a second-century Roman villa, parts of which are now displayed in the home’s basement antiquities gallery, but in fact the entire property is filled with museum-quality artifacts.

“They would have trains coming in with antiques from all over Europe,” he said. Marie-Louise SciòHe is the CEO and creative director of Pellicano Hotels Group, whose family bought the property in 1980. In the entrance hall is an 18th-century marble bust of the Roman consul Menenius. While Agrippa is in the Getty Studio, a living room, an intricate Aubusson tapestry depicting a woodland scene hangs on the wall opposite a 17th-century wooden holly cabinet. Sciò and his three siblings lived with their parents for almost a decade before 1990, when his father converted it into a 19-room hotel. La Posta Vecchia. At the time of the sale, old Sciò had another Italian jewel in his hand, Hotel Il Pellicano – About 75 miles up the coast in Porto Ercole – a little over a decade. Once a major summer retreat for dolce vita-era celebrities like Sophia Loren, Jackie Kennedy, and Charlie Chaplin, the hotel is further immortalized in photographer Slim Aarons’ 1980s series of socialite people lazing around in its pools and shallows.

Not surprisingly, Il Pellicano was also a place for parties. “There was always a good excuse,” Sciò said. “If there was an eclipse you could only see in Mexico, my mom would throw a party.” La Posta Vecchia has also had its fair share of memorable nights, but Sciò mostly remembers playing hide-and-seek with the other children on these nights, manicured green lawns, tall palm trees and perfectly pruned bushes. he felt, he said, “one that big could disappear and disappear for a year.” These days, Sciò is home to both properties (and the family’s third hotel, the Mezzatorre, at the northern end of Ischia) and can equally find reasons to come together. Recently, a last-minute cancellation meant La Posta Vecchia was free for the entire weekend in early October. And so, empowered by the recently relaxed travel restrictions, Sciò decided to organize an impromptu soiree for his wider circle. “We planned everything in three weeks,” he said.

Deciding to keep the theme simple, she invited 90 guests with a picture card, including fashion designer Haider Ackermann, decorator Luke Edward Hall, knitwear designer Nimi Ponnudurai, editor Robert Rabensteiner and stylist Jerry Stafford. A painting with an old oil painting by La Posta Vecchia and the inscription “Let’s Dance” in neon yellow. The idea was to throw a festive Saturday lunch in the hotel’s garden, complete with special pillows for lounging in the sunshine that Sciò prepared for this event, followed by music and dancing. The prediction caused him to abandon this plan and move the party to the restaurant’s wraparound terrace, which would allow for a quick escape indoors if the weather changed. However, the threat of rain did not cast much shadow on the proceedings. The night before, there was an intimate dinner in the dining room, with its high vaulted ceilings, ornate door frames, and arched windows overlooking the water.

Sciò, wearing a wrap-around floral Balenciaga dress, greeted the first to dinner guests with champagne on the terrace. “It was like a high school reunion,” he said, to see his friends in person for the first time since the pandemic began. “The vibe was really light and exciting.” Inside, she set a long orange marble table with pale pink dahlia bouquets in cut glass vases, chandelier-like candelabras, and miniature olive trees that formed a sort of shade over the tablescape. Everywhere Sciò was founded with Villeroy & Boch flatware (inky blue with sprinkles of small gold-coloured stars) he designed for his online store, inspired by the Giotto-painted Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. name. The menu of the night consisted of Roman dishes, which Sciò described as “simple and plain”, prepared by the hotel’s chef, Antonio Magliulo: light and crispy fried zucchini flowers as a starter, tagliolini with shaved white truffles or spaghetti with fresh oysters, summer sea bass and a finale. as well as a decadent homemade tiramisu. Initial plans to keep the evening cozy to save energy for the next event, after dinner Sciò dragged out a speaker system went out onto the terrace and started blasting the Supremes, Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin.

“Marie-Louise is always surrounded by creative, loving people who come together for her,” she said. Manizeh Rimer, a longtime friend of Sciò (the couple met while studying architecture at Sciò Rhode Island School of Design and Rimer attended nearby Brown University). “Because they know they’re going to have a lot of fun, and they’re going to leave themselves filled with inspiration and joy.” On Saturday morning, Rimer, founder of Jivamukti Yoga London, helped guests recharge with a restorative class. “We did it on 17th century tapestries in Getty’s living room and it was absolutely gorgeous,” Sciò said. Other guests spent the morning swimming in the hotel’s indoor pool, wandering the grounds, or browsing the basement museum.

Yet at one o’clock he pointed to the terrace, which was awash not with rain but with a golden light of late summer. Ready to regain her position on the dance floor, Sciò appeared in sequined bell bottoms, an oversized white blazer, and gold metallic striped Yves Saint Laurent platform heels. First, guests grazed on a buffet of fresh mozzarella from the nearby Campania region, spaghetti with caviar and smoked burrata, meatballs in tomato sauce and Parmesan, beef tartare with egg yolk Béarnaise sauce and caviar, and crispy cannoli stuffed with sweet ricotta to order. From Bracciano and a fluffy daddy drenched in rum and topped with fresh berries and vanilla cream swirls. Meanwhile, Federico Morosi, legendary bartender at Il Pellicano, who was driving from Tuscany for the day, whipped up some of his signature cocktails, including a martini made with lemon juice and tangerine liqueur, but tweaked it here and there. Depends on the guest. “He already knows everybody,” said Sciò, “and remembers what you like and don’t like.”

Also present for the event was British DJ Paul Harris, who started playing sassy remixes of classic songs like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and various David Bowie hits. “Everyone was so energized,” said Sciò, who, when pressed, gave the title of best dancer to both creative consultant Kim Scion and fashion designer Andrea Provvidenza, who moves and grooves until long after the sun goes down. That. This is a nocturnal ritual that has undoubtedly been witnessed and enjoyed by those residing or working on the property since the Renaissance, a constant that has been felt over the past year. especially soothing. So is a weekend dedicated to something as simple as fun and togetherness. After months apart, Sciò said, “it was a night we all really needed.” No wonder the crowd was excited when, around 6 p.m., a chef showed up at the door with his arms full of steaming cacio e pepe pasta dishes. This meant they could refuel and keep going. Sciò shares her tips for throwing a party here own

Sciò was aware that many of his guests were eager to reconnect. “I didn’t do assigned seating because a lot of people didn’t know each other and a lot of people knew,” he said. “So I said, ‘Take it take a seat and leave some space beside you – and stay like that boy, girl, boy, girl.’ I didn’t want him to feel so challenged, especially after two years of isolation. I felt it was nice to give some freedom. That way, if you’re dying to catch someone, you can.”

Sciò likes to bring together a real array of people at their parties, which means different tastes, ages and points of reference. “I always want to play genres of music that work for everyone,” he said. He chose DJ Paul Harris for his crowd-pleasing selection of remix classics that successfully put everyone on the dance floor, from his father to his 20-year-old nephew. “This is the music they know,” he added. “Negative onze-onze Techno that I love but realize it’s not for everyone.”

Sciò is always careful to take new guests on a tour of a property and particularly likes to show them the mosaic tiles and ceramic pots seen on the lower floor of La Posta Vecchia. “My friends always make fun of me for saying it’s just the basement,” Sciò said, “but I think it’s pretty unusual.” And while most homes don’t have their own antique gallery, showing people around is a good tactic to put first-time visitors at ease and create a kind of intimacy.

“I think a lot of people drank too much or didn’t drink at all during quarantine. So I thought it would be a good break to have organic wines,” said Sciò. In addition to Morosi’s signature cocktails, Sciò filled the bar with Ampeleia, a biodynamic, sulfate-free wine grown in Tuscany’s Maremma region. “Drinking the kind of wine that won’t wake you up with a sharp headache makes a huge difference,” Sciò said.

But be prepared for headaches. “When people stay at home, I try to take care of every detail,” Sciò said. This includes putting Alka-Seltzer to bed at night during turn-down. So, if someone has a headache, they wake up feeling much better. It’s an Italian thing.”

“I always try to make sure that all guests who have been here before have different rooms. Every room is unique and I want to give them a new experience,” said Sciò. Even if you’re working with a single spare bedroom rather than a 19-room Renaissance villa, find a way to make each visit different. Try placing a few seasonal flowers in a vase next to the bed or playing with the color scheme by using a different set of sheets and pillows.



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