Villa Massei sits high on a hill overlooking beautiful countryside near the town of Lucca. It’s easy to argue that any garden would look spectacular in such a setting. When a 16th century hunting lodge, with its old bricks, faded terracotta plaster and French-blue doors is another part of the backdrop, how could you fail to produce something worth seeing?
Americans Paul Gervais de Beedee and Gil Cohen have been developing Villa Massei and its surrounding gardens since 1981. I’ve seen quite a few old Italian gardens and what interested me most about Villa Massei is how there’s both a homage to that centuries old style of conifers and formal clipping, as well as more modern features and interpretations. Although the garden is well-maintained, the plants when I saw them had that sexy look of designer stubble cultivated by many Italian men, which I did rather like. On both.
The garden sweeps around the outside of the buildings, progressing through open lawns, clipped buxus topiary, a rose walk, and pond, past a large swimming pool and pergola, and through a much wilder garden filled with an assortment of perennials and only loosely-clipped shrubs. The main entertaining courtyard at the back could seat several dozen people comfortably but still manages an air of cosy intimacy.
Below the house are productive gardens and orchards.
Click on any photo to see a larger image slideshow. You can also click the photos in the slideshow (top right corner) to see a full-size version.
[photomosaic show_loading=”1″]
Thanks for sharing this Cathy. Absolutely gorgeous, and I am green with envy!
Love your description and photos. It is an envy-inducing place and those two gentlemen have such exquisite taste it’s mortifying. As a postscript the property is for sale currently through Sotherbys, so anyone who fancies the idea of living the dream can snap it up at for mere 9.975 million Euros – that’s about A$12.7 million for us well-heeled Aussies, or 13 million for readers in the US. Hope they don’t sell before I get there in a few weeks time with my garden tour!
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for this web site. I am Chris Massei from Warrenton, VA. My family originated from Lucca, Italy. My Great Grandfather, Massimo Massei, was born in Lucca and came to America to marry his love, Anna Velente. Do you know of any history of the Massei family from Lucca? Do you know of a Massei Family Coat-Of-Arms? Any help you can provide will be much appreciated..
Kind regards,
Chris
Hi Chris – sorry I can’t help you with more information about the Massei family. My notes tell me that Villa Massei was built by the Sinibaldi family in the 1500s and came into the Massei family some 200 years later. Most recently owned by Gil Cohen and Paul Gervais, it was sold in 2014 for about 7.5 million euros. Gervais published a book about Villa Massei in 2000 called ‘A Garden in Lucca’; perhaps it has more information about the Massei family
I am Luigi Massei from Lucca. My family and I immigrated to USA in 1955. Do you know what town near Lucca your family lived. We lived in Gello for a time. Be fun to see if we are related.