Villa La Commenda Concordia: refined Mugello hospitality just steps from Florence

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Where to spend a weekend in Tuscany's beautiful Mugello? The answer is Villa La Commenda Concordia, a refined historic residence suspended between history and charm.

What we talk about in this article:

• His Majesty Villa La Commenda Concordia
• The ancient history of Villa La Commenda
• The present: a beautiful hotel in Tuscany in the green Mugello.
• Discovering Villa La Commenda Concordia
• The services offered by Villa La Commenda Concordia
• The curious production "autarchy" of Mugello
• Dinner at the “Il Nascosto” restaurant

THEon the road to get to Villa La Commenda Concordia – in Molezzano, in Vicchio di Mugello – is immersed in the greenery countryside northeast of Florence, and it is extremely pleasant to ride, especially in summer when the heat drowns the plain.

His Majesty The Commandery Concordia

My wife Alessia and I follow a wide access slightly uphill, lined with centuries-old fir trees, and immediately we find ourselves in front of the fascinating shape of the 19th-century villaThe taste is the eclectic one of the beginning of the last century, with magnificent frescoes, windows of various shapes, and – on the second floor – real portholes. To the left of the entrance, a beautiful stone well, while on a hill a little further away stands a small chapel in plain sight. We enter, and the interior immediately appears sumptuous, elegant, decorated with refinement.

The ancient history of Villa La Commenda Concordia

The owners welcomed us Oleg Papoudin, his wife Nadia, and the restorer and artist Stefan Zarkov. You immediately notice how much they are enthusiastic of how they managed to give back new life to this entire beautiful complex. An appreciable, fully justified sentiment, which we like to emphasize.

The current owners

We sit on comfortable sofas while Oleg And Nadia they tell us the history of the villa and how it all began.

The beginning is very simple. Oleg had a dream: owning a villa in TuscanySome friends of theirs had sent him a photo of a villa in Montecatini. He and Nadia had visited it but weren't thrilled. So they kept looking until they found the one. Commend the Concordia, And love exploded lightning-fast, to first sightSure, there was a lot to do, but it was definitely worth it.

The past of Villa La Commenda

The truth is that this it's not just any villa: has a very important historical origin. Built on the foundations of aancient military watchtower of the 16th century, were the Peratoner, a wealthy family of Swiss immigrants who settled in Vicchio around the middle of the 19th century, who transformed it into a noble private residence.

The Peratoners cultivated innovative ideas regard to agriculture and to the animal husbandry, so much so that the head of the family, Alberto Peratoner, elected mayor of the city, contributed to improve the lives of citizens and farmers, even opening a school – a rare thing at that time – for the children of workers and local residents.

At that point, they had no choice but to seal their pre-eminence in the country with a prestigious estateThe choice fell on this place, considered suitable for all their needs. Architecturally and stylistically, the chosen one was Florentine style integrated with the Liberty style which was very popular at the time. The following were employed there: best time specialists, while the famous company intervened for the decoration works Galileo Chini.

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The present: a beautiful hotel in Tuscany in the green Mugello.

Over the years the villa passed through different hands until reaching these loving of the present owners who have wonderfully restored it thanks also to the skill artisanal And artistic of the excellent Stefan Zarkov in collaboration with the design house Geometra.

The work took years of dedication. If the splendid coffered ceilings some of the rooms on the ground floor appeared quite intact and required minimal intervention, the decorations on the high walls of some rooms, such as in the Fireplace Room, in particular, have an interesting history. Initially, in fact, in accordance with the eclectic style of the era of the construction of the Villa, and without knowing the existence of pre-existing decorations (the walls were white), it was decided to make fruit trees. But proceeding with the preparation of the wall for the fresco, here they have emerged from the past previous decorations, curiously very similar to those that were supposed to be made, which showed angels with fruit. At that point everything changed and it became a work of recovery of the previous work that Stefan has brilliantly completed, except in one part where the fresco has remained sinopia level, or rather, of design, since, being irrecoverable, it was preferred to leave it in its rough state to show its original presence.

Discovering Villa La Commenda Concordia

Everything here releases elegance, refinementWe look out from the balcony bordered by stone columns through which the dining room ideally emerges outside, and we admire the majesty of the park from the centuries-old trees. Down there you can see a beautiful, large, light-colored structure, still to be finished, which will soon be able to host events and weddings.

The Chapel and Nadia's performance

All together we visit the pretty little chapel located on the hill to the left of the entrance door, dedicated to Saint Catherine, the name of the wife of the first owner, Alberto PeratonerInside we witness a surprising Nadia's performance that delights us by doing vibration of Tibetan vases with a special instrument. The sound produced is the classic one, extremely relaxing, for meditation. On the other hand, we are not too surprised, having already pleasantly listened, shortly before, to his excellent piano performanceThis too will one day become an additional service for the Villa's guests. Behind the church is the beautiful lounge area.

The services offered by Villa La Commenda Concordia

Nadia explains to us that among the various services offered from La Commenda Concordia there are: cooking classwine tasting; visits to cellars And dairies; bike riding; Vespa tourstruffle hunting (when it's in season); guided tours of the area; horseback riding thanks to a riding stable adjacent to the property.

Every now and then bucolic pictures appear before us sumptuous peacocks That they run around the park. Crossing the park (the entire estate measures approximately 3 hectares) we reach a pleasant spot in the middle of the woods. We descend a slope and discover a staircase that leads to the stream which flows under the Villa. Fascinating the large boulders that create a natural relaxation area. Meanwhile, the slope we descended could even form the roof of a spa, perfectly immersed in the scrub and integrated into the environment. A project in progress that could soon become a reality.

We go back up towards the Villa in an atmosphere relaxed, friendly, feeling perfectly at ease our comfortWe linger a bit by the pool on the comfortable loungers available to guests, then we go up to our room, on the second floor, one of the 14 reserved for guests. It is certainly a five-star environment, furnished in sober Tuscan style, embellished by the large porthole of the window, daughter of eclecticism that characterizes the entire architecture. Among the various comforts, there are also two technological skylights that provide abundant light throughout the room.

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The curious production "autarchy" of Mugello

Before dinner, Christian Borchi – an important chef from Mugello – explains to us that the Villa has a entire hectare cultivated with saffron – a truly remarkable measure – which helps the agritourism business. products used I am all Tuscans, the majority to Km 0We are talking about real, excellent, local producers from Mugello. Some names? Trotta, for example, a company located just above the Villa, a supplier of cured meats and meats that they come from the CAF (Firenzuola Agricultural Cooperative) which manages the centralized slaughterhouse in the valley and guarantees the healthiness and quality of the meat. bovine breed prince in these parts is the Mugello limousine, if we want to call it that, because genetically it is a Limousine, but it has adapted so much to the territory that it has transformed into a native animal.

And in the same way they are at Km0 there vegetables and the herbs of the villa's garden, The local honey (product under their own brand), the milk supply chains (Mugello is becoming an organic district). For the cow's milk cheeses they use the well-known company Ice Palace, while the goat ones come from the upper part of the valley.

As for the wine, if up to now there have not been many particularly renowned areas in these parts, in the future there is a concrete chance that they will increase significantly. In fact, if Sangiovese in Mugello struggles to establish itself, on the contrary the Pinot Noir, for example, grows very well. This is the case of Fortuna Farm by Alessandro Brogi, awarded by Gambero Rosso with 3 glasses for his "1465”. Without considering, theIl Rio Farm, by Paolo Cerrini, considered one of the best Pinot Noir producers in Italy, a retired goldsmith who in 2018 planted some vine cuttings in the Vicchio area Pinot Noir And Chardonnay starting a new beautiful adventure.

Other excellence of Mugello it's definitely the wine Cat house produced by theTerre di Giotto Agricultural Company by Michele Lorenzetti, certainly a biodynamic guru.

It should also be noted that, despite being far from the sea, fish (freshwater) plays an important role, if it is true that from Papiano, in the adjacent Casentino, at certain times trout and char arrive.

It should also not be forgotten that the Mugello is one of the privileged areas Tuscan for the truffle, which covers all periods of the year in each of its more or less valuable varieties. And what about the "brown” and of the many types of mushrooms What can you find there? In short, a territory so full of gastronomic excellence which could almost be considered “autarchic”.

For further information: Where to eat the best potato tortelli in Mugello

Dinner at the “Il Nascosto” restaurant

The long-awaited moment has arrived dinner at the restaurant of the Villa, “The HiddenThe name is intuitive: you won't find it on the main street of Vicchio.

At the table, Alessia and I are joined by Nadia, Oleg, Stefan, and Eva, their lovely 10-year-old daughter, a truly wonderful, well-behaved little girl.

The famous ones are proudly displayed on the tablecloth Scarperia knives from the "The Artisan Cutlery“. We need Cristina, who immediately shows, in addition to sympathy, also excellent professionalism and mastery of the subject.

Amuse-bouche and white wine

Here comes an intriguing one amuse-bouche: a layer of toasted bread with chicken liver pâté and caramelized onion. Alongside, a small glass of flavored butter with herbs from their garden. Both excellent

As for the wine, let's start with Sassobianco 2020 harvest of Marchesi Gondi, a Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC From the Pontassieve area, a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon. Extremely pleasant. Perfect in pairing with appetizers that arrive very early.

Appetizers and red wine

Alessia is served the onion pie, their signature dish, a very special dish that comes to us from far away. In fact, it derives from the return to Italy of Catherine de' Medici that after passing through court of France imported, in the true sense of the word, the onion soup. In our case it is a shell of shortcrust pastry with onion soup inside, made of Mugello cheese, caramelized onion and local pecorino cheese fondue. If it's one of the the restaurant's flagship dishes There's a reason: it's truly delicious.

While for me, here is the Tuscan burrata (they have a couple of suppliers, including Il Forteto) on a bed of tomato jelly, to give the sensation of caprese, but in a more elaborate way. Very successful experimentA truly delicious dish. The burrata melts in your mouth, and the tomato jelly gives it a subtle acidity for a truly exquisite sweet and sour experience.

Let's move on to red wine: the cork oaks of Rocca di Frassinello 2019 harvest, a blend of Sangiovese and Bordeaux blendsIt is undoubtedly a very pleasant wine, with soft tannins, excellent acidity, and a very interesting, persistent, bitterish aftertaste.

If we then look around we are surprised to see other tables in the restaurant many young connoisseurs of beauty and good food.

The first ones

As for the first one, I went for the classic: cheese and pepper ravioliThis is a Mugello-style pasta, homemade with lots of eggs, inside which a cheese and pepper mixture, in an Italian recipe combined with the local tradition. It is then cooked in the melted butter, and lemon from their garden is grated on top. The result is certainly remarkable. Must try.

While Alessia's first is a gazpacho, composed of yellow Mugello tomato, seasoned in the traditional way with lemon, salt, oil, pepper, combined with marinated seasonal vegetables. While on the upper plate lies a Orbetello sea bass fillet Fried like finger food. This one is also delicious.

Let's move on immediately... to dessert

Given theabundance of food we decided to skip the second and move on to dessert straight away. I ice cream by Alessia are handcrafted by the Delizie Lab of Firenzuola of the renowned Alessio Calamini, to whom the Villa provides spices and essences, like theirs lavender and their saffronThe third taste is the chestnut cake, made from chestnut flour from the Albero buono which won fourth prize as best in Italy. In 2016, this ice cream, at the eighth edition of Sherbet – International Festival of Artisan Ice Cream, saw the first place of Procopio de' Coltelli Award "Castagnaccio del Mugello." These are three amazing flavors you can't miss.

As for mine, however delicious choice, the crème brûlée, we are talking about a dessert to which the saffron produced at the Villa with a little of their grated lemons, and is decorated with their dried fruit and saffron petals.

The legendary Zafferoncello

We finally close with an amazing liqueur, the “saffroncello", a sort of limoncello flavored with their saffron. A absolute must for those who come to the restaurant and want to end the dinner on a high note.

Meeting the Executive Chef: Efrem Roberts

Finally we meet Efrem Roberts, it executive chefStudent of Blessed Vitali (at Zibibbo) – the great chef, first partner of the late Fabio Picchi of Cibreo – received a varied and comprehensive training. After working for 4 years with a partner atAncient Montecarelli Inn in Barberino di Mugello, he continued for another 7 years alongside his wife, until arriving here. His deepest intention is give credit to Mugello, to his great products, and to all the its potential, for the most part still unexpressed. A mixture of tradition and balanced innovation, his dinner was certainly worthy of applause.

The “sad” farewell

After agreat sleep and ahearty breakfast, we have to separate ourselves from Villa La Commenda Concordia with a few tears in his eyes. Beautiful place, beautiful company, beautiful dinner. What more can we say? Oh well, yes, we all wish them the best of luck for the future. They've put together a beautiful activity which we hope will be rewarded with the greatest success.

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The Concordia Commandery – Locality Molezzano, 64 – Vicchio (FI) – Tel. +39 392 0850037

Photo Credits: Sergei Ananiev

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About The Author

Vieri Tommasi Candidi

Writer, Ambassador of Tuscany