The Story of Cesarini Estate

A personal account by Xavier Bricout

Hello, my name is Xavier. I am sixty-two years old, and I would like to share with you, through these few lines, the story of a place that is dear to me: Cesarini Estate.

An Italian dream, 1992

It all began in the spring of 1992. My parents-in-law, Philippe and Thérèse, were lovers of Italy through and through. The country lived inside them: its light, its hills, its language, its quiet way of taking time. For years they had dreamt of settling there not as visitors, but as people who put down roots.

The project had a family dimension too. They had three children, and an idea was taking shape: why not find an estate large enough that one day, one of their children — then studying hospitality in Switzerland — might pursue his future career as a hotelier and restaurateur there? Joining the useful to the beautiful, the dream to a way of life.

So they searched, criss-crossing the borderlands between Tuscany and Umbria, looking for a property of the right scale. Several leads were explored, some very nearly closed before being given up. Then came this property, on the edge of being forgotten after years of neglect, in the hands of a certain Giovanni Cesarini — hence the name it still carries today. The estate then covered about two hectares; a third hectare would be added later. The deed was signed in 1992.

The birth of Violetta

That same year, 1992, their daughter Véronique gave birth to a little girl. They named her Violette. It was in honour of this first granddaughter that the main house on the estate received its name: Villa Violetta.

The long years of restoration

At the time of purchase, the property was in a state I shall never forget. The house had not been cared for in a very long time. The shutters were riddled with holes — woodpeckers had been at work with great enthusiasm. Other birds had built their nests between the shutters and the windowpanes. Cobwebs lined every room, and the silence of the place spoke of years of abandonment.

Philippe and Thérèse undertook the first restoration of Villa Violetta. Little by little they gave the villa back its dignity and its beauty — rebuilding the roof, restoring the façade, and improving the comfort of the interior.

The Casa Colonica becomes Villa Alta

Later, a family decision was made: Véronique and her husband — that was me, Xavier — would have the opportunity to acquire the Casa Colonica also located on the estate. This old dwelling had once housed the farm workers. It was in a deplorable state.

The purchase was completed a few years later. We first considered a conventional restoration. But faced with the fragility of the walls and the potential of the site, we made a more radical decision: to dismantle the building entirely — while carefully preserving every original brick and tile — and rebuild it from the ground up, with solid foundations and a level of finish the house had never known.

The works were entrusted to an excellent local builder. The foundations went down nearly twelve metres, the steel-reinforced concrete frame was designed to last, and the villa was reborn upon foundations of rare strength.

When the shell was at last completed, Véronique and I separated. The house then stood as it was for some time.

A new chapter

The years went by. Véronique's parents, Philippe and Thérèse, passed away, one after the other. The estate was passed on: Villa Colonica remained with Véronique, while Villa Violetta came to the three children in joint ownership.

In my capacity as a notary, I advised my former wife to bring Villa Violetta into her sole name, so as to restore the estate to a single coherent whole.

Violette's wedding

And then came a very particular day. One of the couple's daughters, Violette — the very child whose name had been given to the first house — asked her parents whether she might celebrate her wedding at Cesarini Estate.

It felt like a sign. Despite the separation, the decision was made to resume the works and complete the Casa Colonica, now renamed Villa Alta. The effort was considerable, the schedule tight; but the house was finished almost in time for the wedding. And Violette was married on the estate, surrounded by her family, her parents and her friends.

The estate today

Since that wedding, the estate has never stopped growing more beautiful.

In 2022, a swimming pool was built at Villa Violetta. The bedrooms and bathrooms were renovated one by one. At Villa Alta, the pool was rebuilt and air-conditioning installed throughout. Each year brings its stone, each season its gesture: this is an estate cultivated as one cultivates a garden.

A family endeavour

If Cesarini Estate has become what it is today, it is first and foremost thanks to Véronique's quiet, unshakeable determination to carry on the work her parents had begun.

That determination would not have been enough without faithful support: that of her former husband — and I say so with a certain pride — and that of her current partner, Denis, who walks this journey alongside her today.

Tribute must also be paid to the precious contribution of the three children — Violette, Augustin and Antoine. Having become an architect in the meantime, Antoine was able to offer the project his finest counsel, in particular for the completion of Villa Alta.

Cesarini Estate is not merely a property. It is a story of family, of inheritance, of patience and of loyalty to a dream born in 1992. Today, when you step through the gate, you enter the fruit of thirty years of work, of love and of continuity.

You are very welcome here.

Xavier Bricout