They say that in America, you must be something. But in Italy you can simply be. And nowhere is this truer than Tuscany.

Italy’s storied central region is home to centuries-old vineyards tucked away in rolling hills and valleys, rustic farmhouses enveloped in sunflower fields, and ancient cities and towns hosting masterpieces of art, food, and wine unparalleled the world over. No matter what you think you know about Tuscany, you absolutely must be here to understand it.

And Villa Ardore in Chianti, should be where you come to be and understand and feel and love Tuscany.

Once a lookout post to defend nearby Siena and Florence (both 30-45 minutes away), this 8-bedroom villa has been reimagined as the paragon of Tuscan luxury and Italian hospitality. There is nowhere better to host an intimate vows ceremony anywhere in Tuscany, possibly Italy. Ardore is Italian for loving passion and that is what its owners, Christian Scali and Stephen Lewis brought to its multi-million Euro restoration and hold as its daily mission.

For Christian and Stephen, coupled for over 25-years, Villa Ardore is a life’s work based on a life’s work ensuring same-sex couples, could celebrate their love and marriage. The first 10-years of their relationship did not allow for them to legally marry, so the two lived in love as their first act as change agents, and Stephen, a government lawyer in California, helped pave the way to marriage equality in the US. And, like many before them, an ancestral connection to Italy drew them to the country, Tuscany became a counterpoint to life in Los Angeles, and the scales of time kept favoring Florence, finding a place to make a home for themselves, friends and others, was inevitable. To host anyone in love at Villa Ardore, but especially same sex couples in love, for them is passion made life.

To celebrate finding ‘your person’ at Villa Ardore is to include 16-18 of your closest friends and family in the villa, sipping prosecco, supping on pasta, and reveling in the romantic Tuscan vibes. Then, host up to 36 guests at the Villa for your vows ceremony and reception. Villa Ardore will arrange a similarly luxurious stay for guests not staying with you at the villa. 

Villa Ardore’s impeccable design sensibility and incomparable amenities—from a fully private spa to professional catering kitchen to meshed wifi and USB ports at every bedside—is surpassed only by its world-class hosts.

The personal relationships they hold with the region’s best wedding purveyors (making it possible to make yours a full-service wedding or simply work with your planner), the ideas they have for once-in-a-lifetime dolce vita experiences, and the care with which they make you feel at home at Villa Ardore, rank these individuals far and above the world’s best concierges. The hosts’ focus on intimacy and the highest level of attention among your 16-36 guests is essential to the uniqueness of Villa Ardore. Much like love, to describe the alchemy of Villa Ardore, its hosts, Tuscany, intimacy, luxury, and your time here, is nearly impossible. 

But Villa Ardore is a place for friends and family, vows ceremonies and vacations, retreats and honeymoons. Or better yet, all of the above. Celebrate your marriage here and stay of the honeymoon. Come for an anniversary and invite the whole family. Host colleagues and deepen friendships. While there is no shortage of villas perched along the Tuscan valleys, there is only one place that centers purpose and mission, luxury and hospitality, endless experiences and dolce far niente with such a sense of soul.

Villa Ardore is where your marriage will take flight and where your love will find home. Because, as the saying goes, home is where the heart is. Or, really, where the loving passion is.