Tag Archives: adventure

Will the Villa Flower Anew?

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Although any project to restore Villa Fiori to its former glory is to be applauded I remain hesitant about its success for the following reasons.

1. The restoration of the villa in itself is a mammoth project. We have visited its interior in the past year – just the replacement of the roof would require major investment. To add to this restoration the building of a spa and health centre next to it without even the certainty that it will be supplied with thermal water is a heroic task.

2. Thermal waters with a spa are already present at the Bagni Bernabo’ (which we have attended for some years now), the Hotel delle Terme and, very soon now, at the Terme alla Villa. These establishments are in addition to the Terme Varraud with its natural caves, mud and thermal baths which, regrettably, largely because of economic reasons, have been closed for some years now

3. The area around the Villa Fiori is a public garden owned by the comune of Bagni di Lucca. To sell a part of it off to built a private wellness centre would be both a huge legal challenge and be unfair to Bagni citizens who use it for their recreation and for local events. Already to our shock horror we notice that the garden is now blocked off from anyone who tries to reach it across the footbridge at Ponte.

4. The whole area is under the Italian ‘Belle Arti’ and remains a conservation area subject to strict rules regarding any development. I do not feel the plans I have seen for the proposed wellness centre would satisfy the Belle Arti.Frankly I would like the project to be restricted to the villa itself which, no doubt, would suit itself well for conversion into a time-share residence (like the town’s Hotel Svizzero) or partitioned off as flats or even turned into a boutique hotel.Of course, we would all like Villa Fiori to see better days but let hopes not be raised too high. I feel we need to concentrate first of all in getting the original Terme Varraud, which many who read this will remember with some fondness, back into business with a firm reinvestment there.

Sebbene qualsiasi progetto di restauro di Villa Fiori sia degno di plauso, rimango titubante sul suo successo per i seguenti motivi.

  1. Il restauro della villa in sé è un progetto colossale. Ne abbiamo visitato gli interni l’anno scorso: solo la sostituzione del tetto richiederebbe un investimento ingente.
  2. Aggiungere a questo restauro la costruzione di un centro benessere e termale adiacente, senza nemmeno la certezza che sarà alimentato con acqua termale, è un’impresa eroica.
  3. Le acque termali con spa sono già presenti ai Bagni Bernabò (che frequentiamo da alcuni anni), all’Hotel delle Terme e, molto presto, alle Terme alla Villa. Questi stabilimenti si aggiungono alle Terme Varraud con le sue grotte naturali, i fanghi e le terme che, purtroppo, soprattutto per motivi economici, sono chiuse da alcuni anni.
  4. L’area intorno a Villa Fiori è un giardino pubblico di proprietà del Comune di Bagni di Lucca. Vendere una parte per costruire un centro benessere privato rappresenterebbe un’enorme sfida legale e sarebbe ingiusto nei confronti dei cittadini di Bagni che lo utilizzano per il loro tempo libero e per eventi locali. Con nostro grande orrore, notiamo che il giardino è ora interdetto a chiunque cerchi di raggiungerlo attraverso la passerella pedonale di Ponte.
  5. L’intera area è sottoposta a vincolo delle Belle Arti e rimane un’area protetta soggetta a rigide norme per quanto riguarda qualsiasi sviluppo edilizio. Non credo che i progetti che ho visto per il centro benessere proposto soddisfino le esigenze delle Belle Arti. Francamente, vorrei che il progetto fosse limitato alla villa stessa, che, senza dubbio, si adatterebbe bene alla conversione in una residenza multiproprietà (come l’Hotel Svizzero della città) o alla suddivisione in appartamenti o addirittura alla trasformazione in un boutique hotel. Certo, vorremmo tutti che Villa Fiori vedesse giorni migliori, ma non lasciamoci prendere dalle speranze. Credo che dovremmo concentrarci prima di tutto sul rilancio delle Terme Varraud originali, che molti di coloro che leggono questo ricorderanno con affetto, con un solido reinvestimento.

To the Deer Island

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Our day sailing on a catamaran started near the old port of Mahebourg situated on the south east corner of Mauritius.


From here we headed towards the Ile des Cerfs following a picturesque coastline with mountains and hills reaching to the sea. I was glad to note the area spared from any ugly developments but wondered for how long it would remain like this.


We stopped for snorkelling on a part of the bay which rose to quite shallow depths and where the turquoise waters were remarkably clear. They provided a welcome contrast to the sea nearer the coast which had turned browner in colour due to the mud brought down by the overflowing rivers as a result of the recent rainstorms. It was fun swimming about the bay but we did not spot any fishes! More interestingly when we continued our journey we encountered a school of dolphins having fun leaping about the waves and teasing us.


It was in this bay that Napoleon won perhaps his greatest naval victory, the battle of Grand Port. Fought between 20 and 27 August 1810 over possession of the harbour the British navy suffered their worst defeat in the Napoleonic wars when the French managed to block the enemy’s frigates. Paris’ Arc De Triomphe has the name of this battle inscribed on its list of Napoleonic honours. A pity that Nelson had been killed at Trafalgar five years previously. It might have made all the difference if he had been present.


The Ile aux Cerfs is a picturesque place with its archetypal desert island atmosphere of white sandy beaches, palm trees and turquoise lagoons. We stopped for an hour there but could find no deer (cerfs) remaining. Fortunately we’d seen them during our visit to the Pamplemousses botanical gardens a couple of days previously.


It was a relaxing return trip to Mahebourg. The town was founded by the Dutch during their two brief intervals of colonization in the seventeenth century when they succeeded in eating the last Dodo. The town is named after French governor Bertrand Mahe’ de la Bourdonnaise.


It was, however, a pity that our trip did not include a visit to the town which contains two interesting museums, the Historical Naval museum housed in an ancient mansion and the Frederik Hendrik museum recounting the Dutch occupation of the island. It’s a good two hours by bus to reach Mahebourg from where we are staying but we have visited the main museums in Port Louis which similarly recount the history of the island.