Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore's 18th-century farmhouse — 12 rooms, contemporary art on every wall, the three-Michelin-star Francescana at Maria Luigia tasting menu in the converted barn, and the most considered hospitality project in Italy of the past decade.
"The clearest expression of what Italian hospitality looks like when a three-Michelin-star chef and his wife treat a house as a single, completed work."
Casa Maria Luigia is the country guesthouse opened in 2019 by Massimo Bottura — the chef behind Osteria Francescana, ranked the World's Best Restaurant in 2016 and 2018 — and his wife Lara Gilmore. The property is an 18th-century farmhouse on a flat agricultural property roughly fifteen minutes' drive from central Modena, named for Maria Luigia of Habsburg-Lorraine, the Duchess of Parma whose family connection to the region is one of the threads the owners enjoy pulling on. The renovation took three years. The brief was unusually clear: a private house that happens to receive guests, set up to extend the philosophy of Osteria Francescana beyond the restaurant itself — local product, contemporary art, music, and a particular kind of unforced Emilian hospitality.
There are twelve rooms across the main house and the converted outbuildings, no two alike. Lara Gilmore — formerly a New York gallerist — assembled each room around a different combination of vintage furniture, contemporary art (Damien Hirst, Maurizio Cattelan, and lesser-known Italian artists are represented on the walls), and a curated music selection delivered through dedicated systems. Bathrooms are oversized; bathtubs are freestanding; linens are the right ones. Standard Doubles begin around 35 square metres; Junior Suites around 50; the named Suites are larger, with separate sitting rooms. The room rate is full board on most tariffs and includes a generous Emilian buffet breakfast, a freely accessible kitchen with snacks throughout the day, and unrestricted access to the wine and beverage selection.
The dining proposition is the property's central asset. Francescana at Maria Luigia — opened in the converted barn and operated by the Osteria Francescana team — serves a nine-course "Best of Francescana" tasting menu around a communal dining table, in the round, with a dramatic open kitchen. The menu reprises signatures from the Modena restaurant ("Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano," "Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart," "The Crunchy Part of the Lasagna") and rotates seasonally. Two seatings per evening, Tuesday through Saturday; the experience is bookable only by Casa Maria Luigia guests, and is the principal reason most stays here are planned around. The price for the menu is separate from the room rate.
Beyond Francescana, the property includes a swimming pool, a tennis court, a small fitness room that doubles as a gallery, a music room with the owners' record collection, and grounds extensive enough for slow walks. The staff arrange visits to the Lambrusco vineyards, the Parmigiano-Reggiano caseifici, and the Acetaie Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale producers around Modena — together with a Ferrari factory visit at Maranello when the brief calls for it. The Modena location places the property within easy striking distance of Bologna, Parma, and the Emilian foothills; Lake Garda is roughly two hours by car. For travellers building a Northern Italy itinerary around food, art, and unhurried country hospitality, Casa Maria Luigia is the most distinctive small hotel in the country.
For honeymooners who prefer one extraordinary table and a small country house over a programmed resort, Casa Maria Luigia is among the strongest answers in Europe. The combination — Francescana at Maria Luigia in the barn, the pool and gardens during the day, twelve guests in residence at most — produces a couples-week structure that is hard to replicate. Book a Suite for the extra space; book three or four nights to let the property unfold.
The natural milestone-anniversary booking for food-led couples — Francescana at Maria Luigia handles the dinner brief at the level the occasion deserves, the surrounding Emilian product guides (Parmigiano, balsamic, Lambrusco) handle the days, and the small scale of the house guarantees that no two anniversaries here look the same. Tuesday-to-Saturday is the operating window.
The communal dining table makes Casa Maria Luigia an unusually civilised option for the solo traveller — you arrive on your own at the Francescana barn and leave as part of the evening. The Standard Double on a single rate, two or three nights, is the typical solo booking; the kitchen access and the music room handle the in-between hours.
Stradello Bonaghino 56
41126 Modena (MO)
Italy
Bologna Airport 35 minutes; Modena city centre 15 minutes; Parma 50 minutes; Lake Garda 2 hours; Florence 1hr 30min.
12 rooms total
Double Rooms from EUR 450/night
Junior Suite from EUR 650/night
Suites from EUR 850/night
Breakfast and all-day kitchen included
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened 2019
Closed Sunday and Monday nights
Francescana at Maria Luigia (in barn)
Pool, tennis, fitness/gallery room
Contemporary art throughout
Open kitchen access for guests
Visits to Parmigiano, balsamic, Ferrari
Owned by Massimo Bottura & Lara Gilmore
From EUR 450/night. Francescana at Maria Luigia dinner reservations open with the room booking; weekends and the high-season windows book six months ahead. The property does not accept guests on Sunday or Monday nights.
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