On a more personal note, I would also like to share my own path at the villa. It started when I was born. All throughout my childhood at Cozzano I was immersed in nature. It showed me the most authentic and beautiful ways of living. I climbed trees to observe the birds, took naps in the middle of the wheat fields, watched the stars during the summer nights, and enjoyed seasonal produce that we cultivated from our lands: grapes, cherries, almonds and olives. One of the biggest parts of growing up in Cozzano was getting to meet people from different parts of the world, it opened up my mind and made me curious about the differences and similarities we share between our cultures. In a way, I have always been a part of the work at the villa. Every day at university, my thoughts wandered to Cozzano, to its spacious fields and welcoming smells. At this time, Villa Cozzano was experiencing a hard period and my family was thinking to put the property up for sale. All of this was happening during a turbulent time of my life which saw me going from anorexia, to speaking problems and deep depression. I came to the decision to take a break from my studies and to spend time at the villa before the sale. Retracing the footsteps of my childhood, I started to take care of the villa. The responsibility I developed for Cozzano made me heal. I dedicated myself to this place and it gave me a renewed appreciation for life. It saved me. From that moment, I felt responsible for the future of the villa.

Villa Cozzano has belonged to our family from the very beginning, since 1543. This place has seen many stories and hosted many faiths throughout it’s time. It started as a home for farmers that were working on the lands around the property. They looked after their animals and took care of the olive grove, vineyards and wheat fields that we are still carefully cultivating today. The Lazzerini family was hosting the peasants, while being the main vendor of Cozzanos products. Step by step, the Villa was not only home to the farmers, but also a cultural centre where families from Tuscany and Umbria met, worked and enjoyed their lives. To provide local children a basic education, the Villa evolved one of its rooms into an elementary school where my grandmother Luciana was the main teacher. Moreover, there was a shoemaker, a public oven, a granary and a cellar, all these memories resonate from the original brick walls of the villa. During hard times, the house was a safe place for many people. Throughout both world wars, it sheltered people that escaped from neighbouring countries. Shortly after the war, as a result of urbanization, everyone left the house to work in the cities. The Villa stayed abandoned until my parents, Manuela Lazzerini and Cristiano Fabrizi, began a lengthy renovation work started in 1996 and finished in 2013. Step by step they brought Cozzano back to life and opened its doors to our guests from all over the world.

Our life values are based on a balance between human connections and nature. From the beginning, Cozzano has been breathing, thankfully to the lands it stands on and the people that filled the inside of the walls with their passion and energy. Here, in the pure beauty of the surroundings, we find the power to keep going on. When we feel connected to nature, we notice the freedom of being ourselves and that is what we want to share with our guests. A dish of pasta under the pine trees with the people you care about or an open window during the night to hear the crickets and feel the breeze. It’s the simple pleasures of life, that help us appreciate the present moment. There is no feeling of owning Cozzano, the purpose we feel is to take care and preserve the place, values and nature. Remembering the merits of the past and ensuring its deserved future, we put our passion in the work at Cozzano of today.