My First Mother's Day and a Cute Little Villa
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This is the smile I woke up to on my first Mother's Day. It was a Sunday morning and we took turns to get showered and dressed. Francesca hadn’t been well all week (a bad skin rash), and we were all stretched thin. Pier suggested we'd go for a simple lunch to Villa Widmann, a cute little chocolate box about 15 minutes from our place, in a village called Mira. I said hell yes - that's one of my all time favourite places ever to hang out!
Here we are!
Lions everywhere, of course. Venice's symbol is a lion - now you know.
The first thing you see as you enter the gates is a small, private chapel. I'm not baptised myself, and we never went to church in my family, but I'm drawn by the shadows that you usually find in places like this. Just take a seat and breathe in the cool air for a while.
Walking in under the porticato with beautiful hanging lamps and giant-bellied pots made with clay.
A glimpse of the private rooms for the reception employees. Imagine working here: tired? Retreat to an antique sofa with a hot coffee cup in your hands and close the doors behind you.
On the other side of the reception, more porticato with tables and chairs. Here you can sit down and enjoy a simple breakfast, lunch or aperitif thanks to the bar they built in place of the original "chocolate bar". Wealthy Venetians had hot chocolate for breakfast - now you know!
We ordered cheese toasts, small pizzas (pizzette) and polpette. This is the original counter of the chocolate bar. The kind lady who was serving us said it's original from the 1800s.
A gigantic mirror with lots of patina and charm.
The wine was nice, but I can't remember what it was exactly - Pier ordered it. I'm still breastfeeding so I only take a sip every now and then, out of curiosity.
Coffee in the shade. And a rare photo of yours truly.
And a vintage candy I got from the receptionist. I kept in my pocket for dessert.
Francesca was a bit restless, so I took her under the canopy. The villa's park is beautiful, ancient and calming. Each tree is numbered, catalogued and protected from deliberate cutting.
She reached for the leaves, grabbed one and tried to eat it... as expected!
Time to head into the Villa. A countryside abode built for the entertainment of the rich and wealthy families of Venice who had a habit of escaping the summer heat of the lagoon for breezy afternoons and naughty nights on the mainland.
Here's a sneak peek of the interiors (some photos are from a previous visit). The chandeliers are all Muranos.
We felt like doing another stroll outside. One must take advantage of every opportunity to spend time in nature.
Mangroves! Quirky.
They built a Venetian "campo" with the typical well (vera da pozzo). This isn’t something you normally see on the mainland.
A collection of old and dusty carriages is hosted in the stables.
And then it was time to go home. Francesca had fallen asleep and we, too, were looking forward to an afternoon nap. A beautiful first Mother's Day.
For the curious: Villa Widmann is located in the village of Mira, on the mainland of Venice. It's usually open Tuesday to Sunday (10am-4.30pm) and entry tickets are 7 euro, at the time of writing. This YouTube tour of the villa is very enjoyable.
Have a nice Sunday!
Sinù xx
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