In the hamlet of San Damaso, a few kilometres outside Modena, there are only rows of orchards pointing you toward Casa Maria Luigia. 

Upon entering the vast property, a cast-iron gate appears. As guests drive down the grapevine-lined driveway, the tone is set that something special is just beyond view. After parking and being greeted by staff, the multiple 18th-century buildings can be seen that make up the property (two restaurants and a centuries-old Acetaia), along with the elegantly converted farmhouse with two oversized ice cream cones perched on the balcony. Quirky yet cool, the intrigue begins.

Casa Maria Luigia is the home of Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore — the couple behind Osteria Francescana, twice-crowned World’s Best Restaurant, inducted into the Best of the Best hall of fame in 2019. That same year, after years of searching, they opened this 12-room inn in the Po Valley as an extension of what they do best: feed people, surround them with beauty, and make them feel deeply at home.

The Michelin Key-starred property has earned its accolades for a reason, and is always booked months in advance with stylish travellers. Guests travel far and wide to experience this very special property, where fine dining, a historic Acetaia experience and an intimate boutique guesthouse with its sprawling grounds (complete with kitchen garden, swimming pool and orchards) allure visitors.

The property is filled with Bottura and Gilmore’s private collection — contemporary art, vinyl records, rare books, iconic Italian cars and special edition motorcycles housed in what guests call Massimo’s Playground, a separate pavilion where a Lamborghini sits beside a pool table and works by Jack Pierson and Andy Warhol share walls with gym equipment. It is, unmistakably, a place housing their art collection. 

Rare Joseph Beuys artworks can be found in the stairwells to guest suites, every touchpoint shares Bottura and Gilmore’s love for art. 

Rooms are individually furnished, warm with detail and a playfulness, yet luxury detailing at every turn. It’s evident the level of quality that Casa Maria Luigia aspires to, and naturally achieves because of an unmatched Italian hospitality the country and culture is so renowned for. Even the guesthouse kitchen is open to guests 24/7 always stocked up with healthy snacks and drinks – served in glass (no plastic here) – all lovingly handmade by in-house chefs. 

The dining experience, Francescana at Maria Luigia, takes place in the former carriage house. An open kitchen, a nine-course menu that moves through Bottura’s greatest hits at his three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana – five ages of Parmigiano Reggiano, the crispy part of lasagne, the eel that swims up the Po – sometimes narrated by Bottura and Gilmore themselves as the evening unfolds. It is more intimate, less restaurant’ (what can be experienced at Osteria Francescana). The restaurant is open to non-staying guests, but completes any overnight guest at Casa Maria Luigia’s experience of Bottura and Gilmore’s ‘world’. This is the ultimate Bottura dining experience. 

A second dining room in another building on the property, Al Gatto Verde, leans into fire. Chef Jessica Rosval — who arrived from Montreal seven years ago and has become a defining presence at both restaurants — leads a kitchen built around a Universo artisanal grill from Tuscany and a wood-fired oven made in Modena. Seasonal, open-flame cooking surrounded by vineyards and lit by fire: a different register from the Francescana story, and deliberately so. They also use ingredients from the on-site kitchen garden on the property, fresh and seasonal.

Breakfast is another matter entirely.

Gilmore describes it as what a farmer’s Sunday morning would look like, with dishes inspired by Massimo’s own grandmothers cooking. Hot focaccia from the oven, erbazzone, gnocco fritto with ricotta and Villa Manodori balsamic, smoked cotechino, spinach zabaione. Everything freshly made. The kitchen stays open through the day — little savoury pies, seasonal snacks, drinks, all included — and on weekends, Rosval runs a Tòla Dòlza brunch over the barbecue in the landscaped gardens.

Also on-site, is Acetaia Maria Luigia – Bottura’s most patient project. A tour of this historic Acetaia is a must.

Originally established in 1969 as Acetaia Fabbi, the property was acquired and restored by Bottura and Gilmore in 2022 — its rows of Trebbiano vines intact, its barrels, some dating to the early 1900s, still aging certified Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP. Modena is renowned for its Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, what we all know and love as Balsamic Vinegar.

With over 1,200 barrels at this Acetaia, they are aged at different times and the aroma is intoxicating – in a great way! Stacked in a dim 18th-century portico alongside works by Kehinde Wiley, Ingo Maurer and Olafur Eliasson, guided tours move through the barrel room and conclude with a tasting across ages. An Adopt a Barrel programme continues the Modenese tradition of beginning vinegar batteries for future generations. Advance booking essential.

The estate – swimming pool, tennis court, fitness centre doubling as art gallery – is designed for the rare guest who doesn’t need to leave. Modena is fifteen minutes by car; most choose to stay. Bottura and Gilmore’s evident love for Emilia-Romagna is clear, as they share the best of the region with guests, championing its artisanal history in the culinary world.

Casa Maria Luigia is what happens when two people build a place for other people out of everything they love most. The word restaurant comes from the Latin reficere — to restore. Here, it arrives in the fullest sense.

Casa Maria Luigia
Stradello Bonaghino 56,
Modena, 41126,  Italy

Text: Monique Kawecki 
Images: Champ Creative©