Italian Adventures – We Bought a House in Italy!

My friend Heather sent me a screenshot of this really cool place about a year or so ago and it looked really close to Casale Giulietta so why not! Spring 2025 we set out to find it, ventured down and around a gravel road, also known as a white road, to come upon an empty parking lot and a gate. Is this it??? We weren’t sure but who knows. So, we gave up and headed back down the white road to find lunch.

Fast forward to early 2026. My language coach (Ludovica) and I decided to host a week of Italian Immersion at Casale Giulietta for the students in our weekly Aperitivo…Friday hour of language practice in a safe space. Everyone was excited but not everyone could make 2026 work, which is fine, this is a test run to see if it works.

About 3-4 weeks ahead of the Immersion week, we scheduled a zoom call to capture final travel plans, discuss the week’s activities, and learn of any food allergies, limitations, etc. Ludovica suggested visiting La Scarzuola, based on a suggestion from her friend in Le Marche. I was super excited at the suggestion, as I knew it was nearby and something I wanted to see.

Unfortunately (ultimately NOT), the group were all leaving a day early and the site only does tours on Saturdays. I reached out to see if they would do a private tour if we paid extra but NO! So I booked a Saturday reservation for Ludo & I.

I warned Ludovica early on that I was skeptical if we could find the place, given Heather and my earlier experience but I was up for the challenge. We set out on our adventure, or as my grandaughter Olivia would say…going on a litTLE ADVENTURE! (capital letters to represent the escalation in voice and excitment).

I was dumbfounded when we finally arrived, only to find that it was EXACTLY where Heather and I were a year earlier, we just arrived on the wrong day. But alas, here we were. Prepaid tickets in hand, we parked and walked to the front gate area to await the opening. Now mind you, the website, AND the curt response from my inquiry email, all strongly stated that online reservations in advance were required and NO children were allowed. But what we discovered was that we were the only people who had reserved and paid in advance, everyone else paid at the door.

As we entered the grounds and waited for the tour to begin, we noticed a few families with several small children each. The website and reviews all made it very clear…DO NOT BE LATE!!! But as 11am passed, there were still people arriving, paying at the door and wandering inside while the little people ran around like wild banshees. So much for the rules.

The owner, tour guide, and seriously crazy may came out and started talking to everyone. It was a very hot day and there was no shade so I was hopeful this part would be quick. Unfortunately not. I had read that he has a history of being rude to people, ridiculing them publicly so I was very surprised that he didn’t chastise the people arriving late and those with kids.

He only speaks Italian, and most visitors were also Italian, so they knew exactly what he was saying. Ludo helped translate for me, although I knew when he was saying something mean or rude.

Structurally the place is really cool. The more closely you look, the more you see.

Here are some more pictures from inside the arena.

I hung back as the group left the arena so I could take some pictures without a bunch of people in them. As I was wrapping up and starting to walk towards the group, I heard the man saying really offensive things and then heard a woman cry out. As I approached the group, I saw her running away up the hill.

He proceeded to tell whatever story he wanted to tell, saying derogatory things to the crowd, specific people, and bashing gay people and the Jewish population. It was Very offensive, so I was glad our language group wasn’t with us.

It was in this outer area that I realized the British gentleman who was taking tickets at the front gate was also giving a parallel tour in English, without all of the profanity and insults. We spoke to him when we were leaving and he typically gives tours in English mid-week so you have to look on the website to identify when these are happening. I have mixed emotions about recommending taking a tour at all, since the money all goes into the crazy man’s pocket under the table. Given his offensive views of Jews, Gays and Women, I would never do it again.

Here are more pictures from the grounds. According to the crazy man, any opening, be it a window, door, whatever, is actually a vagina. Personally, I just think he liked talking about vaginas.

La Scarzuola is technically in Montegabbione, outside of the town, in the wooded area with a few houses along the white road. If you are in the area of Fabro, Ficulle, Monteleone d’Orvieto, Cittá delle Pieve, or even Orvieto, you might consider it. The tour starts at 11am on Saturdays and is over by 1pm. However, I would not recommend making a special trip, particularly if you are easily offended.

Enter at your own risk.