Press archive · Luxury Immobiliare
Country Luxe between Forte dei Marmi and the Versilia hills
A new idea of luxury chooses space, silence and nature without giving up the sea or Forte’s services.
COUNTRY LUXE
The new face of luxury between Forte dei Marmi and the Versilian hills
An interview with Fabrizio Zanetti and Sergey Bashkyrtsev
Two leading figures in luxury real estate who, starting from Forte dei Marmi, are redefining the concept of residential elegance in Versilia and beyond
Fabrizio Zanetti
Roma Imperiale Luxury Services and Real Estate Advisor · Luxury villas builder
Mr Zanetti, let us begin with the most classic scene: Forte dei Marmi in August, in the evening, the lights along the pier drawing golden arabesques across the Tyrrhenian Sea. Where does your new concept of luxury fit into this picture?
Forte is a diamond: it always shines. Yet even a diamond needs a setting to enhance it. Today, that setting lies beyond the one-kilometre red line from the sea—sometimes in the Versilian countryside or hills. We are not talking about escaping society; we are talking about choosing how and when to experience it. A hillside villa allows you to look at the sea from a distance that expresses respect, not detachment: ten minutes by car from a private beach establishment, but thirty seconds from absolute silence.
How has the client who knocks on your door changed over the past five years?
They are more discerning. I would call them a “curator of self”. They have discovered that tranquillity, space and clean air are the new status symbols. The same figures from the entertainment world who wanted a villa on the beach in the 1990s now prefer a refuge among the oaks, away from other people’s smartphones. It is not a rejection of Forte; it is a tribute to the surrounding area, which has always been there and is finally being understood.
What accelerated or gave rise to this sensibility?
As early as 2018, some clients were asking for “sea views, provided it’s quiet”. Time showed that this was not a whim. We learned the value of a private vegetable garden, of a driveway where children can ride their bicycles without traffic. And all this just steps from one of the Mediterranean’s most celebrated seafront promenades.
And yet many fear moving “away from the scene”.
That is a false problem. In high season, travelling from Roma Imperiale to Vittoria Apuana can take longer than going up into the hills. Since my most recent renovation, “Villa delle Margherite”, the owners have been able to reach the centre in eight minutes and park in their reserved space. They return home for dinner and hear only the chirping of cicadas, not the echo of traffic on Via Carducci.
Let us talk about architecture. What is the golden rule for an eighteenth-century farmhouse that is to become a 2025 residence?
Preserve the memory, introduce the future. Every load-bearing stone remains where it is: we move it, number it and put it back. Inside, invisible technology: geothermal energy, home automation and optical fibre. On my building sites, craftsmen apply lime plaster as they did in the eighteenth century, followed by architects and engineers calibrating AI sensors for air quality. The result is a luxury that does not shout, but envelops.
And the exteriors?
An organic vegetable garden, a productive olive grove and a pergola for sunset dinners. The client wants experiences: picking tomatoes, tasting the oil from their own estate, inviting friends to a barbecue with a view. It is country luxe because nature is not the backdrop; it is the protagonist.
From an economic standpoint, which figures convince you that investments beyond one kilometre from the sea or in the hills are the new “blue line” of value?
For years, the price per square metre within one kilometre of the sea has been stable above twelve thousand euros. Beyond this red line, we were at five thousand; today, premium renovations exceed eight thousand, with remarkably rapid absorption. Seasonal rental? A villa with a pool and five suites reaches twenty thousand euros per week in August, with requests extending into September/October because the hillside microclimate lengthens the season.
How do you manage sustainability without sacrificing comfort?
It is exactly the opposite: sustainability enhances comfort. With geothermal heat pumps and natural insulation, we cut consumption by 40%. With photovoltaic panels integrated into the roof tiles, we power electric-vehicle charging points. Today we can even clad swimming pools in statuary marble without using statuary marble, thereby protecting the mountains, which are a public heritage asset. We now have new, innovative engineering materials such as “glass transformed into stone” through the fusion and crystallisation of pure silica. It is indistinguishable from marble, yet does not suffer corrosion from chlorinated water and lowers the water temperature by two to three degrees, keeping it cool.
Take us inside a concrete example.
“Villa Belvedere”, in the first hills above Forte dei Marmi. An eighteenth-century rural house, a chestnut roof and frescoes discovered beneath five layers of paint. We installed a panoramic smoked-glass lift that passes through all three levels without touching the original beams. An infinity pool clad in engineered marble, a living room with a suspended fireplace and a full-wall window framing a glimpse of Tyrrhenian blue, all the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and Corsica. Final value: €6.8 million; advance bookings for two of the five weeks of next summer have already been confirmed.
Let us close with a vision. Country luxe ten years from now?
A network of interconnected micro-residences: every villa an art gallery, every farmhouse a laboratory of experiences. The client will buy an ecosystem, not just walls: an on-demand chef service, a personal trainer beneath the pergola, a wine tour in their own cellar. And Forte will remain the seaside drawing room where one appears in the evening, knowing one will return to sleep in one’s private Eden.
Sergey Bashkyrtsev
Roma Imperiale Luxury Services and Real Estate Advisor · Exclusive properties broker
Mr Bashkyrtsev, let us turn to you with a figure: the average value of hillside villas has risen by 9% in twenty-four months. What do you read behind this figure?
I read market maturity. Forte dei Marmi has not lost an ounce of its allure, but those with financial sophistication know that the potential for appreciation is shifting elsewhere. Until yesterday, the Versilian hills were outsiders; they offer lower entry prices and a lifestyle that trendsetters call “quiet luxury”. If New York has discovered the Hudson Valley, and Los Angeles looks to Montecito, Forte sees its own Montecito in the green hamlets surrounding it.
What is your typical buyer like?
A man or woman under fifty, often a child of the digital age. They travel on shared private jets, live between several European capitals and work remotely with global teams. They want a sanctuary home where they can switch off the noise of the world without giving up Wi-Fi capable of downloading a feature film in twenty seconds. And they want to feel part of the local community: they buy honey from the farmer and visit art workshops in Pietrasanta.
Let us talk about emotional design. Which elements are indispensable?
The panoramic loggia: a bridge between inside and outside, with a central fireplace and retractable glazing. The cocktail pool: not enormous, but able to reflect the sky and expand the space. The emotional wine cellar: a wine vault that becomes an art gallery, with controlled temperature and dramatic lighting. Then there are invisible hi-tech details: augmented reality for virtual visits to the vineyards of Bolgheri, and sensors that regulate light and sound as in a film studio.
How much does sustainability matter?
It is already rewarding owners: A4-rated villas sell for 15–20% more and in half the time. But the real value lies in future-proofing: from 2030, Europe will impose stricter green standards; those who are ahead today will not have to invest in costly retrofits tomorrow.
You mentioned “quiet luxury”. How does it translate into the choice of a location?
It translates into conscious privacy. The buyer no longer wants to be seen; they want to be able to see. They rent a super sunbed on the beach during the day, then go home, where the stars do not compete with streetlights. It is the same path followed by many celebrities: they know anonymity is found two hills behind the chaos, not a thousand kilometres away.
And yet the “front-row seaside” market endures.
It endures because Forte is unrepeatable and has no direct competition. But it is now a replacement market, not an expansion market. Those who buy there do so out of family tradition. Those seeking room for growth look higher—literally.
Tell us about a signature project.
“Tenuta Horizons”: twelve hectares with sea views, a private helipad and biodynamic vineyards. The main living area is a glass veranda that slides beneath the traditional roof, creating a continuum between the olive grove and the salon; it has already served as the set for a film we will see in cinemas at Christmas.
Your preferred ‘value-add’ strategy? Where value means genuine added value…
Hospitality-ready. Preparing the villa to become, if desired, a pop-up boutique resort: staff areas, a double kitchen and a concealed industrial laundry. One never knows when the owner will decide to monetise their paradise with a week’s rental to a fashion maison or a wellness guru.
How do you see the market in five years?
The coast will retain its aura as a seaside drawing room, but the countryside and hills will become the showrooms of Tuscan residential innovation: contemporary art, regenerative architecture and distributed micro-resorts. The two markets—sea and hills—do not compete; they complement each other. And whoever owns both dimensions will be the true winner.
To conclude: define Versilian country luxe in a single sentence.
It is the freedom to choose, every morning, whether to be the protagonist on the catwalk or a privileged spectator in nature’s gallery, without giving up anything that makes the lifestyle of Forte dei Marmi unique.
LUXURY REAL ESTATE · REAL ESTATE ADVISOR
Via Mazzini, 115 · Forte dei Marmi · 391 3301873 · www.realestateversilia.com