Ca' dei Mongi

Ca' dei Mongi sits above Lake Garda, in the small town of Brenzone, up a steep, winding mountain road that starts just ten minutes from the shore. It's genuinely hard to reach by design, an old olive grove tucked high above the "tumult of life" down by the water, close enough for an evening aperitivo at a beach bar, far enough to feel like a proper retreat. Verona and its airport are within reach for a flight in, and the lake itself, its villages, its swimming and its boats, is close below.

The house was created by Daniela and Alv Kintscher, a couple from the Ammersee in Bavaria who came looking for a small olive grove to park their restored vintage Airstream, and ended up buying two old stone rustici alongside it and renovating everything themselves. Guided by wabi-sabi, the Japanese philosophy of simplicity, imperfection and stripping things back to what matters, they built a place meant for slowing right down: a kitchen with an open fireplace, a wine cellar, a sauna, a covered lounge for long dinners, and an amphitheatre and yoga platform set among the olive trees. Guests are met and driven up the mountain on arrival, and lent the house's own Land Rover, which seats nine, for getting around during the stay. The whole property, sleeping up to fourteen adults plus children, is rented as one unit, suited to friends, families or small retreats and workshops.