Betty Soldi and I are sitting in the frescoed breakfast room of the new Stella d’Italia, a new bolthole in the growing portfolio of properties in Florence that she shares with partner Matteo Perduca, including AdAstra Firenze and SoprArno Suites among others. It couldn’t have a better address, in the Palazzo del Circolo dell’Unione, designed by Giorgio Vasari no less, and on the prestigious shopping thoroughfare Via Tornabuoni–but the design remains fresh and fun, not to mention rooted in the Renaissance city. The famous Florentine viola (violet) color palate has been softened on bedroom walls and draped curtains, a stand-alone tub fit for a Medici sits in one of the suites under one-of-a-kind framed mirrors hung off kilter to keep the setting less formal, and vintage treasures like repurposed seats from the Odeon cinema, which happily reopened after a renovation, and (so kitsch they are chic) plates representing every region hanging behind the bar. 

Soldi instantly disarms you, and makes you want to be her close friend, which explains part of why her properties, with Perduca, have garnered such a loyal following. But so is her passion for art and design, in different forms: her ever expanding calligraphy endeavors, for example, known as “inksperiences” (she comes from a Florentine family that has been hand-making fireworks since 1869), allow her artistic passion to flourish inside and outside the hotels—Santa Maria Novella, Fortnum and Mason, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Gucci are among the brands that have used her vision for their brands. “My inksperiences inform our hospitality,” Soldi explains, “it asks people to participate. Hotels are often passive: you arrive, you are served. Here though, you are asked to be a participant, to have memories, and to step into someone else’s world and experiences even if you don’t know what you are looking at yet.”

I have been noticing a burgeoning of this kind of “feminine” approach to a more immersive hospitality experience in Italy. “Accoglienza” doesn’t have an English equivalent, but the closest term might be “a warmth of hospitality” and, to make a generalization, it has been given to women in spades. 

Like Soldi, Carlotta Carabba Tettamanti, the co-owner of Tenuta di Murlo, not only epitomizes this warmth and intuitive approach to hospitality, but also the capacity to slip in and out of various roles in her huge estate of over 8,000 hectares (14,000 acres). The vast property had been in her husband’s family’s hands for over 700 years, but when the couple decided to tackle the project, they had 80 ruined farmhouses under their tutelage, not to mention large swaths of land to cultivate. It’s impressive enough that nine of the farmhouses have been transformed into villas to rent with hotel level services attached, but how organized and varied Murlo’s offerings are: think cooking classes; truffle hunting with the family’s dogs; cheese, honey, olive oil, and wine production; horseback riding through the estate, and all manner of private tours. And Tettamanti is the GM and co-owner overseeing all of it all. With, to boot, five children to raise.

“Women are naturally maternal,” she muses. “I do this work for the love of the land and for my passion to transmit to guests how special this place is.” She continues, “It’s like my second nature to give it a special touch. A 360° work and life experience that creates something for our kids too. But I am always on.”

So far, I have talked of women who are directly linked to hotels (I could write a libretto about them all) and their new holistic approach to the aspects of a business that before was more spreadsheet than intuitive hospitality. A change in the mindset about what counts in this sector, plus a general open mindedness towards women in the field in general, has meant that they are in star roles throughout the country, something that even a decade ago was not the case. 

And it is not just hotel GMs and owners who are becoming the ambassadors to the strength of women in Italian brands. Female chefs, winemakers, interior designers, and art collectors on site are often the powerhouses getting new press for an existing business. It’s a thankful sign that there may be a lessening of chauvinism in formerly male-dominated industries.

Elisa Sesti, for example, has brought a generous and warm touch to Castello di Argiano via Boldrini n. 10 53024 Montalcino (SI), a vineyard outside Montalcino that she took over from her father Giuseppe. Her family has always taken a delightfully unorthodox approach to their famed wines (including a biodynamic and sustainable approach to growing and producing grapes long before it was trendy); here, instead of stuffy tastings, expect homemade lunches, dogs running through the property, and information about this area of Tuscany and its wines that can come only from growing up on this terroir. 

“My family has always concentrated on the guests first and foremost,” muses Sesti. “My mother Sarah imbued that in me. They bought the property for love and saw its possibility through the brambles. My roots are in the vineyards, but they are woven into the historical and architectural side [Don’t miss a tour of the recently renovated castle from the 12th century on the estate!]. It’s an honor to share a place that’s beautiful and you love. Women have a bird’s eye perspective, a way of doing lots of things simultaneously but with an attention to detail. We have a great passion for things we love and the places we look after. Each of my vintages is a child, each vintage that comes out is a journey.” 

Sesti continues, “It’s also worth mentioning the economic freedom for women. Pre 60s you really were just a wife and now you are a person. The empowerment of women to be able to manage and run their own businesses gives one the courage to be able to do what you want. That’s fantastic.”

Sesti’s words make me think of young business owners like Benedetta Braccini, who recently opened Studio 4, a yoga and pilates studio in Rome’s Prati neighborhood. I have missed the “sisterhood” and community of my New York studio, where I found strength in the female owners and fellow practitioners through our mutual joys and tragedies (of course men practice yoga and pilates, and we love you too). Braccini is the great granddaughter of Iris Origo, the matriarch and designer of Val d’Orcia’s La Foce, and the exquisite writer of books including War in the Val D’Orcia.

“I came back from Berlin feeling sure there would be loans, especially for young women starting their own business,” explains Braccini. “But there was nothing. Luckily, I found a smaller bank that was willing to support me.” Her studio is small but full of, yes that word again, accoglienza. “It’s so important for women to stick together; support in different sectors is everything. I love encouraging other women, and I try to support other small women-owned businesses–like the candle maker I bought my Christmas presents from.” Much of the self care takes place over herbal tea following class. Dating, business, motherhood are all discussed. As I drive back to Tuscany, I think this is the therapy and support that comes without a price tag among women.

Ondine is the co-author of Always Italy with Frances Mayes published by National Geographic. She was inspired to write this piece after the killing of Giulia Cecchettin as a way to acknowledge the burgeoning role of women in hospitality in a country sadly still entrenched in chauvinism. For donations to helping women combat violence (physical and psychological) Donne al Centro is a wonderful resource.