Maria Laura Priori
I am Maria Laura Priori, and I am 59 years old. I have always loved nature and animals. Growing up in Rome, I spent a lot of time in the countryside at my grandfather’s, where we made wine, tomato preserves, and olive oil. I am a sailing instructor, and as a child, I participated in skiing competitions and was passionate about skateboarding. I inherited my love for gardening from my grandmother, and now the garden is my refuge. I have a special dialogue with the plants; I believe that, like in Avatar, they are the guardians of our past and preserve our future.
I love reading, and my favorite books are “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter,” but I also enjoy historical novels like “Les Rois Maudits” by Maurice Druon and the “Shogun” saga. In my free time, I crochet, creating bags and stuffed animals. I live for six months in Tuscany, in Chianti Senese at Villa AltoGiardino, and six months in Milan, where I have lived most of my life. Since attending university in modern foreign languages and literatures, I have worked in communications: events, promotional campaigns, and digital. I speak English and French well and can make myself understood in Spanish.
Pierre Henri
Clara
I am Pierre Henri Clara, half French and half Spanish. I have lived for years in London, Paris, Madrid, and Venezuela. I enjoy dancing, singing in a choir, and drawing. I come from a family of artists, painters, musicians, and architects, although I have always worked in banking. I speak fluent English, French, Spanish, and Italian. I currently live in Milan and join Maria Laura in Tuscany whenever I can.
I love reading, ranging from thrillers to biographies, historical novels, and poetry. I enjoy going to the theater and visiting art exhibitions. I am not as skilled as my wife in gardening, but I find it fascinating. We have two cats, raised as if they were dogs, that follow us everywhere. I love them because they are affectionate and independent at the same time.
I am very sociable, and we are fortunate to have many dear friends whom we regularly host at Villa AltoGiardino.
It is said that houses find us, not the other way around, and that is exactly how it was with Villa AltoGiardino. We discovered it by chance and fell in love with it. Now it is our project—not only personal but also for the values we believe in.
Our garden aspires to be an oasis of biodiversity and a place where people can reconnect with nature. As Mary Reynolds says in “The Garden Awakening,” we are not owners, but guardians of a patch of land where we want to help nature express itself at its best, “designed to nurture our land & ourselves.” Sustainability is a planetary urgency for our health and that of our children. Living sustainably does not mean sacrificing style and comfort, but changing mindsets and living longer, healthier, and more mentally serene and efficient lives.