La Foce: Paradise in Tuscany

In 1924, English-born biographer and writer Iris Origo (1902–1988) and her husband, Antonio, purchased La Foce, a sprawling estate centered around a half-ruined fifteenth-century villa with a dream that was as ambitious as it was audacious. Guided by a deep-seated desire to make a difference, the Origos dedicated their lives to transforming an impoverished terrain into a thriving landscape of wheat fields, olive groves, and vineyards. With English architect Cecil Pinsent, they refurbished the house and designed an elegant terraced garden with box hedges, a rose garden, fountains, and a wisteria-covered pergola.

The dramatic story of La Foce—from the taming of the wild valley and personal loss to wartime strife—is told by the Origos’ granddaughter Katia Lysy, with reminiscences by Benedetta Origo, the couple’s elder daughter. The letters and diaries of Iris Origo weave beautifully into a personal narrative of the creation of the property and the people behind it. Newly commissioned photographs by Simon Upton and Matteo Carassale, a foldout annotated view of the property, and a recently discovered cache of unpublished images of the creation of the garden in the 1920s bring to life the rich history of the magnificent property.