Terre Di Sacra, the multifaceted resort that Uberto runs with Margherita Puri Negri, does inspire a naturalistic abandon, surrounding its guests with the vapors of the past and the wild forces of the wilderness. The tower was once a defense against encroaching enemies on horseback and in armor, but 20th-century history is woven into the origin story of this unique establishment as well.
As the lore goes, Uberto’s grandfather, Marquis Uberto Resta Pallavicino, a World War I officer, was riding the train north from Rome when it came to a halt in what was then the undeveloped swampland of Maremma; he left the train and vowed to do something with the malaria-ridden marsh.
In 1922, with a group of his friends (including an ancestor of Margherita Puri Negri), Uberto’s grandfather purchased 22,000 acres, stretching from the cliffside village of Capalbio to the sea. Years of work followed: transforming a canal system, establishing farmland and pastures for livestock, and insulating the land from the intense pressure of industrialization. In 1967, the first World Wildlife Fund reserve was established on the property, encompassing around 100 acres that surround Lake Burano.
