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La Mugletta and the Colli Euganei – A fine blend of Italy’s most charming facets

A shared vision, volcanic landscapes and an aperitif under Goethe's palm tree. A holiday at B&B La Mugletta reveals distinctive architecture and a region that enchants with its quiet charm and cultivated gusto.

by Britta Krämer in October 2023

Venice can wait.

Very often, the decision to go on holiday initially revolves around the Ham­letic ques­tions of “Sea or moun­tains?”, “City or Coun­tryside?”. In certain circles, it’s also about whether archi­tecture is more important than land­scape. Just a 15-minute drive from the elegant uni­versity town of Padua, the answer that recon­ciles all lies tucked away in a wild garden, amidst the peaceful Regional Park of the Eug­anean Hills: La Mugletta. Here, host Ulla Mugler serves up exquisite holidays in the best-kept secret of the Veneto.

There is hardly any other area that has inter­na­lised the concept of “gentle tourism” better than this fasci­nating, authentic and beau­tiful part of the Veneto region. The Adriatic Sea and Venice are both at a com­for­table yet safe distance, but right on the doorstep of the Mugletta, the impressive cul­tural land­scape of the Colli Euganei turns out to be a fine blend of Italy’s most charming facets. Those who are willing to embark on a slow journey of dis­covery far from the crowds will be sur­prised and will most likely be putting off a visit to Venice for another time.

A Hundred Hills.

Most people tra­velling through Italy know the Po Valley only from a quick transit on their way to more sou­t­herly realms. But they miss out on a geo­lo­gi­cally, bota­ni­cally and cul­tu­rally unique area: the forested vol­canic for­ma­tions of the Eug­anean Hills sou­thwest of Padua, that with their conical sil­hou­ettes rise like giant sculp­tures on the western edge of the Italian low­lands.

At first sight, a film instantly comes to mind: “The Eng­lishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain” — for only one of the roughly one hundred ele­va­tions is higher than 600 metres. Their almost perfect geo­metry is due to vol­canic phe­nomena. The geo­lo­gical pecu­liarity of the hills has enabled the deve­lo­pment of a wide variety of flora and fauna. In 1989, the­r­efore, the first Veneto Regional Park was created to pre­serve the bio­di­versity and cul­tural heritage and to establish the Eug­anean Hills as a slow-tourism desti­nation of excel­lence. That proved to be suc­cessful.

The Parco Regionale dei Colli Euganei covers more than 18,000 hec­tares and includes 15 muni­ci­pa­lities that are com­mitted to a common vision: Abano Terme, Arquà Petrarca, Baone, Bat­taglia Terme, Cer­varese Santa Croce, Cinto Euganeo, Este, Gal­zignano Terme, Lozzo Atestino, Mon­selice, Mon­te­grotto Terme, Rovolon, Teolo, Tor­reglia and Vo’. Each place con­tri­butes its unique fea­tures and cha­racter to the park project. This “talent fusion of desti­na­tions” has brought about a mul­ti­faceted spectrum for memo­rable holiday expe­ri­ences in the midst of the archaic land­scape of the vol­canic hills.

A dense network of hiking trails and cycle routes also make it pos­sible to explore the Regional Park in a climate-fri­endly way: On foot, by bike or on hor­seback. Unspoilt nature and beau­tiful his­toric vil­lages line the countless little roads and paths that wind around and over the tops of the gigantic molehills. Anyone cycling along the lonely country lanes and barely fre­quented side roads will be reminded of Tuscan scenery. But these tim­eless land­scapes with lush forests, vineyards, olive groves and orchards are just as typical of this region as the graceful villas, delightful gardens and quiet hamlets in no hurry.

It is no coin­ci­dence that the Eug­anean Hills have been chosen over the cen­turies by Venetian noble families, poets and cler­gymen as a place of con­tem­plation and feudal leisure. And yet, this region is still rela­tively unknown. For lovers of authentic places and exquisite pro­ducts however, this corner of Veneto is case of lucky seren­dipity, as excellent wines, award-winning olive oil and gourmet cuisine are to be found here behind and on top of every hill.

Nestled right in the middle of this epi­curean cam­pagna is the B&B La Mugletta, designed with con­tem­porary aspi­ra­tions and great sen­si­tivity to the natural context and built on a slope above the village of Mon­terosso. Clever, dis­creet yet striking archi­tecture merges with wild, gently tamed nature; relaxed holiday spaces embrace style and gusto, warm-hearted dia­logue meets creative inspi­ration.

Fior d’Arancio.

It’s been a few months since my visit to La Mugletta, but it’s still so present that it deserves the present tense here.

In the balmy spring air you can already feel all the sum­mer’s delight and nature is pulling out all the stops to tickle my senses. On a mild evening in June, I am sitting on the spa­cious terrace of La Mugletta, with a view of Mon­terosso and the hom­onymous hill. The evening turns out the way mild June evenings are meant to be in Italy. A group of old friends has gathered around the table: Ulla and Eberhard Mugler, the owners and hosts of the B&B, the graphic designer Fran­cesca Forte and the architect duo Sergio Corazza and Valentina Lazzaro, who with their mul­ti­di­sci­plinary planning studio Inte­grate Coll­ective have con­ceived the overall design concept for La Mugletta and carefully placed it on the hill. Other prot­ago­nists of the evening: a dry, aro­matic Fior d’A­rancio DOCG from the Colli Euganei, all the time in the world and Ulla’s anti­pasti, which are an ode to joy.

My ques­tions are not simply fol­lowed by answers, but rather by five-part, gesti­cu­lated nar­ra­tives in full colour, while the countless small plates of appe­tisers are passed across the table. I realise how important the making of La Mugletta was for everyone involved. Pri­vately as much as pro­fes­sio­nally.
It was a career-changing moment for Eberhard and Ulla, who met in Italy 25 years ago, fell in love with the rare beauty of the Paduan hin­terland and found their new home in Mon­terosso for them­selves and their two now grown-up daughters. With the B&B project, both of them have started all over again. Packed sche­dules and tightly timed mee­tings around the globe have made way for a new quality of life. Eberhard indulges in bee­keeping in his spare time, Ulla in the art of pottery. In doing so, they have learned to be fully in the present moment, and this is some­thing the guests can sense. The couple shares a passion for gar­dening, dis­agreeing only when it comes to who may cut the lawn.

For the architect duo Corazza-Lazzaro, La Mugletta was a cou­ra­geous move to place an obsti­nately con­se­quent and con­tem­porary essential building between the strictly regu­lated hills of the Regional Park, espe­cially in the land of Pal­ladio. In doing so, they have also set an statement for inte­grated, nature-related building. The process of creating La Mugletta has brought a lot into motion, has chal­lenged the con­ven­tional reper­toire of Venetian archi­tecture and at first caused inc­re­dulous reac­tions and quite a few bureau­cratic obs­tacles. Today, La Mugletta is well-known and app­re­ciated in the neigh­bourhood and beyond. And so is la Signora Ulla. All tog­ether — the house as well as its creators — have con­tri­buted a lot to bringing the Parco Regionale Colli Euganei into the focus of an audience that has a soft spot for hidden gems.

Inte­grate Coll­ective.

The Muglers’ brief to the team of Inte­grate Coll­ective was precise, yet left room for playful crea­tivity: they dreamed of an uncon­ven­tional place to relax in con­tem­porary archi­tecture, which would be in full sym­biosis with nature. Also, the overall concept should incor­porate some key fea­tures in the design process of the B&B: Family, shelter, growth, inte­gration of abilities and disa­bi­lities, well-being, time sove­reignty, sim­plicity, sharing, openness, context. All this sur­rounded by and inte­grated into spaces where nature and archi­tecture flow into each other seam­lessly and barrier-free in a con­stant interplay of light and matter. When the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors of the large salotto are open, all boun­daries dis­appear: Nature per­meates living space, the garden becomes an outdoor salon.

The elon­gated, two-storey building is defined by simple, clear lines; the plain exterior cladding of natural larch wood under­lines the reduced formal lan­guage. The Muglers’ B&B is a place of essential clarity. The senses calm down in the midst of a quiet aes­thetic that always has a little twinkle in its eye.

On the upper floor, the structure is made of sus­tainably pro­duced XLAM wood panels with wood fibre insu­lation, while the basement is made of rein­forced con­crete cast in wooden formwork and insu­lated with foam glass. In terms of energy, the house is self-suf­fi­cient: heating and cooling are pro­vided by heat exch­angers that use the thermal energy available under­ground with the help of two geo­thermal sensors. Rain­water is fully reco­vered and fed into an under­ground cistern via down­pipes and drainage systems.

Courage for colour.

The logo is based on the land­lady’s cal­li­graphy. It incor­po­rates the initials of all four family members, refines them gra­phi­cally, mixes them and reas­sembles them. The result is an unmist­akable sign that looks like a flower or an insect. Its allusion to ancient family heraldry is a humorous and tender homage to the two essential ele­ments of the Mugletta: nature and the people who shape it.

The three guest rooms in the rear, more intro­verted area of the Mugletta are the stage for the colour concept of the house. In con­trast to the neutral wooden façade and the natural tones in the living area, the bed­rooms clearly show their colours: green, yellow and orange set the tone, while the multi-striped bath­rooms quote the palette of the Mugletta garden.

Guido Gran­ara’s lighting concept stages and defines the interior and exterior spaces, with dif­ferent colour tem­pe­ra­tures chosen to high­light the cha­rac­te­ristics of the pre­vailing mate­rials — wood, con­crete and iron — and to bathe the inte­riors in the right light in terms of function and atmo­sphere.

Otium.

La Mugletta is a place that gently forces its guests to come to rest and deli­berately choose for retreat or shared moments. The B&B offers the perfect setting for both — indoors and out­doors. Deck­chairs doze in the shade of the old trees, com­for­table daybeds loll on the large pan­o­ramic terrace and the sofas, a long table, the small library and the spa­cious kitchen island encourage joint cooking ses­sions and good con­ver­sa­tions in the salotto, which always offers pleasant insights and great views. A small wellness area with steam bath and Ulla’s pottery studio are hidden in the basement, waiting for leisure time to unfold.

The garden is wild, vast and ever changing. Carefully designed and har­mo­niously com­posed, a never-ending cho­reo­graphy of shapes, tex­tures and colours unfolds here in the rhythm of the seasons. The giardino extends over several levels of the pro­perty, it follows the topo­graphy and thus pro­vides for a variety of nature sce­narios. Ancient trees, peren­nials, shrubs and grasses become the ever­green backdrop of laid-back holidays.

The cherry, pear and apple trees and a generous vege­table garden look forward to gar­dening guests who can pick their fresh ingre­dients for dinner here. If you are in the mood for even more green and silence, you can hike through the adjacent forest. Or simply listen to Eber­hard’s bees buzzing while flipping through one of the many cook­books to prepare for the culinary delights in one of the fine restau­rants of the Colli Euganei. This is how dolce far­niente between the vol­canic hills is like.

Mary Poppins.

A holiday at La Mugletta unfolds all by itself. In this, the hostess is not entirely innocent. In fact, I’m pretty sure that la signora Mugler must be a distant relative of Mary Poppins or has at least somehow come into pos­session of her bag: Pleasant cour­tesies and pre­cious infor­mation always mate­rialise at just the right moment. Ulla Mugler has fine antennae for slum­bering holiday desires and brings them to light as if by coin­ci­dence. She brings tog­ether what is on the same wave­length — people, places and pretty things. (She very suc­cessfully set me up with a charming, locally made chaise lounge that now lives in my office).

The best part comes as soon as you get up: Every morning, the large kitchen island in the salotto turns into a vibrant still life — Matisse and Renoir would have loved it! Mul­berries sit like tiny works of art on home-made pottery, home-baked bread, cakes, aro­matic tomatoes and tre­asures from the garden are served alongside local deli­cacies from the Eugean Hills. La Mugletta’s breakfast is a feast for the eyes — una vera delizia! How does it taste like? You’ll have to find out on your own.

La grande bel­lezza.

Even if it is not easy to leave this quiet idyll, you should — sooner or later. Because outside the door, la grande bel­lezza is waiting to enchant you.

Padua, for ins­tance. The vibrant and charming uni­versity city is full of energy, culture and delights. The Padovani have style, charm and good taste; they are obsessed with their cichetti and Aperol Spritz — no wonder — it was invented here in 1919! This city with its countless arcades and one of the oldest uni­ver­sities in the world has a plea­santly human scale — the Ita­lians call this a misura d’uomo. Maybe that’s why almost a third of the 200,000 inha­bi­tants are under 30 years old. For Italian stan­dards, this is remar­kable and reflects’s the city’s quality of life. Goethe must have been aware of the fact as he spent quite some time in Padua for his bota­nical studies in the oldest uni­versity garden in the world which was opened in 1545. The German poet was par­ti­cu­larly fond of a dwarf palm tree planted in 1585, to which he turned his attention in his treatise “The History of My Bota­nical Studies”. The Giardino Botanico has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 and the palm tree still exists today. What else is worth visiting? The tempting food market in the Palazzo della Ragione dating back to 1100. The Basilica of St. Antonius of Padua. The his­toric Cafe Pedrocchi and — cer­tainly — the Capella degli Scro­vegni with beau­tiful frescoes by Giotto.

The Giardino Bar­barigo in Vals­an­zibio, designed in the 17th century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the architect of the popes, has an atmo­sphere as if in another world. Under the dense crowns of cen­turies-old giant trees, a mys­tical semi-darkness spreads out between jungle-like bushes and ferns. The pre­cious stone statues along the well-kept gravel paths are covered with a thin layer of moss, just as ever­y­thing here bears the patina of another time. Water foun­tains sud­denly spout up from invi­sible ope­nings in the ground. The gigantic buxtree laby­rinth awaits modern Maze Runners. A fasci­nating place full of hidden symbols and phi­lo­so­phical tea­chings, a place where you can get lost and find yourself.

The literal hot­spots of the region are the Eug­anean thermal baths, whose salty bromine-iodine waters have special thermo-mineral pro­perties. The ruins of the ancient thermal pools and theatres of Abano Terme bear witness to the fact that the Romans too indulged in wellness in the vol­canic land. Today, Abano Terme, Mon­te­grotto, Gal­zignano and Bat­taglia Terme altog­ether form the largest thermal centre in Europe.

What else? The literary par­cours of the Parco Let­terario Fran­cesco Petrarca, the noble resi­dences such as Villa Vescovi in Tor­reglia or the eclectic Cas­tello del Catajo with its frescoed halls. The evo­cative monas­teries of Rua and Praglia, where time seems to stand still and moments of peaceful con­tem­plation unfold. The latter is just a short walk from La Mugletta.

And then, finally, Venice won’t have to wait any longer, it’s time for the Sere­nissima. Because a holiday in Veneto without the Biennale and the Grand Canal, without Burano, the Gug­genheim and the gon­do­liers would be somehow incom­plete. Here, too, you will dis­cover quiet corners that cannot be found in any travel guide. Ask Mary Poppins. She awaits you.

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Text: Britta Krämer, October 2023

Images: Jacopo Tonet, Liz Ber­natzek, Britta Krämer

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Home­Story: La Mugletta and the Colli Euganei — Fine blend of Italy’s most beau­tiful facets

Infor­mation: TERME E COLLI EUGANEI: THE LAND OF HEALTH & EMOTION

www.visitabanomontegrotto.com

“Project financed with the POC of the Veneto Region 2014–2020.”

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