Celebrating History and Home at La Posta Vecchia
Set on the Lazio coast just forty minutes outside Rome, La Posta Vecchia is a rare property that still feels like what it once was. Today, it still feels like a private home, filled with history and memories.
On Emily's last trip to Italy, she had the pleasure of spending time with Gaia, a front-of-house team member who didn’t just discover La Posta Vecchia as an adult, she grew up knowing and exploring it. Born in nearby Ladispoli, Gaia first visited when she was only three years old.
“I think I was two or three years old, and honestly, it hasn’t changed much since then. Even now, working here, it still feels like the same place I knew as a child.”
La Posta Vecchia has lived many lives. First as a Roman seaside villa, fragments of which are still visible beneath the hotel in its underground museum, and later as a post house on the ancient coastal route. In the 1960s, American billionaire John Paul Getty restored the property, turning it into his private seaside residence. Two decades later, Roberto Sciò fell in love with La Posta Vecchia and purchased it from Getty’s heirs, making it the Sciò family’s home. The family have preserved its domestic character rather than turning it into what one might think as a traditional hotel.
“People say they feel at home immediately. It’s a five-star hotel, yes, but it never makes you feel watched or managed. It’s familiar. It remembers being lived in.”
The rooms reflect that too. Unlike suites that exist only to impress, these feel inhabited, personal and rich with stories. Gaia tried to choose a favourite but landed on two. The Castello Suite, she said, is extraordinary, perched so close to the water that it feels suspended between the sea and the neighbouring Odescalchi Castle. But then there’s the Medici Suite, which entices quietly with a rose-marble bathroom.
“You feel like you’re stepping into a painting”
For guests who choose to leave the villa, Gaia recommended exploring the UNESCO-listed Etruscan tombs at Cerveteri or taking a leisurely walk through Marina di San Nicola, a charming seaside area nearby.
For dinner, Gaia would always recommend guests to dine at the hotels restaurant, Da Aurelio, which celebrates the art of simplicity, letting natural flavours shine in recipes that are as genuine as they are delicious. However, beyond the beautiful property, she sends guests to Arbusto in Ladispoli.
“Order the fried artichokes. They’re simple, but unforgettable.”
And should one wish for contrast, Rome is only 45-minutes away, where guests can climb the Spanish Steps, uncover history within the walls of the Colosseum or take a boat out on the lake in Villa Borghese.
Before heading back to welcoming guests at the front desk, Gaia thought hard to find three words that defined La Posta Vecchia. In the end, she concluded on these.
“Authentic. Home. Little gem.”
And truly, what more could one ask for? Not just history and beauty, but intimacy and belonging. If hotels are often designed to impress, La Posta Vecchia is one that prefers to remember it's past. And that is what makes it extraordinary.
If this has inspired you to know more about a stay at La Posta Vecchia for your clients, please get in touch at emily@falconerandco.com. We’d be delighted to help.