Tower House Gombola is a stone tower that seems to magically materialize after climbing a steep slope through a dense forest of oak, chestnut and beech trees in the Modena Apennines near Polinago, a land of churches, mills, and castles. Like that of Gombola, the nearby 17th-century village for which the tower served as a lookout.
Hollywood accomodation
To tell you about our stay, we’ll jog your memory. Remember the movie “All We Have to Do Is Cry”? This is exactly what we experienced at Tower House Gombola! Once we reached the top of the hill in the woods where the tower stands, accompanied by Alessandra and Raffaele, we parked our car on the shoulder about 200 meters away and were transported back to the Middle Ages!
Just like Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi, who in the film mentioned fall asleep in a Tuscan inn in 1984 and wake up the next morning in 1492, we found ourselves immersed in an atmosphere far away in time, amidst an almost unreal silence and the fog that made the surrounding landscape even more evocative.
The tower, which Alessandra and Raffaele purchased as a ruin ten years ago and renovated with recycled materials and period techniques to preserve its authenticity, lacks the everyday comforts we’re accustomed to. So, anyone who chooses to stay in this 15th-century building, abandoned and uninhabited since, must do so knowing they’ll be enjoying a few days away from the world, in complete harmony with the woods, their only neighbor. People come here to soak up nature!
The area was inhabited by the Etruscans, Ligurians and Celts, and there are traces of an ancient necropolis. The hill was chosen by the Romans as a lookout post, later home to a medieval watchtower. Today, it is a place of peace and spirituality, perfect for relaxing and enjoying a unique experience that transports you back to the past.
And it’s pure poetry to sleep in the tower’s attic, where the sky enters the room through glass-covered slits, allowing you to admire the view and also offering you the chance to peek at the birds that build their nests among the rocks in spring.
There are four levels: on the ground floor, where the animals were once kept, there’s a kitchen with a gas stove and a water heater, which is present but located outside the building. Outside the tower are a composting bathroom, a solar shower, and a bio-sauna with windows overlooking the forest.
On the first floor, which can be converted into a second bedroom with two additional beds, there was a large fireplace that once provided warmth for the owners, but has now been replaced by a wood-burning stove. Originally, the sleeping area was on the second floor, while the top floor was used as a dovecote, where pigeons and other birds were raised for both food and communication: remember carrier pigeons?
Instead, the second level now features a lounge with a large table inviting guests to sit down for a read or a game, while away the time, which here is obligatorily slow and calibrated to the rising and setting of the sun.
For those who don’t want to completely unplug—although that’s what Tower House Gombola is primarily for—a solar panel charges cell phone batteries and flashlights to illuminate the rooms. But can you imagine the ambiance of flickering candlelight and the reddish reflections of the fire burning in the wood-burning stove?
Before taking refuge within the solid stone walls of Tower House Gombola, we recommend exploring the surrounding area by climbing to the village that gives the tower its name. This village is dominated by the church dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo, rebuilt in the 17th century after being destroyed by a landslide. One of the castle’s ancient towers, once home to the Counts of Gomula, serves as its bell tower. Gombola Castle is a medieval fortification composed of several buildings accessed through an archway leading to the heart of the small village perched on a rocky peak overlooking the Rossenna stream.
Hungry after the walk? At Alimentari Baroni, you can order takeout and order homemade stuffed pasta, artisanal cured meats and fabulous gnocco fritto, as well as stock up on all sorts of delicacies for an evening snack before heading to the top floor of the tower for a relaxing break.
Across the road is the Gombola Mill, one of the few in Italy to run entirely on water, harnessing the current of the stream. Its history was told to us by one of the 18 granddaughters of owner Diego Veratti, who every Saturday takes the sprightly ninety-year-old, the fifth generation of the milling family, to the dance hall. Despite being partially destroyed by a fire in 2018, the historic mill still produces soft wheat, corn and chestnut flour through a system of canals and sluices fed by a stream, where water falls vertically like spoons, turning the ancient millstones set on a stone base.
After the tour and before returning, we took advantage of the last hours of daylight to explore part of the forest surrounding the tower. Then darkness and a light but heavy rain convinced us to return and enjoy the rooms of Tower House Gombola, which are arranged vertically, connected by steep wooden stairs that our Otto climbed with agility but had some trouble descending.
People come here to enjoy themselves without frills and to rediscover the simple life. But also to rediscover and perhaps find themselves again… And it seems, based on the bookings for the coming months, more and more people want to do so, despite the “extreme” conditions of Tower House Gombola, which, as Alessandra and Raffaele emphasize, are certainly not for everyone.
