Close your eyes and dream. Imagine a moor palace with spires, aninternal architecture which reflects the stately home of an emirate - elegant damask engravings, horseshoe arches,affrescoed ceilings in turquoise resembling the mosques of the magic orient. Gazing at this fascinating palace, we perceive neither sand dunes nor the aromas and colors of an oriental bazaar but another magical setting appears clearly through the larch woods, that of Lake Orta. We are in the heart of Piemont, not far from Malpensa, Milan's international airport, and this fairytale-like villa which seems to have been transported.As if by magic from the scenes of the Arabian knights, is in factthe realization of dream by someone who loved the irresistiblebeauty of the orient. His name was Cristoforo Benigno Crespi fromMiran. He became a successful trader in cotton with the aid of abroker friend, buying and selling in Persia. Charmed by Bagdad in1879, he built a moor villa on land near the lake where he hadspent his childhood. During the thirties Villa Crespi was sold tothe Marquis Fracassi of Torre Rossano where it became a sojour for poets and industrialists alike, princesses and monarchsUmberto di Savoia were frequent visitors there.At the end of the eighties, after becoming a place of spiritualworship for a few years, it was transformed by its present ownerinto an exclusive four-star hotel where nature, art, and historyhave become entwined to leave its guest with unforgettablememories. 120 years after its creation Villa Crespi, after aperiod of restyling, re-opens under management of the Primatestafamily. Cinzia Primatesta personally runs the Hotel together withher highly qualified staff, who all have experience in working infirst class Hotels.