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Gerald & Jaqueline Engeltjes

il bel far niente – the beauty of doing nothing

 

As of 2024, we live in Cossignano and now run an Italian farm; small-scale and in our own way.

Our dream was to create an atmospheric lodge on a real farm. A place where you can unwind for a while, where life goes into delay, where you have all the space you need to enjoy simple and small moments of happiness. Every day we try to contribute to this with passion for our guests. The surroundings, the smells and the unbeatable Italian climate do the rest.

Gerald & Jaqueline Engeltjes
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Why Le Marche?

Since the late 1990s, we fell in love with Italy, visiting -like so many tourists- Tuscany with its beautiful terracotta colors and beautiful sunsets. It is with good reason that this region is wildly popular. Was there a place just as beautiful, but undiscovered? We searched from Piedmont to Puglia. In 2006, we learned Italian in Mombaroccio and knew: Le Marche is it. The Lonely Planet calls it “One of Italy’s least-known treasures,” and if you stay here you’ll immediately understand why. But it didn’t start with a business, it started with a vacation home. We bought, after a long search, in 2016 a house in Montottone in southern Le Marche. We really wanted to get to know the country; all the seasons, the people and, of course, we wanted to learn to speak the language. During the years in our home in Montottone, we completely immersed ourselves in Italian culture. We experienced the Italians as open, warm, emotional, very friendly and proud of their traditions. Starting a business together in Italy? It began to itch more and more.

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And then came… Corona

For us, that was a time of reflection. After more than 25 years of working full-time in the commercial and financial world, we knew: this isn’t it anymore. This gives us no energy. Together we felt the momentum and deep conviction: “fear of the unknown is for a moment; regret is forever.” We tied the knot to go into business together and make our dream a reality.

Many times we had talked about running an Agriturismo with Glamping. Everything came together for us in that kind of business: welcoming guests and giving them a relaxing time, entrepreneurship, our passion for Italian culture and love of elaborate cooking.

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This ornament of dreaming angels, once given to us by Jacqueline’s mother, has been traveling with us from home to home for years and has now found a place in Le Marche.

Dreaming angels become reality

In October 2023, after many viewings, it was hit in southern Le Marche. We visited the current estate there and knew: this is it. Angeli Sognanti lives up to its name -and our name: “dreaming angels”. In addition to a 1.5-hectare olive grove and a 1-hectare vineyard, there is also a small almond orchard, a vegetable garden and a motley collection of beautiful fruit trees.

And then the environment. Our Agriturismo is located among the green hills, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. We are proud of our Angeli Sognanti and want to share this beautiful location with you. We hope that by visiting our Agriturismo you will fall in love with Le Marche as much as we have.

We would love to welcome you to discover authentic Italy, with all its vistas, smells and tastes, with us in Le Marche. We would love to help you plan your amazing dream vacation with us.

A Presto!

Everything came together for us; welcoming guests, giving them a relaxing time, entrepreneurship, our passion for Italian culture and love of elaborate cooking.

Visit our dream spot

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