Strolling through the grounds of Tenuta Rechsteiner you may be taken by surprise when you catch a glimpse of a mysterious path leading to the door of an unusual building. It is like a secret passage, or a hiding place.
This is the icehouse, where ice used to be stored during the winter to use during the rest of the year. It was a service building, one frequently found in country houses. An old-fashioned type of fridge for storing food.
Ice houses were almost always surrounded by an artificial mound, to provide shelter from the sun.
During World War I, the icehouse at Tenuta Rechsteiner was used as a bunker, changing usage for underground rooms which, as a result of the conflict and the needs of the military, became command centres, hideouts, and weapons stores.
The villa’s icehouse has been restored in recent years thanks to a series of projects which have seen it used as a venue for modern art installations and a distinctive location for tastings of local delicacies.
