When Ludovica Sannazzaro Natta introduces herself to new people, she always leads with the key facts:
She鈥檚 21, about to turn 22. She鈥檚 Italian. She鈥檚 a 鈥渧ery proud Scorpio.鈥 She studied musical theatre in Los Angeles and New York.
Then, she鈥檒l add an unexpected extra detail into the mix:
鈥淚 live in a castle full time.鈥
GROWING UP IN A CASTLE
Sannazzaro Natta moved into the 45-roomed, turreted, fairytale Castle Sannazzaro when she was four years old.
Sannazzaro Natta is descended from Italian nobility and her father is a count. This medieval fortress, located in picturesque countryside near Giarole, northern Italy, has been in her family for 28 generations.
The previous generation used Castle Sannazzaro primarily as a summer home, but in 2006, Sannazzaro Natta鈥檚 parents decided to move from Milan and make the castle their full time residence, taking their young daughter with them.
鈥淲hen I moved here, it was just so normal for me,鈥 she tells CNN Travel today. 鈥淚t was just my home and where I was going to live for the rest of my life.鈥
While the castle was 鈥渘ormal鈥 for young Sannazzaro Natta, she still recalls the thrill of discovering the abundance of rooms in the castle 鈥 there are 18 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, as well as sitting rooms, a library, a ballroom and a dining room, not to mention the moat, a chapel and secret passageways. Her parents soon realized that in a castle, games of hide and seek can last a long time.
鈥淚 would just run around the castle,鈥 Sannazzaro Natta recalls. 鈥淢y parents couldn鈥檛 find me sometimes because I thought it was so funny to hide inside closets.鈥
Sannazzaro Natta has an older brother, but he鈥檚 14 years her senior, so Sannazzaro Natta spent her childhood exploring the castle with her gang of friends. The kids would spend long days inventing tales of princesses, witches and wizards amid extremely appropriate surroundings. The castle, says Sannazzaro Natta, was a 鈥渧ery creative鈥 place to spend her formative years.
鈥淚 grew up with Harry Potter and Narnia and all those things,鈥 she recalls. 鈥淥f course, the castle was absolutely great to recreate those kinds of atmospheres and fantasy worlds 鈥 so it would be our own Harry Potter in my castle.鈥
As a teenager, Sannazzaro Natta attended boarding school elsewhere in Italy. With that distance, and her growing maturity, Sannazzaro Natta developed more conflicted feelings about her palatial childhood home.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really know how to tell people about living in a castle,鈥 she says.
She became aware that 鈥渢his particular thing about myself can change their view about me, their opinion on me鈥 and found herself holding back the information until she felt she鈥檇 developed a good rapport with a potential friend.
鈥淚 live in a castle. That鈥檚 so not normal,鈥 she realized. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very unique and special.鈥
While Sannazzaro Natta began reckoning with that privilege and what it meant, she also became fascinated by Castle Sannazaro鈥檚 history and how it intertwines with her own family legacy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost 900 years of history, between this place and between my family,鈥 she says.
She helped her father sift through old family letters. She shadowed paranormal investigators who came to investigate potential ghostly goings on. She researched her family tree to understand how the castle came to be built in the first place.
SEEING THE CASTLE THROUGH A NEW LENS
After graduating high school, Sannazzaro Natta moved to the U.S. to study musical theatre. Her new American friends were even more dumbfounded than her Italian schoolmates when she lifted the curtain on her family home. But, by then, Sannazzaro Natta was more comfortable in herself and felt able to own her story.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to hide a part of me just because I鈥檓 scared of what they鈥檙e going to think,鈥 she decided. 鈥淚f they really want to know me, they鈥檙e going to know me with this specific thing, because it is part of me.鈥
Then, midway through Sannazzaro Natta鈥檚 U.S. studies, Covid hit. Like many pandemic-era college students, she found herself decamping to her parents鈥 house 鈥 only, of course, her parents鈥 house was a castle.
Sannazzaro Natta saw the fortress through fresh eyes after her time away.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥極h, I just love this place. Sometimes I don鈥檛 appreciate it as much as I should. Probably because it鈥檚 my home. And it鈥檚 so normal for me. But I truly, truly love this place.鈥欌
With this newfound appreciation of the castle came the birth of Sannazzaro Natta鈥檚 social media account, The Castle Diary. In between her studies, Sannazzaro Natta passed the time posting videos on TikTok and Instagram summing up what life鈥檚 really like in a medieval castle. Yes, it鈥檚 beautiful, she explained, but there鈥檚 also poor Wi-Fi, a lot of rooms to clean and drafts aplenty.
It was March 2021 and her videos provided some well-timed pandemic escapism. Plus, everyone was talking about the Netflix series 鈥淏ridgerton,鈥 and Sannazzaro Natta seemed to be living some real life version of that. Her TikTok account quickly gained traction.
As her following grew, Sannazzaro Natta leaned into the period drama of it all, enlisting her mother to sew her gowns that would look more at place in the 1800s than the 2020s.
Today, Sannazzaro Natta rarely appears in modern clothing in her videos and fully embraces the 鈥減rincess aesthetic鈥 on social media.
At the same time, she鈥檚 still committed to showcasing the reality of castle life. She still makes videos about the castle鈥檚 unexpected quirks from its multiple old toilets to the frustration of forgetting your keys and ascending several flights of spiral staircases to track them down.
And to be clear, Sannazzaro Natta isn鈥檛 actually a princess鈥 although she does stand to inherit her father鈥檚 title and become a countess one day, which is pretty Bridgerton-esque, although the title has no real meaning in republican Italy.
EXPERIENCE A SLICE OF CASTLE LIFE
Sannazzaro Natta鈥檚 social media presence has become a family affair 鈥 her mother helps with her outfits, while her father often pops up in front of the camera and her brother helps with the administrative and financial side of Sannazzaro Natta鈥檚 social media fame.
The Sannazzaro Natta family have been pleasantly surprised by the widespread interest in the videos 鈥 not least because it鈥檚 provided a boost to the on-site bed and breakfast they run at the castle.
That鈥檚 right 鈥 if you want to live like Sannazzaro Natta for the day, you can 鈥 six of the eighteen bedrooms in the castle are available for vacationers to rent. More rooms are available to rent for weddings or other large events.
The castle is around an hour away from Milan, Turin and Genoa, and 650 meters from Giarole Train Station.
鈥淭his area is very famous for its landscapes,鈥 Sannazzaro Natta says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 full of these little towns. There鈥檚 beautiful hills,鈥 she says. 鈥淥f course, the food is amazing. And the area is very well known also for wine. So there are tons of different wineries.鈥
SHARING THE EXPERIENCE
Sannazzaro Natta says she loves nothing better than when the castle is full of guests and pulsating with energy 鈥 whether that鈥檚 thanks to visits from her disbelieving, delighted American friends (whose reactions to the castle she often documents on social media) or via tourists.
That, for Sannazzaro Natta, is when her home comes alive, so if her social media boosts visitors, all the better.
鈥淭he reason why my dad opened the bed and breakfast was because he wanted the castle to be lived in. He wanted people to see and breathe this reality.鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd I want the exact same thing.鈥
Inspired by the success of her social media aesthetic, Sannazzaro Natta is planning upcoming public events that embrace what she calls the 鈥渇antasy鈥 of the castle. First up, she hopes to organize a historical-themed ball in 2025.
Now that she鈥檚 an adult, Sannazzaro Natta is increasingly aware of the costs and upkeep associated with castle living. Expanding into hosting balls and historical events could also be a way to ensure the longevity of the castle 鈥 something she has a vested interest in, as she, alongside her brother, will inherit the property one day.
Sannazzaro Natta says she is also still pursuing musical theatre and is currently fantasizing about playing one of the six wives of Henry VIII featured in the musical comedy 鈥淪ix,鈥 all of whom knew a thing or two about castles. She鈥檇 love to host a performance at Castle Sannazzaro.
Sannazzaro Natta says ultimate goal is to 鈥渟hare the atmosphere of this beautiful place鈥 with everyone she can 鈥 whether via social media or in person.
鈥淚 have something so unique and special that I want to share with people,鈥 she says. 鈥淏ecause I don鈥檛 think that a lot of people know about this reality. They don鈥檛 even think that it exists unless it鈥檚 in movies.鈥
