A luxury Tuscan spa hotel which has hosted the likes of Giuseppe Verdi, Paul Cezanne and Arnold Schwarzenegger has rolled out the red carpet for an unexpected arrival from the new capital of bling – Moscow
.Svetlana Medvedeva, wife of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, has hitherto avoided a reputation for rock star living, but made a start this month by booking out the entire hotel La Pace in Montecatini Terme, Italy, for one week and showing up with her son and a 30-strong entourage.
In a move worthy of an oil sheikh’s wife, Ms Medvedeva (46) arrived while the 140-room hotel was shut for the winter, prompting Italian police to step up security in the small town. With rooms at €600 a night and suites at up to €1,300, the hotel clearly seemed the right place to splurge.
Ms Medvedeva's visit followed promotional trips made to Moscow by hotel managers, according to the Italian daily Corriere Fiorentino. Her stay, the hotel hopes, will trigger an onslaught of Russian oligarchs and their wives, just as Roman Abramovich's visit to Tuscan resort Forte dei Marmi turned it from a genteel hideaway for Milan industrialists into Moscow-on-sea, and Putin's stay at Silvio Berlusconi's Sardinian villa helped clog the island's coast with Russian yachts. – ( Guardianservice)