Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Ludovica Sannazaro-Natta’s life may seem ordinary at first glance, but the 22-year-old young woman lives a life more like a fairytale, as she lives in an old Italian castle.
Sannazaru Nata moved to Sannazaru Castle, which consists of 45 rooms, when she was four years old.
Sannazaro Natta descended from the Italian nobility, and her father held the title of Count.
The castle, which is about 900 years old, has been owned by the Sannazzaro Natta family for generations.Credit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
Located in the picturesque countryside near Giaroli, northern Italy, this medieval castle has been in her family for 28 generations.
The previous generation had used Sannazaro Castle primarily as a summer home, but in 2006, Sannazaro Natta’s parents decided to move from Milan and make the castle their permanent residence, taking their young daughter with them.
Sanazaro Nata tells CNN her story: “When I moved here, it seemed natural to me. It was my home and the place I would live for the rest of my life.”
Sannazzaro Natta’s father inherited the castle and his family moved there in 2006. The family did not do much renovation work, but spent a lot of time cleaning and sorting furniture and luggage.Credit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
Although the castle was “normal” for young Sanazaru Nata, she still remembers the joy of discovering the abundance of rooms in the castle – there are 18 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, in addition to sitting rooms, a library, a ballroom, a dining room, a moat, and a chapel. Church, and a number of secret passages.
Her parents soon realized that the game of hide and seek could continue for a long time in the castle.
“I was running around the castle, and sometimes my parents couldn’t find me,” Sannazaru Nata recalls.
Sannazzaro Castle is located in northern ItalyCredit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
With a brother who is 14 years older than her, Sannazaru Nata spent her childhood exploring the castle with a group of her friends. Children spent long days writing tales of princesses and witches in an atmosphere suitable for these novels.
Sannazaro-Nata said the castle was a “creatively exciting” place to spend her formative years.
Credit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
“I grew up with the stories of Harry Potter and Narnia,” she recalls. “Of course, the castle was perfect for recreating those kinds of atmospheres and fantasy worlds.”
During her teenage years, Sannazaro-Natta attended a boarding school elsewhere in Italy. With that distance, and her increasing maturity, Sanazaru Nata develops more conflicted feelings about her palatial childhood home.
“I didn’t really know how to tell people that I lived in a castle,” she explained.
Credit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
As Sannazaru Nata begins to understand this privilege and what it means, she also becomes fascinated by the history of Sannazaru Castle and how it is intertwined with her family’s heritage.
She explained that there are 900 years of history between this place and her family.
She was keen to help her father examine old family letters, and also researched her family tree to understand how the castle was built in the first place.
Seeing the castle with new eyes
The stunning ballroom’s interiors date back to the 19th century.Credit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
After graduating from high school, Sanazaro Nata moved to the United States to study musical theatre. The reactions of her American classmates were more astonished than her Italian classmates when she revealed the truth about her family’s residence. But by then, Sanazaru Nata was more receptive, and felt able to tell her story.
She decided that she would not hide this part of her story just because she was afraid of the impressions it would make.
During her university studies, the “Covid-19” pandemic appeared. Like many college students in the pandemic era, she found herself returning to her parents’ home, but it was, of course, unlike any other home.
Sanazaru Nata saw the castle with new eyes after her absence.
The castle is a treasure of family heirloom.Credit: Ludovica Uberta Sannazzaro Natta
Despite this new appreciation for the castle, the Sanazaru Nata social media account was born, called “The Castle Diary.”
Sanazaro Nata spent the time posting videos on TikTok and Instagram summarizing what life is like in a medieval castle.
She explained that despite the many advantages that come with it, she suffers from a bad Internet network and the need to clean many rooms.
Her TikTok account quickly gained widespread popularity.
As her following grew, Sannazaru Nata turned to historical dramas, enlisting the help of her mother to sew her dresses that looked more 19th century than 2020s.
Today, Sanazaru Nata rarely appears in fashionable clothes in her videos, and fully embraces the “princess life” on social media platforms.
At the same time, it remains committed to showcasing the reality of castle life. She still produces videos about the castle’s unexpected quirks, from its many ancient toilets to the frustration of forgetting the keys to a room and having to climb several flights of spiral stairs to find them.
Sannazaro Nata is not actually considered a princess, although she may inherit her father’s title and one day become a countess, a title that has no real meaning in Italy.
Sanazaro Nata’s presence on social media platforms quickly became distinctive, as her mother helps her create her looks, her father often appears in front of the camera, while her brother helps her in the administrative and financial aspects after the fame she gained on social media platforms.
The Sannazaro-Nata family was surprised by the widespread interest in the videos – not least because they provided promotion for the hotel, for visitors to stay there.
And if you want to live like Sannazaru Nata for a day, you can. The family offers 6 of the castle’s 18 bedrooms for holidays, and more rooms are available to rent for weddings or other large events.
The castle is located about an hour from Milan, Turin and Genoa, and 650 meters from Giaroli Train Station.
The area is famous for its scenery and wine. So there are a lot of different wineries for wine tasting lovers.
