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1974, 2000s: Villa Aestas in Orvieto is breathtaking, but it has a dark past.
The Villa
What you need to know before your trail
Villa Aestas in Orvieto is breathtaking, but it has a dark past: in 1974 it was rented by a notorious rockstar, who was joined by up-and-coming musician Pierce Sheldon and his girlfriend, Mari. By the end of the holiday Pierce is dead, and Mari goes on to write one of the greatest horror novels of all time.
As Emily digs into the villa’s history, she begins to think that Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but something more sinister – and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari left behind.
Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge – and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.
Locations
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Orvieto
Villa Aestas in Orvieto is breathtaking, but it has a dark past. The 1970s are described in style and it’s a joy to travel back to see the setting, the dress code, the music and the sense that anything and everything is possible when you are a young and carefree musician.
Villa Aestas wasn’t always known by that name. In 1974, it was the scene of a murder, an infamous murder. When Emily and Chess go to that house in the present day, they soon find that “Houses Remember.”
The Well of St Patrick
The well they talk about in the book is a very real and very interesting landmark! It’s a 16th-century circular well shaft with a descending 248-step spiral staircase and internal windows.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Villa
Destination/Location: Orvieto Author: Rachel Hawkins Departure: 1974, 2000s
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