Legend has it that it was at the hot springs of Bagni di Pisa in Tuscany that Mary Shelley first came up with the idea of writing Frankenstein. Experiencing the property for ourselves, we’re not quite sure how this magnificent, Italian spa hotel – once the summer residence of the Grand Duke Francesco Stefano of Lorena – could have led to the creation of one of literature’s greatest freaks. Perhaps the writer was inspired by the ‘life-giving’ thermal waters of the spa. In any case, to celebrate two centuries of supernatural storytelling, we joined the property on its weekend ‘Time-travel Experience’, to immerse ourselves in all things Shelley, including an experiential theatre-like private performance ‘with her’ and a 19th-century-style dinner. Who said we don’t like the odd monster weekend when we’re away on holiday?
Photography courtesy of Bagni di Pisa
