Who we are

Our dream started a long time ago as backpackers on long journeys ...

In 2004 we lived in Scheveningen, both had a good full-time job and a lovely 1-year-old daughter who went to the day care center, a house of our own, and ... no time for anything! Living in a big busy city, the daily traffic jams, the eternal hurry and hurry started to disappoint us.

We took stock and found that we wanted to see each other more than just in the evenings and at the weekend, that we wanted to see our child grow up and be there for her, that we wanted to live more in contact with nature and I prefer to have more time for social contacts and a healthier lifestyle.

The old dream came up again! In July 2007 we opened the doors of Villa Bussola, a small-scale company where we combine tourism and organic farming.
In one of the most beautiful regions of Italy, Le Marche, near the sea and three large national parks, we have made our dream come true.

At Agriturismo Villa Bussola we do everything ourselves. We really enjoy working together! Together with our daughter Shaila, friends and guests we fully enjoy the peace, the Italian life, the nature around us, the nice people we are allowed to meet through our work, being outside and working a lot, it (h) honest and healthy food and of course the beautiful weather!

For us this is the ultimate feeling of freedom and happiness!

Peter is Dutch and was born in 1966. After his studies at het graphic school and the academy for photography he worked a couple of years as a porter in 5 stars hotels in The Hague and Scheveningen. After that Peter worked for 13 years at a company that produces roof racks, where the last 5 years he was responsible for webdesign, marketing, sales and international PR. Peter is fond of freedom, he is a social type and his hobbies are (Italian) wines, sportfishing and photography. Besides that he is an expert in "do-it-yourself" and he loves everything that grows and blooms. Peter speaks Dutch, English, German, Italian and a bit of  French.

Vanessa is Italian and was born in 1969. In Italy, after the professional tourism school, she worked in the tourism (as a hostess and as a planner for the guidecenter in Verona). At the age of 19 she went to the Netherlands (NL) to learn the language and to follow the hostess school. Vanessa worked in NL for the Italian department of an incoming operator, for variuos hotels at the reception and later for a big telecommunication company where for the last 5 years she worked as a project co-ordinator. After 17 years in NL she went back to Italy. Vanessa loves cooking (take a look at her culinary website), walking, sports, handiwork and helping people. Vanessa spreaks Italian, Dutch, English and a bit of German and Spanish.

Shaila is our daughter, she was born in the Netherlands at the end of May 2003. Shaila is raised bilingual from birth: she speaks Italian, Dutch and English fluently but has also taught herself the German language. Shaila is currently in school in Ascoli Piceno, where she is studying Business Economics and International Relations. Shaila's great passion is acting, dancing and singing in musicals, something she has been doing with pleasure in Ascoli Piceno for 5 years. Her big dream is also to attend theater school in Amsterdam or London! In the summer, Shaila regularly plays with the children and teenagers present.