The story of our family, a story of sacrifices, of work and love, that has its origins in the first decades of the 1900s, when the Aloisio Storace family of Genoa purchased land and built a vacation home in Champoluc.
Our Grandfather, Ivan Storace, who unwillingly stayed in Genoa, and who loved this area, decided to permanently move here when he finished his studies to become a lawyer.
During the Second World War, our grandfather met our grandmother, Anna Maria Monti, here in Champoluc. She was the guest of friends, following her evacuation from Genoa with her young son Domenico and the loss of her husband due to bombings.
During a round-up by the Germans, grandmother helped grandfather Ivan to hide.
Just after the war, the family home and all its contents burned in a fire, and grandfather and grandmother found themselves with nothing but the clothes they had on their backs.
However, they didn’t lose heart, and through an acquaintance who had a construction company, they were able to rebuild a part of the house with the agreement that the house would be available to the builder’s family for some years, while grandfather and grandmother would have a room.
To make ends meet, grandmother worked as a pastry chef at night, and sold her products to the stores of the town.
Soon after, they began to let some rooms in their house, and this was the beginning of Villa Anna Maria, a name chosen by Grandfather Ivan in honour of Grandmother Anna.
To enlarge the hotel, grandfather sold some lands, which allowed further projects in the following years, bringing the hotel to its current dimension (1958).
Following the death of Grandfather Ivan in 1986, our father Domenico, known to all as Miki, esteemed trainer of the local ski club, as well as the women’s regional alpine ski team, took over management of the hotel.
Grandmother Anna Maria remained in the kitchen for more than forty years, and was an attentive director of her house until December of 2010, when she went to join grandfather at the age of 99.
The hotel opened in its present form in 1958. Many famous and memorable people have passed through our doors, such as Aldo Acquarone, Genoese industrialist and poet who financed the Champoluc cable cars at the suggestion of Grandfather Ivan.
Dad Miki managed the hotel with precision and rigour until his death in January of 2016. Now, it is we, his children, the grandchildren of Ivan and Anna Maria, Jean Noël, Simone, Annalisa and Ivan, who are continuing the tradition with Mamma Cristina.
Father, in addition to the love for our home, also transmitted all of his passion for skiing and sports to us. Jean Noël, Simone and Ivan are ski instructors, Annalisa is a very good skier and has a passion for running races in the mountains.
Simone, as an alpine guide, participated in the Italian expedition to K2 in 2014. He and Ivan have competed for years for the world speed skiing record and various world championships!
We await you here so you can get to know our family and our love for Champoluc.
Book on the hotel website: here you will find the best prices available online.