Bella Pace

Now open — and for about two weeks only — is Bella Pace (or Beautiful Peace), a new sim by Romy Mornington and her partner Jac Mornington, a splendid location that will eventually serve as their private home. It's a land of gently undulating hills topped by a villa that overlooks the surrounding farmlands, beaches and the sea. The open landscape provides a serene sense of depth and distance, allowing one to easily glance all the way across the sim.

"We got inspired by my childhood memories of vacations in Tuscany, and it's a typical Tuscan countryside," Romy told me. "Our goal was to make a place with a soul and a flow." Even the sim's music is influenced by Italy — "The stream is made of music of [the film] Il Postino mostly, and some tracks from The Godfather while they were shooting in Italy," she added.

The interior of the villa, shown in the second image, is beautifully decorated, and the buildings are all open to the public for now. The ancient Roman ruins over which the villa was constructed can be seen tumbling and falling into the beach and sea on the western edge. The sim's default windlight setting is shown in the first and last images here (Annan Adored -Morning Dream), but photographers will no doubt take delight in exploring others. Thanks to Romy and Jac for sharing their home with the Second Life community.