Our man in Libya and Iran: Lady Carnarvon joins Nicholas Hopton to talk diplomacy, travel and Foreign Service.

In this episode from Highclere Castle, I sit down with Nick Hopton to talk about his book, "Marma Mia," which begins as the story of buying and restoring a holiday house in an unspoiled part of Tuscany, the Maremma and becomes a wider family and personal journey. 

Nick shares how reading "A Year in Provence" during COVID while he was British Ambassador to Libya helped inspire him to write a feel-good book that encourages readers to discover lesser-known regions. 

We discuss his Foreign Office career and his approach to languages, including learning Arabic across postings such as Morocco, Yemen, Qatar and Libya, along with French, Italian, Spanish, some German, and some Farsi ahead of becoming ambassador to Iran after the 2015 nuclear deal and the reopening of the British embassy. 

Nick explains how a friend’s suggestion to look beyond Chianti led serendipitously to the first house they viewed and ultimately boughtalongside the realities of renovating abroad: high costs, practical challenges, and the highs and lows of making a place work for family life. We also talk about his unexpected love of landscaping and working with a skilled digger operator he calls “Michelangelo,” the region’s food, wine, local olive oil and its strong Tuscan accent. 

Nick recounts a memorable moment when a friend arrived with an armed escort and the town’s mayor turned out to greet them, and he updates me on ongoing projects, including drilling a 97-meter well to reach a fresh aquifer. Looking ahead, Nick describes writing best in the relative isolation of the Italian house and shares his interest in writing more broadly about the Mediterranean, linked to his role creating a new program at the University of Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics. We touch on the Napoleonic history of the area, including the principality of Piombino and Lucca and Napoleon’s sister Elisa and end with a playful question about a dream dance guest Nick chooses Dante’s Beatrice, reflecting his early love of Dante’s poetry and its lifelong influence.

00:00 Meet Nick Hopton & the book ‘Marma Mia’ (restoring a house in Italy)

00:50 Inspired by ‘A Year in Provence’: writing a feel-good travel memoir during COVID

01:59 Diplomatic life & learning languages: Arabic, French, Italian (and more)

04:26 Why you should speak the local language (even with bad grammar)

05:17 Falling for Tuscany’s Maremma: the serendipitous house-buying story

07:42 Renovation reality: highs, lows, and why the Maremma stays authentic

08:44 Landscaping obsession: diggers, Kubotas, and ‘Michelangelo’ the operator

11:05 Food, wine & dialect: tomatoes, olive oil, and the Tuscan accent

12:49 Small-town surprises: the ambassador friend visit and the mayor’s welcome

13:43 The work never ends: is the villa project ever really finished?

14:01 Digging a 97m Well & the Never-Ending House Project

14:27 What’s Next After the Book: A Wider Mediterranean Focus

14:58 Seeing the Mediterranean Holistically (Cambridge Geopolitics & Trade Routes)

16:26 Duff Cooper, John Julius Norwich & Highclere’s Colorful Guests

17:20 Writing Habits: Tuscany, Isolation, Rhythm & Beating Procrastination

18:37 Italy, Maremma & Napoleonic History: Elisa and the Principality of Piombino and Lucca

20:30 Diplomatic Postings & Reopening the UK Embassy in Iran (2015)

23:09 Iran Today: Regime Weakness, Protests, and a Hope to Visit the Cradle of Civilization

24:21 Highclere’s Library, the Book Club, and a Shared Love of Italy

25:27 Finale: The Summer Dance Fantasy Guest—Dante, Beatrice & Vita Nova

You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/

New episodes are published on the first day of every month.