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A few summers ago, Rebecca Messina watched her children Zara and Luca, then 6 and 4, squish tomatoes at Casa Carcicera, a picturesque villa in Southeastern Sicily. The vacation scene bordered on cinematic: Their tiny hands manoeuvred thin slices of eggplant as a local cooking instructor - with the last name Amore - supervised encouragingly.
"We've always believed that your kids should fit into your life, so we had to make the trip something they'd look forward to," said Messina, 46, a San Francisco-based tech executive. "Sicily is famous for its cooking, and we wanted to include them in that experience. We don't just want them only plopping in front of the pool or the TV."
For Messina and other parents, with the wherewithal to travel internationally with children, villas are as practical as they are romantic, with many bedrooms under a single roof, ample communal space, a kitchen, and often a private pool and yard.
Yet achieving a family-friendly version of the "Under the Tuscan Sun" idyll goes beyond having high chairs or play areas. To meet increasing demand, luxury villa companies and travel advisers are stepping in to design culturally immersive activities - all for guests who can count their age on one or two hands.
"People used to be very happy...