AT THEIR ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE RETREAT ALEXANDER AND ASTRID OF LIECHTENSTEIN WELCOME US TO THEIR HOME - A FORMER MONASTERY NEAR VERONA

'I was a bit scared of how big the villa was so I asked my parents to live here with me. They stayed for 12 years' Princess Astrid

- NANA BOTTAZZI

What the tiny Alpine state of Liechtenstein lacks in size, it more than makes up for in talent - especially for business and finance. And its royal dynasty is at the heart of that success.

Prince Hans-Adam II heads not only the reigning family, but also LGT, the country's largest bank. His nephew, Prince Alexander, and Alexander's wife, German-born Princess Astrid, are an entrepreneurial force in their own right, with interests in technology, pharmaceuticals and furnishings.

Under the banner Crown Designs, Astrid creates luxury interiors for boutiques, hotels and residences, deploying skills that are also much in evidence in the couple's very own splendid home in Italy. A 1,000-year-old former Benedictine monastery near Verona, it is set in a huge park filled with ancient trees, in the hills overlooking Lake Garda.

Inside, Villa Sant'Andrea has been renovated to provide the perfect setting for the treasured painting and porcelain collections started by Astrid's mother. The passion for beautiful homes has now reached a third generation, with Astrid's own daughter Princess Theodora, 18, immersed in studying architecture at Cambridge.

Prince Alexander, your family goes back more than a millennium...