IT was the scene that launched a thousand ships: Barry Keough, as Oliver Quick, naked, performing the ultimate dance of ownership throughout his newly acquired home.
TikTokers everywhere tried to recreate the iconic moment, but their digs just didn’t bring the same energy as the Saltburn estate.
Enter Ludovica Sannazzaro.
Her Murder On The Dancefloor rendition made sense. She actually lives in a 45-room medieval castle filled with ancient engravings on walls and artifacts from 17th century noblemen.
The castle, which sits in a tiny town in the North of Italy, has been in Ludovica’s family since it was built in the year 1163, when Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I granted a decree for four knights within her family to construct and live in it.
Sometime throughout the 861 years that her family has called it home, they received the title of Counts, which they still hold.
The 22-year-old — who moved to the estate with her parents and brother when she was four years old — began posting snippets of her unique lifestyle on TikTok (@thecastlediary) in 2021.
And while there was a lot of initial interest in her content for the first two years, ever since Saltburn graced screens, people can’t get enough.
Speaking exclusively to The U.S. Sun, she revealed how her life aligns with and differs from the psychological smash hit.
“So many of my followers wrote to me saying, ‘The whole time I was watching Saltburn I was thinking of you.’ I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” she quipped.
As a by-trade performer, she was of course drawn to the film and said it hit close to home given its backdrop.
“Like in the movie, pretty much everything in our house is from the past,” she explained.
When Jacob Elordi’s Felix Catton gives Oliver a tour of the place, he points out pieces that belonged to “dead rellies.”
He also notes King Henry VIII’s bed and other royal artifacts.
Inside Castello Sannazzaro, as Ludovica's home is called, there is an original sculpture and fresco portraits of the four knights who funded the castle.
There is also a 1600 armor suit and swords, a formal dining room and library featuring furniture from the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, and beds from the 1700s in each room.
What's more, there are hundreds of lace garments like gloves and veils.
“Wherever you go, it’s like traveling back in time," she said.
There is also a “blue room,” just like in the film, as well as a pink room where the Duke of Aosta resided, and a green room.
The expansive garden, which is roughly six acres, is as beautiful as the one the fictional Catton family lounges in daily.
And although a maze doesn’t yet exist, they’re in the works of making it happen – a long process given the permissions involved with such a historic site.
As for her favorite artifact? What looks like an antique chair is actually an old toilet.
On its side sits a tiny door that leads to the spot meant to hold a waste can. When you pull the seat out, a hole appears for sitting.
Unlike in Saltburn, however, the castle is not staffed with dozens of butlers, footmen, and chefs.
“We only have one person that works with us, and she’s been with us since I was born," she said.
"Maria — she used to be our governess when we were kids, and now she helps with all the cleaning and everything.”
Cleaning such a large space filled with precious materials requires intricate knowledge, as damaging any historic piece can be a big loss.
And although Ludovica’s family doesn’t regularly feast in the very formal dining room or “dress for dinner” — as Felix refers to the nightly black-tie meals at Saltburn — they do put on their best frocks and set the large table for special occasions.
“We do have some family traditions that have been passed down for more than 400 years.
“A big party with my dad’s side of the family — the noble side — happens every October.
"They all come to the castle, and we go to Mass at the church on our property, have a big lunch in the formal dining room, all that.
“And for Christmas and Easter as well.”
Lavish birthday parties, too, have been thrown on the grounds — though the drama that came with Oliver’s was largely absent.
“When I was younger, my birthday parties were an excuse for my parents to throw a big event and invite all of their friends over too. It was so fun," she said.
“In the morning, all their friends and their children would come over and we’d have this huge lunch.
"Then in the afternoon, all of my friends from school would join and my mom would organize something very special.
“One year it was a treasure hunt, another year we repainted one of the structures on the property. It was always really cool.”
On the 850th birthday of Castello Sannazzaro, the party was even more extravagant — and she likened that one to the ostentatious Saltburn bash.
“It was gold and red themed because those are our family colors, the castle’s colors," said.
"And everyone stayed up dancing way into the morning, all my friends slept over. It was something.”
Thinking about that scene that audiences couldn’t get out of their minds, Ludovica said they do have a bathtub similar to the one in the flick.
“We have a tub that looks exactly like that one. And now, I don’t think I could look at it the same.”
If you’re hoping to live out the noble lifestyle, you can do so right inside Castello Sannazzaro.
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Only an hour away from major cities like Milan and Turin, it functions as an event space or bed and breakfast.
You can book one of the seven rooms on that designated wing of the house, partake in guided tours or frolic in one of the gowns made of medieval fabrics.
