Ever dreamed of living la dolce vita?
In this fantasy, you finally do it: You decamp from the rat race, the expense, the politics of the United States and you stake your flag in Italy’s fabled soil. Perhaps you buy a beautifully aged villa at a fraction of the price of a San Francisco apartment, one that’s tucked away in a remote village where pasta-making nonnas and sorbetto-colored Vespas replace AI bros and stalled-out Waymos.
In the mornings, you’ll take your strong Italian espresso to the terrace where you’ll paint the dreamscape of stone rooftops over the town piazza and the vineyards that roll out beyond—because yes, in this particular dream, you have finally learned to paint. Your days present hard choices. Will you lounge by your villa’s pool with a negroni and the book you’ve been meaning to read? Or take a walk across ancient cobblestones and pop into artisan boutiques? Gelato or tiramisu? You’ll have both.
Of course, no place is perfect. That villa may be crumbling and may take a decade to restore. While you’re tapping your toes in wait for modern plumbing, Signor Plumber is drinking vino under the Italian sun. Politics is always a nail-biting business, even in Italy. And seriously, how much gelato can one person eat? Maybe before you make the big continental leap, you need a scouting trip to dip your toes in. Or better yet, a friend with her own well-established dolce vita where you can crash for a week and really get the flavor. Where will you find such a friend? If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, have an Instagram account, and love all things art, design and Italy, there’s a good chance you know of her already.
Each morning, Curiosare guests learn decorative painting with the maestra, Caroline Lizarraga (center). Additional workshops during the trip might include ceramics, pasta-making, and limestone carving with regional masters of craft.(Dario Garafolo)
For the past handful of springs, SF-based decorative painter Caroline Lizarraga has invited her circle of creative tastemakers and wanderlusters—including ceramicist Erin Hupp, jewelry designer Marie McCarthy, fashion designer Lan Jaenicke, and this fortunate 7x7 editor—to her home away from home in her husband’s native Puglia. For two weeks in May, intimate groups of (mostly) women camp out at a picturesque rented villa (the couple’s own Italian dream home is currently under renovation) for an immersive dolce vita experience that’s very much IYKYK… and now you do. Welcome to Curiosare.
Built in the 1800s, the Tenuta Dell’Alto is just what you’ve imagined, with towering stone pine trees lining the long gravel drive to the white neoclassical estate, its acres of gardens bursting with aromatic citrus, roses, figs, and herbs. The property’s 17th century chapel is a study in Caroline’s cherished “decrepit beauty,” while the modern infinity pool flows into an expansive view of olive groves and vines. Inside, it’s your basic AD cover story—think hand-finished walls, creative lighting, collections of ceramics and baskets and books, and a handful of comfortable bedrooms in casual Apulian style.
After a bountiful breakfast you’ll paint with the maestra, learning some of her signature techniques. Caroline’s eye-taunting marbles, semi-precious stones, and metallic leaf watercolors (aka her “dream finish”) are all inspired by Old World traditions of painting you’ll soon see all over Lecce. “That’s paint!” she’ll say, pointing to what you were sure was a marble column. A self-proclaimed trickster, she relishes the surprise.
Caroline takes unlocked old doors as invitations to peep inside and peculiar passersby as clues to be followed to hidden pots of gold. She is invariably rewarded with warm welcomes and wondrous discoveries, courtesy of the Italians who are quite charmed by this vibrant American redhead. And so in the Baroque capital of Salento, and in its off-the-beaten villages nearby, she opens a portal to the magnificently painted rooms of private palazzos, the sculpture gardens of contemporary design hotels, and the ateliers of craftspeople who are generous with their time and talents. Caroline shares it all with both the insight of the scout who knows it inside out and with the wide-eyed wonder of a playful explorer always keen to uncover something new.
Insatiably curious, ravenous for beauty, and head-over-heels in love with this mythical place of romance and craft, Caroline seems born to guide us in the art of capturing la dolce vita.
The ultimate fantasy is just a reservation away, but space is very limited. Inquire now for retreats in May 2027.
// Get more information at curiosareitalia.com.
Lecce, Salento's elegant Baroque capital city, is a study in limestone and light.(Dario Garafolo)
