Salt air drifts through an open window somewhere on the coast of Sicily, carrying the smell of espresso, ripe tomatoes, and the sea just beyond the terrace. This is the life we get to wake up to now, and it did not happen by accident. It happened because five years ago we made a decision that scared us a little, and we have not looked back since.
We are Carlo and Jeia, and we moved from Northern California to Sicily in 2019, just months before the world shut down. What followed was not the smooth transition we imagined, but it turned into something better than we could have planned. We bought a diamond in the rough of a seaside property sight unseen during lockdown, and we have spent the years since turning it into a home, learning the culture, and figuring out the bureaucracy so that we can pass all of it on to you.
How a Pandemic Lockdown Led Us to Sicily
Jeia remembers it as boredom turning into fantasy. Stuck inside during lockdown, she started scrolling through property listings in Italy just to dream about a place she could not travel to.
Page after page of listings later, one property stood out. It needed vision to see past its rough edges, but we had spent years as investors, so we knew how to look past the surface.
We negotiated the deal remotely, sight unseen, while the world was still in lockdown. The moment travel restrictions lifted even slightly, we made the drive down to the island of Sicily to inspect the property in person, and what we found included some genuinely beautiful surprises we will unpack later in our renovation series.
Eleven Weeks Discovering an Empty Italy
Closing on an Italian property takes time even without a pandemic complicating things, so while we waited we spent eleven weeks traveling the country.
We saw a version of Italy almost nobody else will ever see. Venice was silent by sunset, with empty streets and no crowds anywhere.
We toured Rome and Bologna and drove the coast without a hint of traffic. It was an eerie, unforgettable window into the country’s history and culture, one we feel fortunate to have experienced even under such strange circumstances.
What We’re Building on This Site
Our goal now is to become a real resource for anyone dreaming about moving to Italy, or anyone who just loves dreaming about it from afar. That means covering everything from the practical to the purely aspirational.
We have scripted and are rolling out weekly content covering several ongoing series. Here is a quick look at what is coming.
| Series | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Renovating the Villa | The restoration of our 400 square meter (about 4,300 square foot) seaside villa, currently about 95 percent complete, told across roughly 30 videos |
| The Medieval Ruins | Restoring two of the three stone ruins on our property, built from stone carved before Medieval times, documented from the very start |
| History and Culture | Exploring Sicily’s layered past, from Iron Age cave dwellers to Greek, Phoenician, Roman, and Norman conquerors who each built on top of the last |
| Cuisine | Learning to actually cook Sicilian and Southern Italian food at home, beyond what a cookbook alone can teach you |
| Holistic Lifestyle | The slower, more conservative and resourceful way of life in Sicily, where very little goes to waste |
| Residency and Bureaucracy | Dual citizenship, Italian residency, and the shortcuts we learned the hard way that can save you thousands in legal fees |
A Slower, More Holistic Way of Living
One thing we talk about often is how life here can feel like it is decades behind America, and we mean that in the best way possible.
Living holistically here is simple because it is built into daily habits. Food tends to be organic and chemical free, and the conservative approach to resources means almost nothing gets wasted.
It has been a genuine lesson for both of us, unlearning some American habits and picking up ones that feel more sustainable and, frankly, more relaxed.
Layers of History Beneath Our Feet
Sicily’s history runs deeper than most people realize, and it fascinates us constantly. There are caves on the island that were inhabited as far back as the Iron Age, and some even older, from the Stone Age.
Later, castles were built on those same sites. The Greeks arrived, then the Phoenicians, then the Romans conquered and built on top of what came before, and eventually the Normans did the same.
We plan to take viewers through these sites and the broader tourist attractions of both Sicily and mainland Italy, especially the lesser-known spots that let you skip the crowds entirely.
Our Move to Italy Story Is Just Beginning
This first chapter of our journey started with a bored afternoon of scrolling, a lockdown, and a leap of faith on a property we had not even seen in person. Five years later, that leap has turned into a life we would not trade for anything.
We are still in the middle of renovating our seaside villa and have not yet started on the medieval stone ruins, so there is a lot still ahead of us. We plan to document all of it, the wins and the frustrating bureaucratic tangles alike.
If you are dreaming about a move to Italy, or just love dreaming about it from your couch, we hope this becomes a real resource for you. We have learned a lot the hard way so that you do not have to.
Stay with us as we dig into the history, the cuisine, the residency process, and the slow reveal of a villa and two ancient ruins coming back to life on the coast of Sicily.
