A group of people wearing matching outfits and hats standing on a staircase in a formal garden with trimmed hedges, purple flowering trees, and a large historic building in the background under a clear blue sky.

Salon at La Foce

April 23 - May 3, 2027

The first salon filled. Twelve suites, a group of writers, painters, and thinkers, and ten days in the Val d'Orcia when the wisteria is at its peak.

If you would like to be part of the next one, leave your name. I keep a short waitlist for 2027 in case a suite reopens, and those on the list hear first when spring 2028 takes shape.

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How this Came to Be

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be the host.

The host of an aesthetically and emotionally rich gathering in Italy. The one I wish I'd been alive for a hundred years ago, up in the hills above Florence, where writers and artists and fascinating people gathered for good food, long conversations, and the kind of relationships that form when remarkable people are unhurried and in a beautiful place together.

The salon

I have spent more than fifteen summers in Italy. Many springs, autumns, and winters too. I have read Wharton, James, Berenson, Origo. I've written papers about the people behind the Renaissance. Not the ones creating the art but the ones funding it, envisioning it, and designing the legacy of it. I confess I have chronic nostalgia for something I never actually lived through.

Next spring, I am turning that nostalgia into something beautiful.

The place

One woman has inspired me like no other. I never had the pleasure of meeting Iris Origo, but when I came upon her autobiography I felt as if she had written it for me. She was a woman who faced the restrictions set out for her in the world and transcended them. She did so creatively, expansively, and with grace. Everything she did was driven by what she referred to as her "affections."

Together with her husband Antonio, Iris created a school, a hospital, a wartime orphanage. Antonio led the transformation of the farms into the thriving fertile land it is today. Meanwhile, Iris enlisted Cecil Pinsent — the architect whose work defined the great private gardens of early twentieth century Tuscany, and the mastermind behind Berenson's garden at Villa I Tatti, now the Harvard Center in Fiesole, and the garden at her own childhood home, the Villa Medici. Together they turned clay, unfertile hills into what I believe is the most singularly beautiful view in the world.

Not a view she inherited. A view she created.

That is vision. And La Foce is where I am bringing this salon to life.

I will be joined by my husband Noshir Contractor, also a Northwestern professor. Between us we have hosted more than a few gatherings where the conversation outlasted the wine. This one will have better wine and considerably better accommodations. Our wine will be curated by legendary winemaker Donatella Cinelli-Colombini.

What this is

Twelve suites. Ten nights. Shared meals, long afternoons, unhurried conversation, and space for whatever you are in the middle of making or thinking through.

The days will be lightly structured — salon conversations, optional painting, optional excursions into the valley — and deliberately unscheduled. We will not fill every hour. That is the point.

This is not a retreat. Not a conference. Not a tour.

It is a gathering. A salon, in the original sense of the word, named for the room where it happened, the living room, the salone. The place where people came together to be alive to each other and to ideas. The tradition stretches from the Enlightenment parlors of Paris to the hills above Florence, where Bernard Berenson gathered writers, artists, and intellectuals at Villa I Tatti for decades. That is the gathering I am reviving at La Foce.

Logistics

Residents choose either 5 or 10 nights. The 2027 windows were:
10 nights - April 23-May 3
5 nights - Either April 23 - April 28 or April 28 - May 3

Salon participants share the actual cost of the villa and meals equally. There is no markup — contributions reflect only the direct costs of the gathering.

Who is this for

People who appreciate beauty. People who love to read. People who profess, or write, or paint, or make things. People somewhere in the middle of something who could use five or ten days to think it through in a place that asks something of you.

Expression of Interest

The Salon at La Foce begins April 23, 2027, just as the wisteria comes into full bloom.

If you'd like to join, I'd love to hear from you.

Photo credits: Emma Innocenti at https://www.innocentistudio.com/

Add Your Name
A scenic view of a sprawling green landscape with rolling hills, scattered trees, and distant mountains, featuring a formal garden with geometric hedges, tall cypress trees, and a water fountain in the center, with a group of people walking through t
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A dining room with a round table covered in a white tablecloth, set with breakfast items, jars of jams, cheeses, fruits, plates, and covered dishes. The room features a chandelier, a large ornate mirror, paintings, a wooden sideboard, and a fireplace
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A set of tubes of acrylic paint in various colors placed on a desk, with a glass jar holding paintbrushes in the background and an outdoor patio with greenery beyond.
People sitting around a glass table outdoors under a pergola with flowering vines, engaged in an art activity, with painting supplies and beverages on the table.
A garden with purple flowering vines climbing over a wooden trellis, overlooking rolling hills and a building with a tiled roof in the background, bathed in sunlight.
Three women participating in a watercolor painting activity at a craft workshop, wearing aprons, with painting supplies and mason jar drinks on the table.
Rolling green hills with scattered trees and a winding road lined with tall cypress trees, under a partly cloudy sky.
Two women smiling and posing in a lush garden with trimmed hedges, a stone fountain, and a yellow building in the background. One woman is wearing a wide-brimmed hat, glasses, and a dark dress with a patterned shawl, holding a drink. The other woman
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Three women standing outdoors in a garden with trimmed hedges and a yellow building in the background. They are smiling, dressed in summer clothes, and one woman is holding a drink. The setting appears to be a celebration or social gathering.
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A group of people gathered outdoors under a flowering tree, listening to two men speaking in front of a yellow wall. The audience is seated on chairs and couches, with some standing at the back.
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A large white oval serving platter filled with thinly sliced oranges, grapefruits, and blood oranges, topped with chopped nuts, placed on a white tablecloth. In the background, there is a large bowl of salad with halved boiled eggs, chickpeas, and di
A lush garden with neatly trimmed boxwood bushes, vibrant purple wisteria flowers hanging from a tree, tall cypress trees in the background, and a stone planter with red flowers on a pedestal. Rolling green hills are visible beyond the garden.
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A buffet table set with pasta salad, deviled eggs topped with cherry tomatoes, and a tray of tomato slices with cheese. There are glassware, condiments, and a large pink flower centerpiece. In the background, a dining area with a round wooden table a
A residential scene with a yellow stucco house featuring black shutters, surrounded by greenery, tall cypress trees, and flowering bushes, under a blue sky with white clouds.
A garden with purple irises in the foreground, a house with a beige exterior and a tiled roof in the background, and a clear blue sky above.
A group of people sitting at a long outdoor table, engaged in painting and drawing activities with art supplies, water bottles, and paper, surrounded by greenery and shaded by a pergola.
People sitting at a table painting with watercolors. They are wearing aprons and wide-brimmed hats, and the background features a yellow wall with sunlight creating a dappled pattern.
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