Wish Fulfillment

When an Italian sports executive inherits his grandparents’ estate outside Florence, he turns to his designer sister to bring new life to the villa they have loved since childhood

- Vicky Lowry

EVER SINCE HE WAS A LITTLE BOY, Carlo Pallavicino fantasized about owning his grandparents’ Tuscan estate. The ocher-hued villa, most likely built in the 18th century, is situated 1,000 feet above sea level, and its tower (an old dovecote transformed into a lofty living room) offers commanding views of nearby Florence and the emerald-green countryside. Pallavicino’s grandfather made olive oil from the property’s olive trees, grew Sangiovese grapes for wine, and raised chickens so that his family would always have fresh eggs. Towering evergreen oak trees surround the garden, with a forest of cypress and pine beyond. Pallavicino spent summers there with his two older sisters, and the 32-acre estate remained a giant playground for him after they went off to college and moved away from Florence. “The tower could be the most fantastic place,” he remembers thinking. “I imagined I could work up there, with a phone and a computer, in such a marvelous position.” 

His mother, Mariella, eventually inherited the property, which is called Villa Tavernaccia, or “tough tavern”—in a former life, it served as a pit stop for bandits—but she preferred city life. So in 2014 Pallavicino, by now one of Italy’s most successful sports agents, representing professional soccer players around the world, finally acquired his dream house. He shares it with his wife, Valentina, and, when they are home, their two children, Assia, who is 22, and Emilio, 19.