Carpeneto doesn’t announce itself. You arrive by winding through vineyard roads and small hillside villages, and suddenly you’re inside it — a place where daily life still happens behind centuries-old stone walls. Locals greet each other in the square, shutters open to morning light, and history isn’t staged for visitors because it never left. This spring, that lived-in rhythm becomes the setting for something entirely new.
Club Carpeneto opens in 2026, accepting its first members into what founder James M. Thomason insists is not a hotel, not a resort, and not even a traditional luxury retreat. Instead, it’s a private world embedded inside a living Italian village — restored with reverence and designed for a slower, more intentional kind of luxury.
Thomason, a Middle Tennessee native, first fell for Piemonte long before he imagined creating something within it.
“I fell in love with the beauty of the region, the culture, the food, the wine,” he says. “Every hill has a historic village and a castle. There’s a wealth of history in such a small area. When I saw the Palazzo in Carpeneto, I knew it was meant to become something special.”
The palazzo — Palazzo Lanzavecchia — anchors the entire project. Portions date back to around 1300, with expansions between 1741 and 1800. For nearly two years, Thomason has overseen its restoration fresco by fresco, tile by tile, preserving as much of the original as possible while introducing modern comforts carefully and sparingly.
“We’ve kept the frescoes, the tiles, the architectural features,” he says. “Anything modern is brought in respectfully.”
Membership is intentionally limited and structured in tiers — Emerald, Gold, and Obsidian — each offering a different level of immersion. Inside the palazzo, six guest suites serve Gold members, while 12 residences scattered through Carpeneto’s historic center provide longer stays. Some currently operate as bed-and-breakfasts, but all will eventually transition to members-only homes.
The experience begins before guests even unpack.
“Imagine the gates opening and handing your keys to the valet,” Thomason says. “You walk into a courtyard restored to its 1740s splendor. Someone greets you with your preferred champagne or Barolo.”
From there, the stay unfolds at the member’s pace. A massage in the spa carved into ancient foundations. A walk through terraced gardens. A private veranda overlooking vineyards and distant Alpine peaks. Dinner delivered by a private chef.
“That’s your first day,” he says. “After that, it’s whatever you want.”
Inside, the palazzo functions less like lodging and more like a private residence scaled to a community — grand salons, intimate sitting rooms, a tea and champagne room, billiards, cinema, library, gym, art gallery, boutique, and meeting spaces. Outside, courtyards and gardens surround a pool framed by centuries-old stone walls.
Programming extends beyond the property: truffle hunts, concerts, wellness activations, yacht charters along the Ligurian coast, personal shopping across Piemonte, and access to a neighboring golf club. Future phases include a Belle Époque cabaret, gourmet restaurant, and additional suites.
Still, Thomason emphasizes expansion won’t overwhelm the village.
“We’re not changing the fabric of Carpeneto,” he says. “This place has a thousand years of heritage. We hope to be the next chapter in that book.”
He envisions a membership drawn less by status than by sensibility — entrepreneurs, creatives, collectors — people who value privacy, history, and community. Even the hospitality philosophy feels familiar to him.
“I’m bringing Southern hospitality here,” he says. “It’ll be different from Nashville, but there will always be something for everyone.”
The connection between the two places surprises him less than visitors might expect.
“The hills covered in vineyards and castles feel like a distant cousin to home,” he says, laughing about a recent country music festival in the village. “Italians can hold their own in a line dance.”
Guests will arrive through Milan or Genova, where black-car service carries them into the countryside. Thomason notes that many membership inquiries come from women — a reflection, he believes, of the safety and intimacy the village offers.
When asked what he hopes visitors understand before they arrive, he pauses.
“You’re going to feel that you belong here,” he says. “You have my word.”