Welcome to our family home

Italian-American couple Carmencita Bua and Gianfranco Zaccai founded Villa Meleto with a desire to rebirth its flush history, and do so by weaving together extravagance, authenticity, and impact.

In her youth, Carmencita Bua helped her father tend to the olive groves behind her home in Southern Italy, where her parents produced olive oil for the family operation. Her family’s dependence on the land fostered a deep appreciation for the natural world in Carmencita. She moved to the United States at 30 years old, where she met Gianfranco and became a couple with their blended family of five kids.

Gianfranco is a world renowned designer and innovator. He founded Continuum Innovation, a global design consultancy, in 1983. In the last 12 years, Carmencita and Gianfranco co-ran Continuum where they identified and solved a myriad of human needs—designing leading products such as the Swiffer and the Omnipod Insulin pump, as well as the core curriculum for Boston College.

Now, at Villa Meleto, Carmencita has introduced an entirely new way to experience Tuscany, which she defines as “luxury with a meaning.”

This progressive way of travel offers an extravagant respite, while granting guests the opportunity to intimately engage with the family, Renaissance villa, and its history.

Guests will experience Italian traditions and history, live proximate to the land and local community, and take part in an innovative social impact project that bridges neurodiversity and agriculture.