Club Carpeneto
Club Carpeneto is housed in Palazzo Lanzavecchia Fallabrini, a historic complex whose origins likely reach back to the medieval fabric surrounding the castle of Carpeneto. In the eighteenth century, it was the residence of the Lanzavecchia family. In 1741, the family built a private chapel beside the house, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, Saint John of Nepomuk and Saint Philip Neri.
By 1773, both the Lanzavecchia and Fallabrini families belonged to the leading families of Carpeneto. Matteo Fallabrino (1726–1809) worked as a surveyor and cadastral expert. His profession centred on measuring, recording and defining land and property — at a time when land was one of the most important forms of capital.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Fallabrini family acquired neighbouring houses, gardens and parts of the former defensive moat. They gradually combined these with the old Lanzavecchia residence, creating the large palazzo we know today. The family also owned extensive agricultural land around Carpeneto.
A later family member, Paolo Fallabrini, became mayor of Carpeneto. In 1864, he personally financed a granite fountain for the village, and in 1896 he was appointed Ufficiale in an Italian order of merit.
The building therefore tells not only a story of architecture and taste, but also of land, ownership, registration, status and power. That is exactly why it feels like such a meaningful place to present BEYOND THE FREEPORT.
CLUB CARPENETO
Club Carpeneto is a private members’ club in Carpeneto, in the hills of Alto Monferrato in Piedmont. The club opened in 2026 and was developed by American entrepreneur James M. Thomason. Its central idea is deliberately different from that of a traditional hotel or resort. Club Carpeneto is conceived as a private environment where hospitality, art, culture, wine, wellness and everyday Italian life come together.
At the heart of the club is Palazzo Lanzavecchia Fallabrini, also known as Casa dei Leoni. The historic building is integrated into the old fabric of the village and extends across five levels. Following an extensive conservation-led restoration, the palazzo officially opened as the Club House on 24 May 2026. Historic elements including frescoes, floors, architectural details and the old gardens were preserved wherever possible.
NOT A HOTEL, BUT A CLUB
The distinction from a conventional hotel is important.
A hotel is primarily designed for temporary guests. Club Carpeneto is built around membership: people become part of a community and can return to the same place, the same rooms and the same environment.
Privacy plays a central role. The club operates with controlled access and places strong emphasis on discretion and the protection of personal privacy. James Thomason describes the three core values of the club as luxury, privacy and beauty.
Here, however, luxury is not understood only in terms of cost or material value. It is also about time, space, tranquillity, personal attention and access to meaningful experiences.
ART AND CULTURE
Art has been part of the concept from the beginning.
The palazzo is used not only as a residential and hospitality environment, but also as a place for exhibitions and cultural programmes. James Thomason regards the building almost as a continuous gallery: art is not confined to a single exhibition room, but can appear throughout the palazzo.
This creates a different relationship with art than in a traditional museum.
A painting or object is not encountered only during a separate museum visit. It might appear in a library, salon, corridor, bedroom or garden. Art therefore becomes part of the environment in which people stay, eat, talk and meet one another.
This is an important part of Club Carpeneto’s cultural ambition.
A PROGRAMME, NOT DECORATION
Throughout the year, the club organises activities connected with art, film, music, food, wine, wellness and movement.
Its current programme includes, for example, cinema evenings and yoga, while the club also presents workshops, exhibitions, talks, culinary programmes and other cultural gatherings as part of its wider concept.
The building is therefore not intended to function as a historic monument in which nothing changes.
The idea is precisely that it should be used again.
THE SPACES
The Club House contains a range of functions distributed throughout the historic building.
These include six suites, a library, a presentation and meeting space, cinema, spa, fitness room, breakfast room, tearoom and games room. There are also gardens, a swimming pool, hospitality and wine facilities, and various spaces that can be used for gatherings and cultural activities.
Because these functions are not contained within a single new building, the experience is quite particular.
You move through different periods, floors, corridors, salons, outdoor spaces and views. The historic architecture therefore shapes the way the club itself is experienced.
CONNECTED TO THE VILLAGE
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Club Carpeneto is that it is not completely separated from its surroundings.
The project is deliberately connected to Carpeneto itself.
James Thomason’s vision is of a private world within an existing Italian village. The everyday life of Carpeneto — its streets, residents, vineyards, local producers and landscape — therefore remains part of the experience.
This distinguishes it from a resort created specifically for tourism.
History is not reconstructed here.
It is already present.
CLUB CARPENETO AND MONFERRATO
Its location is essential to the concept.
Carpeneto lies in Alto Monferrato, a landscape of vineyards, castles, historic villages and agricultural land. From the palazzo and gardens, the surrounding hills are visible and, on clear days, the view extends towards the Alps.
The club uses this landscape as part of its identity: wine, gastronomy, landscape and local culture are not separate attractions, but part of one continuous experience.
THE VISION OF JAMES THOMASON
James Thomason comes from Tennessee and brought experience in entrepreneurship, hospitality and the art world to Piedmont.
What attracted him to Carpeneto was precisely the fact that the village still retains its historic structure. His ambition was therefore not to impose a new luxury complex on top of it, but to reactivate existing buildings.
He speaks of creating an environment for people with an interest in art, culture, fine wine and history.
That is also the logic behind the private club: not simply bringing people together around luxury, but creating a community around shared interests and experiences.
WHY THIS PLACE MATTERS
Club Carpeneto therefore exists at an interesting intersection:
historic heritage and contemporary use
private and public
local history and international visitors
art and everyday life
preservation and change
The palazzo is not treated as a sealed historic object, but as a place capable of acquiring new meaning.
That is also why a project such as BEYOND THE FREEPORT can function so naturally here.
An exhibition is not simply placed inside an empty gallery.
It enters a building that already raises questions about history, ownership, value, taste, memory and what we choose to preserve.
CLUB CARPENETO — HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Club Carpeneto is housed in Palazzo Lanzavecchia Fallabrini, a historic complex in the old centre of Carpeneto. Parts of the building were probably developed on or against the medieval fabric surrounding the castle and the defensive structures of the village.
The history of the palazzo is not the story of one family, but of several generations who gradually expanded and transformed the house.
THE LANZAVECCHIA FAMILY
In the eighteenth century, the palazzo was connected to the Lanzavecchia family, one of the prosperous families of Carpeneto.
In 1741, the family built a private chapel beside the residence. Such a chapel was not only religiously significant; it also demonstrated considerable wealth and social standing.
By 1773, Giuseppe Maria Lanzavecchia was living here with his family and several servants. Historical sources describe the residence as a distinguished house and the family’s economic position as substantial.
The Lanzavecchia wealth appears to have been connected mainly to land ownership, income from property, inheritance and family capital. Earlier marriage and testamentary records already show how land, property and wealth were passed on and consolidated within families of this social class.
THE FALLABRINI FAMILY
The Fallabrini family had also been established in Carpeneto and the surrounding area for centuries.
As early as the sixteenth century, a member of the Fallabrini family is recorded as a notary. This is important, because notaries played a central role in property ownership, inheritance, land transactions and legal registration.
A key figure was Matteo Fallabrino, born in 1726. He became a surveyor, cartographer and cadastral expert. Around 1763, he worked on the land register of Carpeneto.
His work was literally concerned with measuring, recording and defining land and ownership.
At that time, this was extremely important, because land was one of the principal forms of capital.
To own land was not simply to possess territory, but also to control production: fields, woods, pasture, vineyards and income.
The Fallabrini family expanded its position by acquiring land and buildings. Historical records also refer to vineyards and other agricultural properties connected to the wider family.
FROM SEPARATE HOUSES TO ONE PALAZZO
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the complex changed significantly.
The Fallabrini family acquired a number of neighbouring houses, gardens and parts of the former defensive moat.
These different properties were gradually joined to the old Lanzavecchia residence.
This is how the large palazzo that exists today was formed.
It also explains why the building feels so