Houses & Hotels, History, Artists' Books, Residential, architecture, local artist 

In the serene Northern California town of Calistoga, a splendid villa is fronted by stately wrought-iron gates and a small sign reading "Carlo Marchiori, Maestro d'Arte." Ca'toga, as the Palladian-style villa is named, is the home and workshop of Carlo Marchiori, a world-renowned Venice-born artist. In FESTA VENEZIANA A CA'TOGA, Marchiori serves as tour guide, leading us room by room through this live portfolio, providing deeply personal and mysterious explanations for the wonders that abound in his gallery-like residence. Sixteenth century-style frescoes hang in the main salon, hand-painted stone floors accent the library, and antler and bone sculptures embellish the Native American room. Roman ruins, Thai temples, a seashell-encrusted grotto, and an open-air theater sit in archaic splendor on this dreamscape-turned-landscape. A spontaneous and creative expression of his life and work, Ca'toga is Marchiori's artistic utopia-a work in progress that is a brilliant spectacle to behold. Featuring a fantastic repertoire of ceiling murals, wall decorations, folding screens, painted furniture, ceramics, cast stone garden ornaments, and myriad objets d'art inspired by Greco-Pompeiian mythology, Baroque theater, Venetian carnival, and commedia dell'arte themes. Marchiori offers tours of Ca'toga on Saturday mornings from May to October. Tour tickets and art can be purchased at the Ca'toga Galleria D'Arte, located in Calistoga, California. - from Amzon