Hi, we’re Paul and Steven from Villa Cappelli.
We’ve been hosting, cooking and touring Italy for over 13 years, but we’ll get to that later.
First, let’s talk about why this website is useful for you.
Like you, we love everything Italian. The food, the culture, the people — all of it. It really comes down to living life to its fullest, which Italians do everyday. On the flip side, we are American raised, so we still have that American drive and entrepreneurship spirit that sometimes is frustratingly lacking in Italy. That’s why our motto is “Italian living. American thinking.”
We hope by sharing our lives with you, we can help you learn to fit a little Italian living into your busy lives, from…
• Weekly explorations of exactly what “la dolce vita” means
• Ideas and recipes for amazing Italian food
• Proven Italian travel tips and suggestions
All these in weekly podcasts delivered right to all your devices.
Oh, and here are bios if you’re interested:
Paul Cappelli
I was born in Pisa, Italy sometime in the middle of the last century. I moved to America (Boston) at the age of 7. At 18, I joined an order of monks in upstate New York and studied with them for 3 years. After graduating college, I got my first 
job in advertising working in the mail room of the country’s most creative agency, Ally & Gargano. Later, I attended the School of Visual Arts and was hired by ad agency BBDO, Inc. as a copywriter. I eventually became Creative Director on the Coca-Cola account at McCann-Erickson, Inc. Being a bit headstrong and independent, I founded my own advertising agency, The Ad Store, Inc.
Unfulfilled, I left the advertising business in 2012. I moved to southern Italy where I had purchased and rebuilt an ancient villa on the fabled Appian Way and operate it as a farm, luxury rental property and restaurant. Here, I launched my own brand of Italian products — extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, jams, herbs, ceramics and more — under the Villa Cappelli label.
Steven Crutchfield
I grew up in Kenedy, Texas, a small town with a population of 3,763. Being a bit of nerd, I graduated the top of my class and moved to Austin, Texas to attend the University of Texas where my first class was bigger than my entire high school and my dorm was bigger than my entire hometown.
Eventually, graduating with a degree in both English and Advertising, I headed to the even bigger city of New York to make a go of it as a copywriter. I worked at various agencies along the way, including Grey, Bozell, Gotham and McCann-Erickson. Eventually, I left the agency word and worked in the magazine word, most notably at Every Day with Rachael Ray, Family Handyman and Taste of Home. Oh, and somewhere along the way I met Paul and began this crazy adventure with him.
Just like Paul, I left the corporate world in 2012 to focus on the Villa Cappelli brand. After years in the Italian travel, hospitality and food business, we are excited to share our learning and lives with you.
