From Australia to Italy

We are Rita Colozzi Sydney born and raised and Ralph Westbury a Geelong boy, two Australians who felt a longing for deeper connection—a place where community wasn’t just a concept but a daily rhythm. Drawn by the dream of creating a home in Italy, we discovered Villa Ulivella in Anticoli Corrado, a village once pulsing with artistic life.

Without ever setting foot inside the villa or the village, we bought the villa online in 2022 and, within ten months, uprooted ours lives with our two dogs, from Australia to Italy in February 2023. The move was bold, but serendipitous: the villa’s layered history—from noble English roots to Mussolini’s rumored lunches—mirrored their own blend of heritage and vision. Now, nestled in the Aniene Valley about an hour drive from Rome, we are restoring not just walls and gardens, but a spirit of creativity and community.