Our platform is intended to highlight artists, creatives, and craftspeople. But every now and then, we come across a place that feels like it belongs in the same conversation. Not because it showcases objects, but because it’s been built with the same care, intuition, and point of view as a piece of art itself. Palazzo Piccinno is one of those places.

Located in a small town called Parabita, in the very south of Puglia, Palazzo Piccinno is a boutique stay and a living expression of its hosts and owners, Marco and Richard.

The building itself is an early 20th-century Neo-Gothic house that they brought back to life with the help of local artists and craftspeople. You see it in the details, the arches, the tiles, the textures. They reinvented it by using what was already there and gave it new energy.

But what really stands out is how they host and shape the experience. Marco and Richard both come from the luxury travel world, and you can feel that in the quality and attention to detail. At the same time, what they’ve created here feels very different. Not boujee or pretentious, but personal, relaxed, and natural.

You arrive, there’s a glass of wine, maybe a short conversation, other guests, locals, artists passing

through, an aperitivo in the garden, music in the background, long dinners with local food and sometimes stories from the region or peoeple who build things here. Nothing feels staged. It just happens.

But one of the most special parts of Palazzo Piccinno is the community around it. Over time, Marco and Richard have brought together a mix of artists, creatives, travelers, and friends of friends. People who arrive for a few days and somehow leave a mark. Ideas are shared, connections happen easily, and strangers quickly feel familiar. Their connection to the region is also clear. Not just in how they restored the house, but in how they support local culture and the people around them. Being here is more than just a stay, it’s a way to experience Salento through their perspective.

As we start using our platform to introduce stories of artists, designers, entrepreneurs and people who shape ideas, this felt like the right place to begin. Because what Marco and Richard have built is, in its own way, a form of authorship. Not through objects, but through experience. And maybe that’s the point. Some art isn’t meant to be owned. They meant to be shared, they meant to be lived.