Our Story

How a family from Southern California ended up in the Chianti hills

Us and our "forever home", Westlake Village, June 2022.

Westlake Village, California

Where we started

We are Damian and Jenna Fante. We have been married almost 20 years and together for even longer. Our high school senior prom was our first date. We have three kids.

In 2020 we bought the worst house in a fantastic neighborhood in Westlake Village, California, and gutted it like we were on an HGTV show. We moved posts, removed walls, and remodeled every inch. It took a couple of phases, but by June 2022 it was done (minus the backyard). This was our forever home.

The grandparents were a short drive away. We had great friends, a great church, and a doTERRA business we had built together.

So now what?

Why we left

Within a couple of years, we started asking ourselves whether this was what we really wanted. The house, the bills, living in the same area we grew up in, driving those same streets. What did we really want from our life? What did God want for us?

In the summer of 2023, we took the kids to Florida to see if we could live there. On the second night, over a bottle of wine, Damian asked, “What if we sell the house, and while we don’t have a mortgage, we go to Italy for a few months?” Spending extended time in Italy had been a dream of ours for over a decade.

After a lot of prayer, we said yes. We sold the house in January 2024, sold or gave away most of what we owned, and left California with the kids in February.

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Damian and Jenna, and our three kids, on the plane to Italy

On the plane for our trip to Europe, February 2024.

Our family with our luggage on moving day, and our family among the olive trees at Il Fontino

Top: Morning of our move to Tuscany, December 2024.

Bottom: Us amongst the olive trees at Il Fontino.

Here we are

Life in Tuscany

Our trip lasted three months. We went to London, Paris, and Barcelona before we headed into Italy. Even before we got to Italy, we were thinking, “What if we could live in Italy?” Maybe we could figure out a way. We really didn’t even know why we were asking ourselves that question.

In April of 2024 we arrived in Tuscany. Something about the place just called to us. It happens to a lot of people. Tuscany is a special place and has tourists constantly visiting for a reason. As our trip was winding down in May, we decided to come back to Tuscany rather than visit southern Italy. We wanted another pass at it because we thought we might seriously consider moving there. Florida or Florence? Funny, isn’t it?

After our second stop in Tuscany, we decided we were going to try to move here. We went home and immediately started working on our visa. It was an arduous process, full of emotions, but by December of 2024 we were moving to Tuscany!

It’s not all smooth sailing. Far from it. Adjusting to life in a different country is not easy. Some days are completely magical, and others are completely overwhelming. We spent our first year living in Impruneta, and now we call Il Fontino home, a family estate with 400 olive trees in Barberino Tavarnelle. Our kids had their fill of Italian towns on our initial 3 month trip, but we still push them to venture out. We are slowly learning Italian, and we are feeling more at home here every day.