In Mark Walters’ La Dolce Villa, we accompany American businessman and restaurant consultant, Eric Field, as he embarks on a journey to an Italian village in search of his runaway daughter. He gets a whiff of his daughter, Olivia, in an Italian town called Montezara. Much to his horror, Olivia is just on the verge of spending all her inheritance money on a rural Italian estate as her first house, which she calls a first step towards adulting. Eric is unsure of her decision and tries to talk her out of the seemingly impulsive choice. However, what adds to the burden is the involvement of the town mayor, Francesca, in this whole drama. She not only helps Olivia in her house-hunting journey but also gets local people on board to renovate the Italian villa. In this way, she at once lends a helping hand to young Olivia and tries to revitalize the economy of Montezara by directing attention to the local heritage and community. As Eric and Francesca bicker over the issue of the ‘one euro villa,’ we become witness to the eventual blossoming of their romance.
Spoilers Ahead
Why do Eric and Olivia seem so distant?
Eric and Olivia, once close to each other, have only grown distant and disconnected over the years. When Eric learns that Olivia is about to burn through all of her inheritance money to buy a villa, he is inevitably worried about the decision. However, Eric underestimates how mature and informed Olivia is. She understands the changing dynamics of the bond that they share and knows in her heart that her father is not to be blamed fully. We quickly become privy to their squabbles, which stem from a disconnect that is normal between people of separate generations. Eric wants Olivia to sell the house after renovating, which annoys Olivia further. As the story progresses, we see them take jabs at each other, which are nothing but roundabout confessions of hurt feelings and disappointment over them being absent from each other’s lives.
Will Olivia have to let go of her villa to its real heirs?
On the day when the villa is unveiled as fully furnished, Bernardo makes a surprise entry with two strangers. Francesca grows silent as Bernardo introduces the two as the rightful owners of the estate, the late owner, Mario’s American heirs. The sudden arrival of the couple confuses Francesca, as she had tried to contact them for months but never received any communication from them ever before this. That being said, we have seen Francesca being cautious about selling the villa to Olivia right away from the moment Eric and Maria stepped into it for the first time. She makes it clear that the estate is still not on the official list of ‘One Euro Villas.’ Bernardo is clearly playing the game here, as he baited the claimants by sending out photos of the revamped villa without notifying Francesca. We can guess at Bernardo’s motive for doing so—it is the pang of unrequited love. It is his hurt ego speaking after the delusional bubble he lived in—that he and Francesca were Montezara’s power couple—went pop. He knows that if he is able to reestablish communication with the heirs, Eric and Olivia will not only move out of Montezara but also Francesca’s life.
Eric and Olivia get briefed on the stringent Italian inheritance laws by their lawyer. Holding on to the villa would not be worth it, as it would require them to pump enormous amounts of time and money into this case to get it moving. Eric finds a way out of the imminent mess and offers the couple an immediate handover on the condition that they reimburse the cost of their renovations. Francesca is heartbroken to realize that this marks an end to her romance with Eric. A breakthrough comes when Francesca hears the nonnas at the fountain talk about two women with a similar but distinct surname—‘Leone’ and ‘Leoni.’ It is the heirs of Maria Leone, and not Leoni, who have turned up in Italy to claim a villa that belongs to someone else. With the truth getting out, Olivia, in the end, manages to secure the villa without any threats. Eric’s firm finds a breakthrough and merges with the competitors. This means Eric cancels his plan of leaving Italy and comes up with plans to initiate the Italian division of his American business.
How do the three old women contribute to the story?
When La Dolce Villa opens and Eric steps into the interiors of Montezara, he is met with the quizzical gaze of three local old women seated at the fountain. We assume them to be just stock characters whose banter with the protagonist would keep the humor running through the funny encounters and effortless banter. They keep their ears and eyes open at all times. While that seems to be a classic characteristic of prying locals, more interestingly, their position almost mirrors the position of the audience. The women help Eric crack a date with Francesca and further help Eric acquaint himself with Italian culture. There is a moment in the middle when the women, comically but painfully, express the perils of reaching old age, that too as women. Over a conversation over a glass of wine, Eric learns that the women were seasoned businesswomen in their younger days, running a popular bakery. However, as they grew old, they were quickly driven out of work. This time Eric comes with a plan to get the women back into the business by offering them teaching positions at Eric’s cooking school. Finally, they help resolve the major conflict of the story, which threatens not only Olivia’s motivation of homeownership but also the romantic motivations of Eric and Francesca. Their knowledge about the past and present of Montezara comes into play when the heirs to the estate show up. Had it not been for the ladies’ help, Francesca might not have found out about the mistaken identity at the center of the confusion.
