Lecce, Italy

Vincent City

An eccentric artist's abode in this small Italian town has been transformed into a surreal temple of mosaic madness.

Tucked away in the otherwise quaint Italian town of Guagnano is an eye-popping phantasmagoria of tile art and sculpture known as Vincent City.

Standing in stark contrast to the surrounding traditionalism of Guagnano, the private home known as “Vincent City” is the living and working space of noted painter and eccentric, Vincent Brunetti. Wanting his home to be an outward expression of his colorful inner world, the estate is a tightly packed phantasmagoria of kitsch, with every wall, corner, and blank space filled with recycled tile mosaics or bizarre ephemera. When the eye-catching structure was created, local authorities, preferring the staid architectural style of the rest of the village, tried to put a stop to the home’s decorations, but eventually the dauntless artist was able to convince them to let him stay in the fashion he worked so hard to create.

While Brunetti is the name most associated with Vincent City, the ubiquitous tile mosaics covering nearly every surface are actually the work of Italian artist Orodè Deoro who lived on site for five years, meticulously crafting the design of each piece adorning the interior and exterior of the home. Deoro’s work is what gives the home its unique look and feel, heralding the artistic minds within. The home’s countless mosaics act as a museum to Deoro’s art as well as his magnum opus.

While Vincent City is a private residence, visitors arriving at a reasonable hour have been known to be given tours of the wild kitsch museum, getting to experience a taste of the lives and work of two of Italy’s bold artistic minds.