Our Story of holiday and adventure in Irpinia
A forgotten building. A living village. A new beginning. Holiday and adventure.
La Caserma delle Arti was created from a simple but powerful idea: beautiful places should not be allowed to disappear, and creativity can bring life back to communities that the world has almost forgotten.
In the heart of Lacedonia, surrounded by the hills and villages of Irpinia, stands an old abandoned caserma. For years, it waited quietly while many historic buildings around southern Italy were left empty and younger generations moved away in search of opportunities elsewhere.
We saw something different.
We imagined rooms filled with writers working on their next novel, artists painting the colours of the landscape, families learning to make fresh pasta, travellers sharing wine around a long table and pilgrims finding a warm welcome after a day of walking.
That vision became La Caserma delle Arti.
Our goal is to restore the building and transform it into a creative home, a small place to stay and a meeting point for people from around the world. It will be a place where guests can slow down, learn something new, create, connect and experience a side of Italy that is still wonderfully authentic.
Our Vision
About Us
Why We Created La Caserma
La Caserma is not intended to be just another place to sleep.
It is being created as a home for experiences.
Guests will be able to join writing and painting retreats, meet local artisans, make ceramics, learn traditional recipes, explore vineyards, walk ancient paths and discover the hidden villages of Irpinia.
At the same time, the project is designed to support the local community by collaborating with farmers, cooks, artisans, guides, artists and small producers. Whenever possible, the food, materials and experiences offered at La Caserma will come from the surrounding area.
By bringing visitors to Lacedonia, we hope to create new opportunities, support local businesses, protect cultural traditions and show that a small village can still have a vibrant future.
Why We Created La Caserma
La Caserma is not intended to be just another place to sleep.
It is being created as a home for experiences. Holiday and adventure.
Guests will be able to join writing and painting retreats, meet local artisans, make ceramics, learn traditional recipes, explore vineyards, walk ancient paths and discover the hidden villages of Irpinia.
At the same time, the project is designed to support the local community by collaborating with farmers, cooks, artisans, guides, artists and small producers. Whenever possible, the food, materials and experiences offered at La Caserma will come from the surrounding area.
By bringing visitors to Lacedonia, we hope to create new opportunities, support local businesses, protect cultural traditions and show that a small village can still have a vibrant future.
More Than a Holiday
We believe luxury is not always found in grand buildings or perfect service.
Sometimes, luxury is time.
Time to finish the chapter you have been carrying inside you. Time to sit around a table without looking at the clock. Time to learn from someone who has practised the same craft for decades. Time to walk through a quiet landscape and remember what your own thoughts sound like.
At La Caserma, guests will not simply visit Irpinia. They will become part of its rhythm.
They will meet the people, taste the food, hear the stories and leave with something that cannot be packed into a suitcase: a genuine connection to a place that still feels real.
Our Dream
Our dream is to create a space where creativity, hospitality and community can grow together.
A place where artists feel supported, travellers feel welcomed and local traditions are not only preserved, but shared and celebrated.
A place where an abandoned building becomes useful again.
A place where new stories begin.
La Caserma delle Arti is still growing, but its heart is already here: in Lacedonia, in Irpinia and in every person who believes that forgotten places can be given a second life.
Welcome to La Caserma delle Arti.
Breathe. Believe. Become.
About
My name is Karin Charlotte Hvam. I am Danish, but Italy has been part of my life, work and imagination for many years.
My journey has taken me through several very different worlds. I worked as a model in Milan, as a journalist for Danish television, as a university teacher and, later, as an author. Storytelling has always been at the centre of everything I do, whether through words, images, people or places.
As a writer, I know how important it is to find the right environment: somewhere quiet enough to think, beautiful enough to inspire you and welcoming enough to make you feel that you belong.
When I discovered this part of Irpinia, I fell in love with its landscapes, its food, its traditions and, most of all, its people. I also saw villages with extraordinary potential that receive far less attention than they deserve.
La Caserma delle Arti grew from the desire to bring those two worlds together: my love of creativity and my belief in the future of small Italian villages.