Aahana Swrup
The Netflix family film’ La Dolce Villa’ is a story about the significance of rebuilding even in the most unexpected of times. It follows Eric, a widowed father who learns about his daughter’s plans to buy a villa in an Italian small town for only one euro. Naturally, this piques his suspicions, compelling him to try and talk Olivia out of the decision. However, once he arrives at Montezara and realizes the reality of his daughter’s plans, he realizes he may have had the wrong idea all along. Consequently, despite their differences, the father-daughter duo join forces to renovate the latter’s fixer-upper 1 Euro House. As the two blend into the surrounding community and get to know the locals, certain romantic roads open for them, offering the chance of a lifetime. Consequently, Eric’s impromptu arrival in Italy promises to fix up his relationship with his daughter while also revitalizing his so-far-dimmed life. That is if only the stars aligned in his favor. SPOILERS AHEAD!
La Dolce Villa Plot Synopsis
Eric and Olivia haven’t had the closest in the recent few years. Still, despite their estrangement, the father deeply cares about his daughter—which is why he decides to follow her to the small Italian town of Montezara when he learns about her plans to buy and renovate a house for a startlingly low price. Likewise, Olivia knows her father well enough to anticipate his arrival, picking him up from the train station. She insists that she has everything under control and that the town’s decision to sell local property for €1 is an entirely legit and town-driven project. Even so, Eric remains suspicious of the whole thing.
Consequently, during his first meeting with Francesca, a local resident, he blurts out his distrust of the “scheme.” Shortly afterward, he realizes the woman is the mayor, who is personally overseeing his daughter’s property-hunting needs. Although he is embarrassed by the social faux pas, he remains no less indignant at the situation—especially once he realizes that Olivia has to put forward a five thousand euro deposit. Inevitably, he ends up accompanying the pair on the house hunt, where after a few misses, they finally find the perfect Villa—Grumpy Mario’s house. Francesca informs them that since the owner has died and has no near-relative to pass the property onto, it qualifies for their program, allowing Olivia to buy it. From there, the renovations begin, carried out by the mayor’s brother-in-law, Nino, as a testament to Montezara’s small-town quirks.
Eric begins to realize how small the town really is when, over the next few days, his paths consistently cross with Francesca on numerous occasions. Although there is a spark between the pair, he overlooks it since he suspects the mayor is already with another man, Bernardo, who is responsible for handling the house’s renovation permits. Meanwhile, Olivia finds a true passion for home decor and interior design, even if her constant clashing with her father’s methods drives her somewhat insane at times. Eventually, during the renovations, she and Nino discover a chimney, which reveals a hidden brick oven in the central kitchen area. This strikes inspiration in Eric, who had always been a cooking enthusiast before his wife’s death.
As a result, Eric decides to look through the house’s blueprints to see if there are any other hidden gems on the property. Naturally, this once again sets him on the path of Francesca, leading to certain developments in the pair’s dynamic. Their chemistry becomes harder to overlook after Eric gets a hint that the mayor may not actually be with Bernando. Consequently, he opens himself up to the idea of something more brewing between them. Similarly, he also comes up with a stirring idea for the Villa: locally sourced cooking classes held on the property as a tourism attraction. However, the installation of a commercial-grade kitchen delays Eric’s return home. Nonetheless, he isn’t especially annoyed at the idea, especially once his relationship with Olivia begins to mend and his passion for cooking returns.
Alternatively, Eric’s relationship with Francesca also progresses after an adventure-filled trip to a boutique hotel brings the pair’s attraction to the surface. Even though they try to ignore their budding connection in favor of professionalism, it isn’t long before they inevitably fall into a romance. Simultaneously, Olivia gets an apprenticeship offer in Rome to sustain her newfound passion for interior designing, opening up a reason for her father to stay in Italy and look over the Villa and its cooking classes. Nonetheless, when Eric begins dreaming of a new life in Italy with a replenished bond with his daughter and a blooming romance with Francesca, everything devolves into chaos.
La Dolce Villa Ending: Does Olivia Get the House’s Ownership? How?
In the start, Olivia acquires the Villa with incredible ease since its change in ownership is a part of the mayor’s initiative. In fact, Francesca introduces her to the Villa as a viable option. Therefore, she has no reason to believe she will run into any trouble with acquiring the house outside of renovations and permits. Therefore, everyone is in for a surprise when The Longos, apparent distant relatives of Grumpy Mario, shows up to claim ownership of the house. As it turns out, Bernardo has been deluded into thinking that he and Francesca will end up in a relationship together. Therefore, he feels betrayed when he learns about her relationship with Eric. For the same reason, Bernardo contacted the Longos with photographs of the newly renovated Villa to lure them to Montezara and sabotage Francesca’s plans.
Bernardo’s plan works because Grumpy Mario’s house was never actually officially donated to the town like other houses in the project. After the old man died, Francesca and her team attempted to send correspondence to the Longos. Yet, they simply never replied, compelling the mayor to use the house as a Hail Mary to ensure she can secure Olivia as a potential future resident in the town. Nonetheless, where the Longos were previously uninterested in the dilapidated house, they now sport unending enthusiasm to lay their claim on the new and improved property. Unfortunately, they have inheritance laws on their side. As such, unless Olivia wants to make rounds at the courthouse, she doesn’t stand a chance in the fight.
Still, it isn’t as if the entire thing is a loss. Olivia’s plans may have been rudely diverted, but she still gains valuable life lessons from this experience. In fact, she even finds her calling in interior designing and secures an apprenticeship in Rome. Therefore, the only person this development truly affects is Eric. He can no longer entertain his dream of shutting down his restaurant consultation job back in the States, moving to Montezara, and continuing a relationship with Francesca. Even so, the father accepts his fate and talks out a deal with the Longos to have them compensate Olivia for the renovation finances she has spent on the Villa.
Consequently, for a minute, all hope seems lost. Francesca attempts to find a loophole but realizes there’s nothing she can do to undo her past mistake. That is until unexpected help arrives from the Antonias—the resident older ladies in town. They unwittingly offer a potential solution by revealing that Grumpy Mario’s family had the last name Leonie—a spelling different from The Longos’ ancestors, The Leone. This prompts Francesca to overtake the Town Hall’s archives to look for the documents that can prove The Longos aren’t Mario’s relatives. In the end, the mayor finally finds the right documents with the help of various other people, including Olviia’s new boyfriend, Giovanni, and others. As a result, she proves that The Longos have no ownership over Olivia’s Villa, making it rightfully hers once again.
Do Eric and Francesca End Up Together?
Eric and Francesca’s relationship remains promising from the start. Although there are certain roadblocks along the way—the latter’s perceived relationship with Bernardo or the possibility of a conflict of interest—there aren’t any real reasons they can’t be together. Therefore, once they take their relationship further than the platonic, Eric’s conviction to stay in Italy becomes even stronger. Yet, once the Longos arrive, he realizes he can’t actually abandon his life in America. Eric’s plan for the big move only works if he has the opportunity to build a life for himself in Montezara. Olivia’s Villa and her decision to start the cooking classes give him that opportunity.
For the same reason, once that comes under threat, Eric realizes he must return to his old life. Uprooting his entire life without a plan would be too big of a risk—and likely doom his relationship with Francesca anyway. Therefore, he decided that the best course of action would be to return to Ohio. Even though the mayor eventually solves the issue of Olivia’s Villa ownership, she finds her smoking gun at the eleventh hour. Consequently, she has to chase Eric down to the train station in hopes of convincing him to change his mind.
Even though Francesca arrives once the train has already left, she still finds Eric at the station. As it turns out, he never got on the train to begin with. Despite knowing that moving to America is the smart and responsible thing to do, he can’t help but second-guess his decision. He knows the connection he has felt with Francesca over the past few weeks has been impossibly real and promising. Thus, he is willing to throw away all reason to be with her. Ultimately, the couple finally come together at the train station, prepared to give their love an actual try regardless of any obstacles.
Does Eric Return to America?
In the end, Olivia acquires the Villa, and her father decides to go all in with his relationship with the town mayor. Therefore, Eric has no reason to reconsider his decisions. Ultimately, he decides to stay in Italy for the better. Down the line, his plan works out even better than he imagined. The homemade cooking lessons he and Olivia begin, “Cucina de Maltese,” take off successfully. It has become a grand tourist spot and brings the locals together through food. Furthermore, Eric’s presence allows Olivia to pursue her apprenticeship in Rome freely and without any trouble.
Likewise, Eric’s business grows, allowing him to transition away from consultation in favor of becoming a full-time chef again. Still, he doesn’t entirely give up on everything he has accomplished in the past. Instead, Eric merges his business, Main Course Consulting, with his competition, Perfect Plate Consulting, to operate under one united banner. While his former co-worker Lola and the people from Perfect Plate handle the consultation business in America, Eric becomes the Italian ambassador for Montezara, which now includes his cooking classes. Thus, both father-daughter duo ultimately find their happy endings in Italy.
Read More: La Dolce Villa: Is the Netflix Movie Based on a True Story?
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