– Residenza Lago Scuro –

[ QUinta RESIDENZA ]

Residenza Lago Scuro is a self-directed Interdisciplinary residency offering creatives the chance to explore their practice, exchange ideas, and make work while living on, and learning about, a beautiful regenerative farm in Northern Italy. 

The program emphasizes the exchange between practitioners of the cultural and agricultural arts, and the value that is created when different minds and like-hearts come together and collaborate in a space dedicated to nature, nourishment, and creativity.

See the video below of our 2023’ Residency Experience.

You can also read about our first cohort experience here.

THE program

11 international creatives
living, learning, and making
on a regenerative farm

accommodations

The living space includes five shared-rooms within the main house on the property - a beautiful two-floor villa built in the 1800’s. Accommodations include bed linens, bath towels, shared bathrooms with showers, laundry facilities, and a shared kitchen located on the main floor. Accommodations are assigned before arrival and guests will share a room with one other resident.

WORKSPACES

We encourage residents to use the entire property of Lago Scuro as their workspace. The grounds cover roughly 30 acres including an industrial kitchen, a letter-press studio, ceramics studio, multiple gardens, an open courtyard, a large barn, stables, and a dairy, as well as a large salon with multiple rooms on the first floor of the main house. We will work with every resident to make sure they have the right space to focus on their work. In addition to space, there is an abundance of available raw materials on the farm – such as old tractor parts, paint, wood, food crops, etc. – that you are welcome to incorporate into your work.

We are able to offer wifi but be advised that the network can be slow at times and is only available in certain parts of the property.

THE HUMAN LIBRARY

As part of the residency experience, we host a curated series called the Human Library, where invited guests — artists, researchers, producers, and practitioners from across Italy and Europe —join us for an afternoon to share their work, and values with the cohort. These speakers are selected for their alignment with the residency’s ethos of sustainability, reciprocity, and creative exchange. Each visit includes a casual lecture, a shared meal, and time for discussion and feedback. It’s one of the ways we connect residents with the broader cultural and agricultural networks surrounding Lago Scuro.

FOOD

The food at Lago Scuro is sure to be some of the best you’ve had in your life - organically grown greens and produce, fresh bread and pastries baked daily using locally milled grains, homemade pasta, cheese, and salami. As a resident, breakfast and lunch will be provided everyday - breakfast will consist of coffee, fruit, juice, yogurt, and pastries. Lunch will vary depending on what’s happening in the kitchen but will be prepared by Lago Scuro’s talented team of chefs, Leo and Matteo. For dinners, we will self-organize group dinners and cook together. There will also be select items available for purchase, such as natural-wine, beer, and specialty products, like soups and granola, that are made on the farm. 

A note on dietary restrictions: Traditional northern Italian courses will be provided throughout the week, most of which will have been lovingly cultivated from the farm. As the farm is a bustling place with many mouths to feed, dietary restrictions must be self-managed. There is a separate kitchen that residents will have full access to where they can prepare meals independent of what the chefs are making. 

MATERIALS

Residents are invited to bring any materials they anticipate needing for their work or plan to source them locally upon arrival at the Cascina. While we encourage creative flexibility and resourcefulness, we also have a small budget for odds-and-ends and are happy to help with sourcing or pickup of supplies when needed. Our aim is to support your process while making the most of what the farm and surrounding region have to offer.

We encourage the residents to think about the concept of ‘site-as-quarry’, using the farm and what they find there as the main input to their work, versus a over-reliance on buying/consuming outside materials.

The Scholarship for Regenerative Creativity

[ A scholarship rooted in access, exchange, and regenerative practice ]

The Scholarship for Regenerative Creativity supports the full participation of the 2026 residency cohort by removing financial barriers and opening access to a diverse, international group of creatives.

The scholarship covers the core costs of the program for all selected residents, including accommodations, shared meals, materials, offsite activities, visiting speakers, and transportation to and from town to the farm. Residents, however, are still responsible for their own travel to and from Italy.

This scholarship is made possible through a combination of support: our partnership with Ilegal Mezcal, the ongoing generosity and collaboration of the Cascina Lago Scuro farm and family, and the continued work of the organizers who steward the residency each year as a labor of love. Together, these contributions allow us to offer a program rooted in access, experimentation, and meaningful creative exchange.

Once accepted, residents will be asked to confirm their participation in order to secure their place in the program.

A $30 USD fee will be added for each application.

STAGNO LOMBARDO, CR 

The farm is located just 15 minutes outside the city of Cremona. A 70,000 person mercantile town located in the fertile Po Valley of Italy. Cremona is best known as the birthplace of Stradivarius, with a long heritage of violin making. It also hosts the Torazzo bell tower which is the third largest brick tower in the world, and has the worlds largest astronomical clock.