If you are dreaming of a villa in Italy right now, you might want to check out a show on HGTV this Friday: “Reno Italiano,” by one-time Verona resident Arlene Gibbs.
Gibbs has been a wanderer since graduating from Verona High School. After majoring in international relations at Syracuse University, she worked in Washington for then Sen. Bill Bradley and on Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. She pivoted to Hollywood, where she got involved with Don Cheadle’s terrorist thriller “Traitor” and was the co-writer of “Jumping The Broom,” which starred Angela Bassett and earned Gibbs a nomination for best screenplay. In 2008, Gibbs said good-bye to Hollywood and decamped for Rome, where she transformed herself into an interior designer.
And now she has a pilot for a show called “Reno Italiano.” It focuses on the renovation of a 200-plus-year-old house in a small town between Rome and Naples for an American couple. “This was not an easy renovation and we were doing it in Italy on a very narrow street,” Gibbs said on her design firm’s website, which features several other stunning projects.
“Reno Italiano” will air on Friday, January 15, at 11:30 a.m. eastern, between “Flip or Flop” and “Love It or List It,” Gibbs says. And yes, she’s hoping the pilot will be greenlighted for a full series. If you watch it, share your thoughts on social media with @hgtv using the hashtag #renoitaliano .
Loved #renoitaliano! I would be interested in moving to Italy and have her help me purchase a small home!
Love this show
My wife and I just watched this pilot show Reno Italiano. Arlene Gibbs did a fantastic job taking this rundown property and turning it into a showplace. Great vision and execution in the small Italian town. We hope the network rewards Arlene with future projects like this. Stunning job !
LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!! PLEASE AIR THIS SHOW SO THAT WE CAN SEE MORE ASAP.
My husband and I loved this pilot!!! The renovation was absolutely beautiful!
We hope the show is picked up by HGTV.
Amazing!! I’m ready! Been wanting to buy in Italy! Put me in the list!
I Loved this show!
Love this show! More please
Loved Reno Italiano! Arlene is refreshing and engaging, her work amazing. Please add this outstanding new program to you lineup. More please!
My wife and I watched this show this morning and loved it! WE WANT MORE! :)
Loved the pilot. Want to retire in Italy and would love to see you pick up the show.
We loved watching this show! We just bought our first home and this had us already dreaming of the day we can buy an Italian vacation home. Her vision and design is refreshing as is having a home/renovation show abroad instead of here in the states. To watch how things are done else where and the different struggles are always interesting. Please show more!
I’m so bummed. I missed it. Is there another time. To watch it?
Love this pilot want my husband to see it please air it again!!
Bellisimo! Love this show! Ms Gibbs delivered on giving the viewer the authentic nuances of Italy . The work kept some character while understanding our more modern lifestyles! Hoping this show is a pick for HGTV!
RenoItaliano is our new favorite show! Need more!
Just happened to have hgtv on this morning and caught #renoitaliano. I loved it and immediately was searching for more episodes and info on the show as I hadn’t seen any advertising about it. Hope to see more soon
Arlene – I follow you on Instagram and can’t wait to watch your show! I didn’t know you grew up in Verona! I did too! VHS Class of ’86. @curated_by_ellen.
So sorry to have missed this. Love Verona and would love to watch this show.Hope it is picked up.
I’m so glad I caught the last 20 minutes of this show! What a beautiful transformation…Please pick up Reno Italiano, HGTV, so we can enjoy more of Arlene’s work and the beauty of Italy!,
Loved this show!
I hope HGTV continues it.
Please, please, PLEASE HGTV, pick up this show! It was so enjoyable and beneficial to future expats looking to relocate/retire in Italy.