Meet the Member

Joan Colin Carpenter

Joan Colin Carpenter is an interior designer by profession. In that capacity, she has been responsible for the interior design, artistic restoration, and maintenance of over a hundred official residences owned by the United States worldwide. Her present job description is director of Villa Taverna.

When Joan first became an interior designer working for the U.S. Civil Service, a Sydney Greenstreet type of colleague arched his eyebrow and chided her, “Never tell anyone that story, my dear.” Forewarned and foresighted, she turned into the soul of discretion, an indispensible asset in a role like hers. Nevertheless, The AWAR Forum, AWAR's monthly newsletter, managed to weasle out a few tidbits.

Most hair-raising assignment: “The State Department sent me to Peru to deal with the wreckage caused by a terrorist car bomb that exploded killing three guards and badly damaging the ambassador's residence. I arrived in Lima the day after the blast, and the situation was tense. I was sped to a hotel and ordered to wait in my room until I received further instructions. Minutes later, the phone rang and I was told to go directly downstairs the moment I saw a blinking light. When I reached the lobby, a cortege of secret service men surrounded me, led me to a bullet-proof limosine, and made me crouch on the floor of the back seat as they rushed me over to the ambassador's residence. The place was a mess! Blood stains on the walls, shards of broken glass, piles of rubble! My assignment was to get everything repaired within 48 hours. Somehow, I managed.”

Least glamorous task: “Would you believe that I was selected to prepare the interiors of a fleet of formica-finished, pre-fabricated trailers designed for housing U.S. personnel in Mogadishu? I must admit that I didn't consider the job my sort of thing, and I still cringe when I recall the bleak but serviceable carpets and the thick, plastic curtains that I put into those spartan units. But somebody must have fancied the results because later on I
was assigned to appoint similar pre-fabs in Eastern Europe.”

Best job: “Villa Taverna, of course. But I loved the work that I was able to do in Prague for Ambassador Shirley Temple Black who was absolutely charming. I also enjoyed restoring the official residence in Madrid. Coincidentally, the Bartholomews were there at the time, so I had a good working relationship with them even before they came to Rome. (Reginald Bartholmew was the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, 1993-97). But Villa Taverna, the ambassador's official residence, is really special. One particularly gratifying experience I had was discovering three extraordinary pieces of Roman sculpture that were semi-interred in the garden. They were restored and used to enhance the facade of the Villa.”

Life in Rome: “Now that I'm really based in Rome, I manage the staff of Villa Taverna for Ambassador Thomas M. Foglietta and oversee the day to day maintenance. This includes handling workmen, coordinating social events, working with protocol here and in Washington, D. C., and tending to the innumerable details that crop up. I say that I'm 'really based in Rome' because before this I had lived in Rome off and on for over twenty years. I
now consider it my permanent home. I raised my son and daughter here – they both attended The Overseas School. They are living in the U.S. but I see them fairly often as well as my delightful granddaughter Jasmine with whom I spent my summer vacation traveling in Spain.”

Why Rome?: “My late husband David had a dream, and that was to establish an American university here. Back in 1969, we moved to Rome, and he and I co-founded The American University which is now situated up on the Gianiculum Hill. I still think of it as “our” university, and I try to stay involved. In any case, David and I both fell in love with Rome, and I now live in the apartment that we bought when we first came here. He was a businessman, a fascinating person with all sorts of interests. He wanted to enhance Italian-American cross-cultural friendship and understanding. It was all tremendously exciting.”

Background and interests: I was born in New Jersey, and I earned my degree in architectural design and art history at Smith College. I also studied architecture and literature at Oxford University in England where I spent one year at St. Hilda's College. I loved it. Then I did post graduate work at The New York School of Interior Design. As far as hobbies go, I play the
piano – mostly classical music, and I like doing needlepoint, exercising at a gym, and reading. Not that I have a lot of time to spend on hobbies.

The future?: “Chi sa?”

Revised: 07/15/07