Cavaliere Carlo Gislimberti

Cavaliere Carlo Rodolfo Gislimberti

Born to be an artist could best describe the path young Carlo dreamed and planned.  With the unexpected passing of his father when he was a teenager, the dreams of attending architecture school changed suddenly, which led him to pursue the profession of cooking.  After extensive training at the Culinary School of Italy and various apprenticeships at renown restaurants throughout Italy and Europe to hone his skills and became a chef of international repute.

In 1970 he met Siobhan in England, and they married in 1972.

In 1975 their two sons, Simon and Daniel were born.

In 1978 Carlo, Siobhan and the two small boys arrived in America, settling first in Texas and then New Mexico and in 1982 they opened their first restaurant, Il Porcino , in Red River.

In 1984 they moved to Taos NM, where they took over the famed Casa Cordova, until in 1990 when they opened Villa Fontana.

In 1992, Carlo experienced his first attack.  As part of his rehabilitation/therapy he decided to try a long time desire to take up painting. Many of Villa Fontana’s frequent customers were artists and friends of the couple, one such artist was the late Rod Goebel. Rod invited him to participate in a class he was teaching - this changed the trajectory of his life.  What followed were years of study with other, mostly Taos artists:- Ray Vinella, Kevin Macpherson, Don Ward, Walt Gonske, R.C.GORMAN and Agnes Martin, to name a few.  These artists were all very generous in giving advice ranging from the “business of art” to “plein air”  painting, “abstraction” to “studio painting”, painting oils, water colors and pastels.  They all encouraged him to display his paintings in his restaurant.

Over the years, the restaurant garnered several prestigious awards,  becoming the first 4 Diamond rated restaurant in New Mexico by AAA, to the DiRoNA award as one of the top ten Italian restaurants in America.

In 1999, the President of Italy, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro honored Carlo with the title of Cavaliere, for his contribution of classical Italian cuisine and art.

Carlo’s love of painting has taken many forms from brush, palette, cork and finger painting, always with bold colors, creating emotion and passion on the canvas. Carlo had continued to evolve as an artist, and in recent years has hosted shows throughout his native Italy and in New Mexico.

His other love was always the mountains, from his native Dolomites in Italy,  the Alps in Europe, the Sangre de Cristo’s and the Himalayas.         

In 2005 , Carlo experienced a second heart attack which led to the sudden closure of Villa Fontana, and traveling to New Delhi, India for open heart surgery. As a consequence, the Gislimberti’s decided to sell Villa Fontana and move to Santa Fe, where he opened the SANTAOS GALLERY with his longtime friend Lino Petrusini. In 2011 he met Sarah Sheer, who became his loving companion and friend.  They created a life of joy and happiness together that was obvious for all to see.

Carlo died on August 31st hunting  for mushrooms in the mountains of Santa Fe. His love of life, family, friends, and food combine to make this unique gentleman a legend and will always be remembered with love. Carlo, is preceded in death by his parents, Anna and Mario Gislimberti. His brothers Franco, and Remo and sister Elda.

He leaves behind a family that loved him deeply. His two sons Simon and Danny and three amazing grandchildren, Madio, Roman, and Giulia.

Arrangements by Rivera Family Funeral Home. To share a memory, please visit our website at www.riverafuneralhome.com