The Convivium

Astley Castle, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, 1pm 7th- 10am 10th July 2026.

Come and spend 3 explorative days at Astley Castle, a winner of the Stirling Prize for architecture.

A maximum of 8 curious people.

In ancient Rome the convivium was a kind of extended dinner party, but the emphasis

was on exploration, debate and companionship rather than just eating together. The convivium was a space where food, wine, friendship, philosophy, art and conversation

coalesced. It was how Romans expressed the art of living well together.

The three days will revolve around making and breaking bread - literally and metaphorically, with food and conversation at the heart of what will be an emergent unfolding. Each participant is invited to bring an offering to share with the group - a talk, presentation, provocation, teaching, masterclass, or nothing beyond an open-mind, whatever is preferred.

In so many different fields, there are vanishingly few spaces left that allow us to be all we really are, in the company of others, without performance. To just be ordinary. To leave the trapped feeling that prevails inside our increasingly transactional lives, to rediscover the bravery and creative edge of childhood or early career, to just trust that there is no expectation of us.

Spaces where we can talk openly and honestly, if we want to, about what we're wrestling with, a space to find an answer to the question "who am I without the scoreboard” and with no need to keep a game face on, are few and far between.

The Convivium isn’t about time with the ‘like-minded’ it's about being with those who might just change our perspectives precisely because they see things differently. My dad taught me how important that is.

He used to manage a restaurant in Mayfair called The Tiberio. It was one of those iconic old school Italians that don't exist anymore. The sort where the waiters used to smoke endless cigarettes while they played scopa out the back between service. It was a restaurant where you could have whatever you wanted regardless of whether it was on the menu. Dad made sure of that.

Dad was faithfully egalitarian. He treated everybody like royalty, whether it was actual royalty, Hollywood royalty like Frank Sinatra, or local regulars. His work was done in a uniquely playful, Neapolitan way. He spent his whole career in the convivium. He paid close attention and had a knack of seeing exactly what mattered. The Convivium can't promise Frank Sinatra in person, but it can promise all the care and attention my dad used to give him.

4 spaces left. If you’re interested please email me: carlo@carlonavato.com for further details