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On the Italian coast coloured houses build down the hill side, sucking up the sun as they face the sea. But look closely, and you will notice something are little strange. In C the art delusion is everywhere.

This fishing village M it’s a Living museum of Trompe Loeil, literally to trick the eye. And it does get tricky. Windows open in solid walls. Elaborate stone work, that isn’t.

And while some flowers fade, other stay fresh for years. C’s fishmen originally painted their houses in bright colours and unusual design so they could recognise them from the water.

In the 18 century,however, it became a way to make a small simple building seem like luxurious and grand. There are thousands of Trompe Loeil houses in this region, but only a handful artists still painting them.

Reffaella Stacca learnt Painting from her grandmother, using classical methods on her own modern designs. She gives house painting a whole new meaning. This painted for size is typical of Liguria, really typical, but for a while, it seems like no one was doing them anymore.

It's taken 20 years to perfect technique for recreating stone, so that it looks real even from close up. Like most paintors, she learned Trompe Loeil from other artists, not in school.

But with few artists, there are fewer teachers and fewer places to learn. Carlo Pere had made a business out of making the surreal real. Buyers for his imaginary terraces and boccas balcony often live in small houses or city apartments. Pere’s job is to improve the view.

Trompe Loeil means bringing along to the sea, where the sea to the mountains, or vice versa. Pere’s technique comes out of a art handbook from 14th century, even his paints send the Stanford history. He uses his only pure pigments mixed by hand. It keeps tradition alive. And in C , the local culture still in plain view from the bay to the bar. You just might not believe your eyes.