Thursday, November 11, 2010

Is there an end in sight?

Well after a long time without any posting I though I had better give an update on the work in progress which is Casa Colleverde. Perhaps it would be more interesting if I started posting some of my favourite recipes which I will be cooking (eventually) when Casa Colleverde opens for business. This is because there has been little progress. Taking a few deep breathes, I can say it is very frustrating working with Italian builders and to put it mildly, I am not a happy bunny. I visited the site today for the first time in almost 3 weeks( two of which were sunny) but is there any noticeable progress…. no; so I hit the roof or would have done had it been finished!
Future dining room and balcony
I think everyone knew I was not happy. The architect and builder have obviously had their minds elsewhere as both their wives have given birth in the last 2 weeks so….. Tanti Auguri but now back to work guys!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Perfect October Days – New friends in the Lunigiana

Some days are just perfect so much so that they make you realize how lucky you are and enable you to forget about any other trials or tribulations that you may be facing at that time.
On saturday we went by train to the Cinque Terre. We took an early train from Sarzana, the crystal clear blue sky and early morning sun bode well for the day. Our five month old Norfolk terrier puppy Sam normally straining at the leash  hid under the bench on the platform his first experience of the fast screechy monster that raced past the platform. We changed at La Spezia and by 10.30 we had our first glimpse of a sparkling Mare Ligure as we alighted at Riomaggiore in the sun. We leisurely walked round the town, up to the quaint  little church and down to the port where we sat on the rocks and people watched, my favourite Italian pastime.


The port of Riomaggiore
We then retraced our steps back towards the station and the Via dell’Amore. There were quite a few people around now on the coastal path (the area is a popular tourist attraction)but notwithstanding this it was enjoyable. The views from the path are spectacular and the October sun brought back memories of summer.
We arrived in Manarola hot and thirsty (most of all Sam) for whom we quickly found a little fountain from which he could drink. Unfortunately the path between between Manarola and Corniglia was closed but so we decided to have a stroll around Manarola and an early lunch in the port. We chose the restaurant overlooking the small port(Ristorante Marina Piccola) and had an excellent(and leisurely) seafood lunch accompanied by a crisp white wine overlooking the sea. Sam had a nice rest in the shade. It was soon time ti make tracks as we had an evening appointment in the Lunigiana our first visit to the Luni Wine Club (the 11th so far)to be held in Lusignana.  We decided to head back along the the coastal path to Riomaggiore to get our train to La Spezia/ Sarazana and also to work off our lunch. We arrived back in Sarzana around 4pm and time for a quick nap.
Our early evening appointment at the Luni wine club was in Lusignana a small town in the Lunigiana we had never visited; armed with maps, written instructions regarding a landslide to avoid and a GPS we headed off into the sunset The evening was beautifully clear and the clouds on the Alpi Apuane reminded me of the cloth of cloud which often covers Table mountain in Cape Town. Once off the motorway the narrow road required some concentration(and no looking out of the car window) as it winded up into the wooded hills. After some wrong turns we eventually arrived at the top of a hill and a small village in which time seemed to have stood still. We had to call for help from our hosts to guide us on foot through the narrow streets to the venue for the wine club that evening a warm living room in front of an open fire. The meeting that evening consisted of a tasting of two Tuscan white wines and five reded, Chianti,Cabernet Sauvignon and Supertuscans all from the province of Arezzo. The company consisted of the organizer Heiko and his wife and the attendeees mainly expat residents in the area. We had a good time improved our knowledge of wine,made some new friends and discovered a new area to explore later at our leisure. We left late with flushed faces and head out into a cold dark night under a  galaxy of stars.
A great day and one to remember.


Via dell'Amore

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Restoring a house in Italy Chapter 3

This is the third restoration I have been involved in 10 years in Italy, so I should not be surprised by the problems encountered so far in restoring my own home, I had assumed and hoped it would get easier the third time around ok maybe I got it wrong.
Ten years ago I embarked on a journey with two friends from London one English and one Italian(Roman) , we ended up in Tuscany  restoring a casa padronale in the Val di Chiana and creating one of the first boutique guest houses in the Tuscany(and maybe in Italy) . With no previous experience in the industry our learning curve was perpendicular we could write several books on our experiences but to avoid embarassing ourselves and our guests we had better keep quiet. Villa Fontelunga opened in June 2000 and ten years later is still going strong.  http://www.fontelunga.com/.
Four years after opening and with the traumas of dealing with builders ,Italian bureaucracy and meeting opening deadlines seemingly long forgotten memories we embarked on our next project. The restoration/rebuilding of a rudere in the valley behind us to create three independent Villas in a contemporary style  for rental which would be serviced from the guest house. Having completed these and suffering in varying degrees from stress, ulcers and back pain we all vowed never to do it again.
Now I was permanently in Italy and living in the guest house annexe with my friends and working and living on top of each other I thought it was time to do something by myself and have my own home in Italy. I sold my home in London in 2007 and I bought an ugly 1970s house in Liguria(just.. not far from the border with Tuscany) and so began my own journey to create my home and a small B&B. Three years later I am still going and I am still optimistic that we will open in spring 2011.




Villa FontelungaVilla FontelungaVilla Fontelunga
Villa Galletto

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Debates over a Shadow Gap – Creating a House in Italy with no Battiscopa

Though I love the feel and ambience of traditional old stone houses in the countryside whether in the UK or Italy , they can be rather limiting in design terms because a building over a certain age will likely be  the Italian equivalent of a listed building  and you will be prevented by the Belle Artes from changing the outside, certainly the external openings and sometimes the inside.
On the top of my list for my home was that it has to be full of natural light and so for that reason when I bought my house in Liguria I was looking for something I could change radically inside and out  in order to create a modern light filled home. So I ended up buying a really ugly late 70′s house, not the usual expat choice to buy in Italy ! The more traditional houses I looked at in better positions (nearer Lerici) had impossible space i.e. difficult to do anything with, and probably  more relevant to me impossible prices!
Creating a contemporary home so far out of the ugly duckling has involved many debates with the architect and also with the planners and builders. The height of the doors, the size of the windows, with large windows how to keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter, what technology to use etc etc .
One of the more amusing discussions has been over the floor/paving and the battiscopa or  lack of one. What no battiscopa said the builder what do you want to put in its place, well nothing, literally nothing a gap between where the plaster finishes and the floor begins so it looks like the wall is hanging above the floor.
This is a treatment which you often see in contemporary houses in the UK but is not seen often in Italy. Particularly as  plaster board is a relatively new building technique in Italy but which is standard in the UK and also in the UK you get off the shelf aluminium profiles to create the gap. In Italy these are not available. So started the big discussion on how we were to create the gap.
How high do you want this gap then 8cm ? No far to high as it is not a battiscopa! No more than 3cm in height. How do you keep the walls from getting dirty when you clean the floor….? well whoever cleans the floor ( and I have a feeling it is going to be me)  has to be careful and also use clean water. Ok well then perhaps, they suggested, we should use a material which wont rust or get damaged and wont need painting. Ok a compromise is eventually reached, lets use a purpose made stainless steel L- shaped profile and if necessary I will paint it the same colour as the wall myself  if I dont like it being shiny.
The finish used on the floor in a contemporary house  is often an industrial flooring in concrete or with a resin finish so it has a uniform simple look. This time both the architect and the builder seemed to think I would be better off using a ceramic tile to mimic the look at the getting a good finish is quite difficult. They may be right as I have seen some really bad finishes in the Uk and here and I dont know if I can face the worry of the builder doing it and the finish not being right. So after some thought and much searching for the right ceramic tile,  I have found one which looks like a resin finish.Apparently using a tile ‘rectificato’ (one with flat cut sides) they can be laid really close to give a similar uniform finish and it is cheaper… strange as it seems to be a rule of law that so far every finish I have chosen seems to be the more expensive option so thats good news.Here’s hoping the tiles and the shadow gap look good when finished.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Trials and Tribulations or Tense Times on a Hill near Tuscany

Well I havent posted for a while as I am trying to resolve problems with the building site which will eventually be my home,  the work has had to stop almost and the problems are on going.
Builders are generally a race apart from anyone else in whatever country you happen to be, neighbours come in all varieties from those whom you call a friend and would trust with your life and those whom you can do without , or seem from another era or even planet both species seem to be conspiring against me
Well the building site is on top of a hill at the end of a track in the commune of Castelnuovo Magra (Liguria just) and borders with Ortonovo in Tuscany. The site is reached by a winding road mainly in the commune if Ortonovo.
Well so far i have recieved 3 denucia in from residents in Ortonovo and the vigili have stopped trucks passing and effectively stopped the work on site. Two of these denuncia  relate to the state of the road leading up to the house which has become degraded as a result of the builders moving earth in  trucks too heavy for the road so I can sympathise with this . The denuncia were done by an avvocato (lawyer) at the Procura  the lawyer happens to live on the road up to the house  somewhere, just my luck. But whereas in the UK you would go to you neighbour and have a word and get assurances here in Italy I find myself in front of the local police, assuring them the builders will repair the road and unfortunatley at my expense! Aparently there was a weight restriction on the road but the sign was missing and had not been not replaced. Anyway we need to get the some trucks up with cement to finish the job so off to grovel to the Sindaco caps in hand. They started by saying that they are known in the area as being one of the more severe comunes  in the area (great). If we want to start work they need a fideussione effectively an insurance policy which will act as a financial guarantee that I will pay for the repairs so next week a survey is required and once the value of work is assessed I will have to get this policy at least a friend of mine is in insurance so hopefully it will not be too difficult or alternatively I ask my bank. After this all being well they seems predisposed to let us proceed……. crossing my fingers, touching wood(england) and metal(Italy).
The third denuncia was from an elderly man who owns a ruin on some land not far from my house next to the beginning of the track which forms the last 400 metres of the route to the house. This is the kind of neighbour from hell you dont want to have. His  denuncia relates to building materials he says we dumped on his land. The buiilding company is professional and has all the invoices for the dump we are using and the materials are not from my property. He has also been telling the builders we have no right to pass down the last 400 metres as it is a private road.This road has been used for access to the house since the house was built in 1983 and is used by the general public and other neighbours. Whether he will do anything more I dont know yet  but but i will make a few more enquiries at the comuni as to the nature of this road as everyone else I speak to says its a public road/track or at least there is a public right of way on it.However I did speak to another nieghbour who finished renovating his property last year, he started 4 years ago and used the same road. Oh he said that mad old man tried to blackmail me when we started work too!
Well watch this space an update will appear soon, hopefully with good news and a picture with some progress! Lets hope all this good weather is not wasted with no work!!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Antiques Road Show

Historic Motor on SaleThe other sunday whilst walking round the antiques market in the Foro Romano in Rome we came across this car. I wasnt sure if it was for sale or not, it hadnt been moved for a while and there was certainly nothing in the guide book about it!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Spring has sprung!

Mother nature is definitely working over time as this time of year the grass and flowers in the olive grove seem to grow before your eyes. It  is a shame building work is not progressing as quickly. So here are acouple of photos of flowers taken on the last visit as it wasnt worth taking a photo of the progress. Can anyone name them for me?Flower power 1Flower Power 3Flower Power 4Flower power 2

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Spot the difference

Yesterday I spent in Castelnuovo Magra at the building site. It is still difficult to see the progress without looking carefully below the surface. They have reinforced the first floor so we can now remove the supports holding it up. All the openings have now been made and some filled up again. They are now extending the old roof line where the external staircase was knocked down. The budget is being exceeded as fast as I try and contain it suprise suprise. Here are 2 fotos taken a over a month apart …spot the difference!Open HouseNot quite open

Friday, April 2, 2010

Five things I didnt miss about driving on the autostrade in Italy!

Having just arrived back from the UK by car I realised that inspite of having a lot to offer the Bel Paese lacks something as far as the driving experience on the autostrade is concered.
1) Italy must have the most trucks per square inch of motorway surface than the rest of europe added together. Driving in heavy rain/traffic or at night with trucks at a moments notice pulling out in front of you is not fun.
2) Unwelcome backseat drivers… ie the car so close behind you can see the the hairs in the drivers nose!
3) Vast expanse of motorways without traffic( this only applies to France I have to say) but what a delight, hours of driving on auto pilot impossible in Italy. You could almost look at countryside whilst driving. (I think Italians do this anyway)
4) No idiot drivers who flash to pass you then cut you up in order to get to the exit as quickly as possible.
and finally…
5) Male italian drivers cannot be bothered to go to a service station to pee but pee in the laybys by their car for all to see, maybe they have smaller bladders, not a sight seen in the UK or the whole length of France. But in France there are more service stations and more  toilets.
I dont like to be so negative but to finish on a positve note you just cant beat the coffee in an Italian autogrill!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Online shopping addiction…

Ok I confess,  during the long winter months I became addicted to online shopping. With a new home waiting to be furnished I got itchy fingers…you can sit and surf in your pyjamas and visit lots of different shops without leaving the comfort of your own home ; with your flexible friend in one hand and one finger of the other … in a few minutes your card is maxed out.. and you are the proud owner of some flat pack furniture.. bad news.
My particular addiction though was to uk sites and so I sent the purchases to my parents house in the UK (not thinking that eventually i would have to either collect them or pay to have them delivered to Italy)We have now  reached the limit of available storage space in their home and they would like to reclaim their home back for their own use!
So now I have decided to drive to the UK to finally view my purchases and see if they all go together and more importantly fit in the car … let hope so. I think the drive alone will be enough to cure my addiction to uk sites.
It will be nice to see my folks but I think even Ryanair would be easier and cheaper.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Traditionally Built Lady Arrives home late at night

Those who are fans of the series of novels The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency know that the chief character refers to herself as being ‘traditioanlly built’ my statue is the same and although not life size has that same comforting feeling.  ‘ The Comfortable Lady’ finally arrived home on friday night in a wooden box.
After being given the ok by the Belle Arte, having paid custom duties and clearance fees and transport  charges everything went relatively smoothly. The Belle Artes did there bit very quickly so no long storage fees and the transport company (well  the very accommodating driver)even moved the statue into the garage for me which was just as well as i manged to pull a muscle in my back closing the garage door which has laid me up ever since! Now I have to find a chiropracter. But the Comfortable Lady is at least safe and well in my garage for now.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Stop press – Regional Cooking Disaster

I am a reasonable cook (maybe not a natural) and I am arguably better at desserts,cookies and cakes due to a sweet tooth from the age of sixteen but I suffer from a potential problem that I need to have a precise recipe to follow and if not things can go disasterously wrong!
I am trying to learn more regional recipes for when I move permanently to the Lunigiana (levante) region in Liguria.I have mastered home made pesto no problem, coniglio ligure no problem but breads and farinata and foccacia so far have been a bit of a disaster area!
Farinata di cecchi so far has been a wet heavy dough which you would need a very strong stomach to eat. Foccacia ligure on the second attempt turned out ok but this was using another recipe found on the web. The first said half a cup of tepid water with the levito a birra but thenit failed to mention to keep adding water until a point you arrived at a workable dough and then it said cook it in a very hot preheated oven for 20 minutes so I took them at their word and put it in at 250 degrees and it turned out a burnt and inedible rock.  But I am not giving up. Having managed to get a reasonable foccacia on the second attempt I am now a little more optimistic that only practice will make perfect. Well lets hope so.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

‘Comfortable Lady’ How not to Import a sculpture into Italy

I was recently in South Africa on holiday and I saw a sculpture which I really liked so decided to buy it. They explained that it would be shipped to my nearest international airport in Italy(Florence). I would then have to arrange customs clearance and transport to my home.. how hard could it be. I was not unduly worried as I had shipped something similiar to the UK before and had not had any problems.Well that was the wrong assumption to make.
'Comfortable Lady'This sculpture is in soap stone and is done by a Zimbabwean lady who lives in SA. It weighs 150kg and is going in the garden at some stage. I had a call from the shippers to say that it has arrived and that the they could do the customs clearance for me and transport it to my home.They quoted me a figure which seemed ok plus 10 euro a day storage whilst clearance was taking place but that should not take long. I asked if they would be unloading it and could then put it in the garage. No was the answer, getting it off the truck and into the garage is down to me unless I wanted to pay a lot more for the transport. I then asked if they could at least put it on a truck with a hydraulic lift and I ( and some strong friends) would move it into the garage once it was on the ground.( lets hope I am not being too optimistic here). Fine we compromised on this. This morning another call. The invoice for export from SA stated it is a stone scuplture. Yes thats what it is. Well it should have stated it is simple modern work of art by an artisan sculptor and because it didnt the Belle Arts have to get involved to assess whether it should be allowed in. Well that inspection alone is going to cost me an extra 200 euro in fees but then 10 euro a day in storage until they do it. Obviously now the cost of this whole exercise is in the lap of the gods. Well lets hope for the sake of my overdraft the gods are going to favour me. I will let you know when I have any news.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Fango Fango Fango(mud)

Well progess has suffered a bit due to the amount of rain we have had which has slowed the work. The road to the house is a sea of mud(fango) and a four wheel drive is needed to get there. The new parking area and entrance door and stairway up to the house is taking shape.
View to house from the new carpark
View to house from the new carpark
Also the new terracing including  the swimming pool technical area are constructed. The next big works is the earth moving for the pool and garage  lets hope we have some drier weather to allow this to go on. In the mean time we are ordering the bath fixtures and fittings.