Sogno sul Poggio (Dream on the hill)
In a leap of blind faith, or maybe insanity, I have embarked on a journey to restore a farmhouse in Italy.
A little background:
It has always been a dream of mine to have a house in Italy. This probably goes back before I was a kid. My parents used to swear that I was Italian in a past life.
When people ask the question “Why Italy?”, my response is always the same “Have you been there”? There is something wonderful about Italy. The food, the wine, the culture, the history, the friendliness of the people. It’s like there is a big party going on and you and everyone you know is welcome.
The project:
Right on the Tuscan/Umbrian border, 10 km from Castiglione del Lago, sits a small town called Gioiella (joy-e-el-la). The house is situated 2 km from Gioiella, near Lopi and Badia. The property sits on 1.87 acres of land, on which I have great plans for an olive grove (I decided against the vines as they are far fussier than olives), so eventually everyone will be getting olive oil at Christmas time.
It is an old abandoned farmhouse, circa 1850 (although I have been told that the original structure is about 400 years old). It has been neglected for 50 - 70 years. When people say “Oh, you are like Under the Tuscan Sun”, I have to reply “No, she had electricity, plumbing, water, rooms, furniture and an intact roof, I have none of that”. I (with a lot of help from Giancarlo and his crew) will restore and renovate this farmhouse into a fabulous property where Corona and I (and friends) can go and enjoy all that is wonderful about Italy.
If for some reason this doesn’t sound crazy at all, you can check out what other properties Giancarlo has to offer. Who knows, we may be neighbours!
Interested in learning Italian? Contact Lidia.
