Casal dei Fichi - Progress - February 06

 

 

Luxurious holiday apartments in Italy's stunning Marche.

Another month is virtually over and we are coming to the end of the Winter Wonderland. Although we have had just a day of snow here in Francavilla d’Ete there have been plenty of beautiful blue days when we have admired the white peaks on the mountains and indeed have managed a few days skiing. However the real wonderland of this winter has been wondering whether Rosario will ever finish the house! As predicted he did not complete his work by 11 November, neither was he done by the end of December, the next target. A remarkably dry, though often cold January and February have meant that he has however made good progress on the roof and it is now very nearly complete, that doesn’t mean that Rosario is finished but it is the final major structural job that he has to do.

The House stands vulnerable and roofless, will the good weather last until the roof is rebuilt?	When the weather turned too cold Rosario was happy to spend a few days indoors building a fireplace - one down four to go!	The roof is back on, complete with 17 velux windows which sparkle and complement the original tiles.

Another impossible target which is showing signs of completion is the electrical supply to the house, as I write the concrete is setting for the 3 electricity poles which the electricity company are due to erect tomorrow. Rosario has dug the trench bringing it the final 50m and Roger has constructed a meter cabin. Since the cabin is at the entrance to the house Roger took some time to build a traditional edifice with gabled walls which has often been compared to a shrine. Roger is nothing if not precise and any wall he builds will never vary from the perpendicular so we were surprised when it appeared to be leaning but put it down to the angle of the adjacent tree. In fact that afternoon’s flash storm had made the land settle and the whole cabin had listed by several degrees. The following morning after much discussion and gesturing the land around it was cleared and a much larger base laid, that lasted until the afternoon’s downpour and then Roger and Dan worked late into the evening to underpin the cabin with enough concrete to support a small office block. 24 hours and much rain later, it seems ok; it has been the source of much amusement with frequent references to Pisa! A welcome side effect of the provision of electricity is that the electricity company are demolishing the pylon which blights the view at the top of this page, the new ones are in a much less obtrusive location

Oh err - what's happened here?	That should be ok, let's get some concrete underneath it.	Another flash flood - later! Maybe it's time to stop those 'Allo Allo' genuflections to the 'Shrine to the Fallen Madonna...'?

 We have spent the winter in the house kept comfortable by calor gas heaters, electricity from a variety of generators and eventually the luxury of running water in the kitchen with the washing machine plumbed in.

As the days get lighter and warmer we are simultaneously looking forward to the arrival of the long hot summer days and counting down the weeks (13!) to the end of May when our first guests are due to arrive. With 5 bathrooms to fit, the house to plaster, wire and tile, doors and windows to fit, outside the gardens need sorting, a car park built we have a challenging few months but we are confident that the plan is robust and we will be ready in time. We have given up on thinking that our loft apartment will be anything more than a shell before the summer. Soon it will also be time to plant this season's vegetables, back in November we harvested a bumper crop of olives and felt like old hands at the olive press.

For those of you who haven’t yet booked their holiday this summer we do however promise you that we will be in a position to offer a relaxing time in some of the most beautiful scenery in Italy, and remember that while we hope to add features like decking around it – the pool was completed last summer!

Since work is pressing we’re keeping this update mercifully short, though we have found time to maintain the social calendar, New Year was a highlight, dinner with Rosario’s family followed by fireworks and partying in the bar till the small hours. This weekend we are looking forward to visiting some Carnevale events. Balzo, the German Shepherd is maturing into a gentle affectionate dog, Aglio has become the fat cat and has no fear of the dog - Balzo's nose is a frequent target of his claws while Olio prefers to keep his distance but is slowly building confidence. Another welcome addition to the team has been Roger's apprentice Dan who willingly mixes cement, carries bricks, makes tea and gives us an opportunity to concentrate setting up the business.