For the first time I am writing this blog post in Italy. It has been a short and very busy trip that is coming to an end in quite intense early summer heat. Lots has been happening and even more will be happening the next weeks. The questions have been coming in thick and fast for all the electrics and heating and cooling for the house. Further the design for the kitchen has been finalized. The roof of the house is all but finished now. The reclaimed tiles from the old house

Things are moving on swiftly in Belvedere. Since my last blogpost, the house has grown significantly and is now up to the headers over the windows on the second floor. The most interesting was the laying of the beams for the dividing floor construction. The large chestnut beams were laid and crossed by further purlins that carry the hand made “tavelle” or clay/terracotta tiles that in turn create the form work for the reinforced concrete that gives the floor its structural in

Hi again everybody. First let me apologise for being away so long. A lot has been going on at both home and abroad. So let's catch up! A couple of weeks ago, I returned to Italy for the first time since we really got started on site. The last time I was at the property, the team had just began to dismantle the old house. They have been brilliant, keeping me informed of all the developments, but all the same it was exciting to get back. In recent weeks we have had to make cert

The new year has arrived and with this there are always new possiblities. Even though much is new, some feelings of dejavu continue to haunt us all, as covid just doesn't seem to want to give slip just yet. I believe we have to live with it as well as we can and look for the positives and not just dwell upon the negatives that we are bombarded with. The positive news from the building site is that the team have not only began with the walls of the first floor, but now at the

As the year ends, the positive news from site is, the foundations are complete, including the terrace around the building. This is great news, as we can start building walls on the first working day of January 2022. I had planned to visit Italy and the site in January, but my flight was cancelled, due to... what else? of course Covid. The airlines cancelled pretty much all the flights to Italy in January and those that are available, via via, cost a fortune. I have rebooked f