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| This could be a view you wake up to.... |
On one of our trips out of Casperia by bus and train we had a bit of a wait for our train connection. Walking around the little village of Poggio Mirteto Scalo, we noticed a real estate office beside the little frutteria across the street from the station... and Candace went in to check it out.
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| View of the real estate agency from Google Street View |
When she emerged from the office of the Agenzia Immobiliare Sabina, it was with an appointment to meet with one of their representatives. Today was the day for that appointment.
From our very first visit to the Sabina, of course we started to dream about having a place here. How could you not? It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, a piece or real, honest, rustic, unspoiled Italy, as yet untrammelled by tourist hoards, and I hope it stays that way... Il Sogno, the Phillips' house here in Casperia, is aptly named...The Dream... and what a happy dream. You can feel their love for the Sabina and this amazing hilltown in its walls... Another thing you can feel is their appreciation and respect for "place" in the way they have restored their house...
On our first visit here three years ago we made an appointment with Giancarlo, an agent for another real estate firm called Tecnocasa and were shown a number of amazing houses, some that were ready to move in to, and some that were ruins in need of major restoration. Ironically, this house (below) that we visited three years ago, which we called Il Nido because of the occupied pidgeon nest we found behind one of the storm shutters, has since been bought and is being restored by a woman from Canada. It was a huge, amazing property with some traces of frescoes inside. It needed a lot of money and tender loving care... and I have the feeling it has got all that right now.
Il Nido was truly amazing, but the property that caught Richard's and my fancy was a smaller, more modest house higher up the hill on Vicolo Serpenti.
It was affordable, had a marvelous view, it was ready to move in, and most importantly, it had a beautiful orange guardian cat...
There are all sorts of properties for sale in the Sabina, and as far as I know, all across Italy these days... The downturn in the economy has made it hard for people to hold on to farms and country homes that have been in the family for generations.
There is something so very sad about seeing so many Vendesi (For Sale) and Affittasi (For Rent) signs in Casperia, and in the other towns we visited. You see them on the doors of farm houses, palazzi, apartments, even little ruined cantinas, everywhere you go.
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| Richard inspects a sign on a house on Vicolo Serpenti |
The realtor who came to show us around, Rosanna, is a very interesting lady. She lives in Casperia now, but she has spent a lot of time outside of Italy and is fluent in English and French... as well as Italian. She took us in to see a number of properties, including this one which was once the town Locanda or Inn.
Note the large dining room for the guests.
The windows at the end of the dining room overlook Piazza Umberto 1 and Friends Caffe. It made me wonder about the volume of our volubility as we enjoyed our Negronis and our stringozzi in the evenings in the restaurant down below... One thing I love about Casperia is the peace and quiet of the place... Have I been one of those noisy, abrasive foreign tourists? I hope not.
This is the view from the front door of the old Locanda. It overlooks the winding basalt cobbled road that leads up into the town from the Porta Romana by Friends Caffe and up to the piazza where the Comune Office is.
Richard loved the big old camino or fireplace in the old inn.
We visited quite a few houses, including a stunning palazzo and a number of smaller properties.
Some of these were thoroughly renovated and some of them beautifully restored, or in need of restoration.
It was a rare priviledge to be able to see inside not only the houses of local Italians, but also some of the vacation houses owned by people from outside the country.
Our tour of those houses on the market with Rosanna left us with lots to think about... The dream is certainly still there... We will continue to look into places to buy or perhaps even rent in the Sabina... and one day, when the stars are all properly aligned and the finances are there, who knows??? Wish us luck!
We said our goodbyes to Rosanna and made our way up the 200 or so stairs to Il Sogno.
There was a huge thunder shower with hail in the afternoon. The narrow streets turned suddenly into rivers. I am glad we were inside when that happened. Candace and Richard played cribbage in the evening. The game got very heated and I heard some very interesting pseudo-Italian profanities being traded. "Mangi le mie scale!" "Eat my stairs"???
Tonight thunder and lightning and rain dominates the skies around Casperia!
We visited quite a few houses, including a stunning palazzo and a number of smaller properties.
Some of these were thoroughly renovated and some of them beautifully restored, or in need of restoration.
It was a rare priviledge to be able to see inside not only the houses of local Italians, but also some of the vacation houses owned by people from outside the country.
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| This house also had a guardian cat... Maybe the cats are wanting us to make a decision... |
Our tour of those houses on the market with Rosanna left us with lots to think about... The dream is certainly still there... We will continue to look into places to buy or perhaps even rent in the Sabina... and one day, when the stars are all properly aligned and the finances are there, who knows??? Wish us luck!
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| Stairs in Casperia courtesy of vagabondo.net |
There was a huge thunder shower with hail in the afternoon. The narrow streets turned suddenly into rivers. I am glad we were inside when that happened. Candace and Richard played cribbage in the evening. The game got very heated and I heard some very interesting pseudo-Italian profanities being traded. "Mangi le mie scale!" "Eat my stairs"???
Tonight thunder and lightning and rain dominates the skies around Casperia!
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| Monte Soratte courtesy of Alessandra Finiti |
