Daily Views

After seven and a half years, you might expect us to be jaded by our daily life and views. We've been delighted to discover that the beauty that surrounds us has yet to get old or be overlooked. Our experiences really reveal the joy the impressionists took in the changes of the light.

This is our morning view from the bedroom:

And our daily run to the recycling bins:

And then some other general sights:

This is our palazzo; I discovered recently that you can see
the steeple of San Fortunato from the courtyard!

Love,

Alexandra

Book Signing

There is a local author who has published books about historic figures in a cartoon-type format. He originally went to the Liceo Scientifico (science high school), but changed into a highly artistic field. His most recent work is about St Francis of Assisi, and we hosted a book presentation and signing in early December. The event was held in the Circolo Tuderte, an apartment/meeting space that is known for its frescoes and lovely proportions.

Honestly, it was hard to go, because it is in the same palazzo where my beloved hairdresser, Michele, had his salon. If you have followed the blog, he died tragically early in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. He is still very much loved and talked about locally.

Anyway, I offer you a few photos of the space for fun!

Love,

Alexandra

Two Rooms in One

The week before we had family arrive, Maurizio was finally able to deliver the furniture for the guest room. It's a pretty elaborate pair of structures: a murphy bed with built-in table and bookcases on one wall, and a clothes closet with craft armoire in another corner. No mean feat, given that there is nothing orthogonal about these spaces!

Alviero carved all the flowers by hand;
this is a traditional Umbrian pattern

When the bed is closed, there is a fold-up table

Guests have hanging space to the left

The armoire has a built-in table, plus lots of drawers
and storage space

And now, to get to work!

Love,

Alexandra

Presepe Vivente, 2019

The live Nativity started at Porta Romana again this year. One change that was noticeable was the amount of effort that had gone into the overall ambiance at the starting point. Various shopkeepers and homeowners had transformed their doorways and spaces into bakeries, basketmakers, fiber transformation (carders/spinning wheels), and so on. It was absolutely delightful!

Yes, this IS a kid in a basket

I don't know how they kept these bunnies from hopping off

Everyone collected at San Fortunato as the end of the procession, where there was a play. The goose was present again this year, and honking in grand style.

Love,

Alexandra

Christmas in Deruta

While Jim and Sharon were with us, we took a few trips to Deruta. As usual, the small principal piazza was decorated with the local ceramics, using a tree that is also ceramic:

This is the trunk of a huge "tree" that is covered in handpainted ceramic balls

There were reindeer and a sleigh this year

I loved the blankets, handpainted using traditional designs

It's impossible to convey the scale of this splendid decoration

Love,

Alexandra

Fireplace excitement and disappointments

You can see traces of hand-tooling on the edges

We were delighted to find out that (for once) our geometra was wrong about something: our local art restorers had a look at the main fireplace mantel in the house, and declared that rather than (early 20th-century) cement, the fireplace was made from pietra serena. This meant that the fireplace dates to the late 1500s/early 1600s, and it is one of the remaining "original" mantels in Todi. Apparently at various points, these mantels have been sold off by their owners, making ours even rarer to find in situ.

The disappointment that we've been working on is that at some point during the construction, there were a few holes knocked into the chimney liner. This meant smoke penetration in the bathrooms (the same floor as the fireplace) and Michael's office (the attic, two stories up). Umberto and his crew have relined the lower part of the chimney, thereby resolving the bathroom situation 100% and the attic problem 85%. However, we still have to figure out the remaining smoke penetration so that Michael doesn't become a kippered herring while he is at work, while permitting us to use the fireplace as intended.

Speaking of fireplace, we also had a wood delivery...

Love,

Alexandra

Delivery from Murano

After a few months of waiting, our chandelier finally arrived! The box was satisfyingly large, and chock-full of packing peanuts. And then it was time to hang it, to everyone's delight (particularly the electricians').

And, hung!

Love,

Alexandra