INSPIRATION
‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined’
Henry David Thoreau
Yes, we are moving to Italy!
No we haven’t sold our house yet…
Everyone seems to be asking us when we are leaving and I have to say I don’t know!
We have been planning and working towards this now for some time, we own a property in Liguria that we can’t get to just yet… incredibly frustrating? Yes you could say that!
But still my heart beats in time to the words Italia Italia Italia, I can think of nothing else.
The Italian Dream
So I admit to being in the doldrums briefly, but here I am bouncing back. Yesterday we took our house off the market, time to come up with a new strategy.
We will give it a few weeks and then remarket the property, if it doesn’t sell we’ll put it up again early in the New Year and go from there. Unless of course we can come up with something funky (don’t put it past us we’ve done it before).
I am longing to climb those tiny pathways to our house in Veravo, to stand on that terrace and breathe in the entire valley. To hear the sound of our childrens laughter as they race around from room to room and climb the terraced gardens.
Our daughter already has plans for a goat, chickens, and a big veggie garden so she can help Daddy with the cooking. Our Italian dream about to come true.
This heavy stone building that is centuries old already holds me tight. It’s arched stairways, vaulted ceilings, thick walls and solid doors are in my dreams each night. I imagine the families that have lived here before us and smile. The beach is only a few kilometres away, yet we are surrounded by green valleys and towering mountains.
Our new neighbors in this little group of villages are Colletta, Oresine, Vesallo, Teccio, and Cianea each one unique, with Colletta having been totally restored. The entire village was in a state of abandon when an Italian developer saw the potential and restored it fully. I love hearing about those who have turned the Italian dream into reality.
There are around seventy apartments, some available for rent or to buy, all stunning. The medieval village of Colletta is home to a thriving community with an Art Gallery, Restaurant, Concerts, and Festivals. My husband has already been over to introduce himself, he makes friends easily.
As for Veravo we are yet to become part of the local scene, I hear dogs barking and some children playing in the footage Salvatore bought back to Australia but the streets are abandoned.
Luckily we seem to thrive on uncertainty… oh and dreams!
Yes ours are alive and kicking furiously.
and the gang x
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Hi i have a propriety in campobasso,in the region of molise and was wondering if you are interested in restoring this beautiful area.
I woul like to receive from you more details on restoring areas.
Kindly contact me for further details,
Thank you,
Sebastiana
Ciao Sebastiana,
We aren’t really looking for further properties to restore but thanks for letting us know. We have a property in Liguria and also in Piedmont.
Best wishes for your property,
ciao lisa x
Hi Lisa,
great to read how much passion you have for Italy. We, retired couple want to move there (buy property).However, seems as Australian citizens we can not. Please, do you know what is possible way to get Italian residence(red something about renting first and waiting for residence permission and then to buy).Will appreciate if you give us any helpful info.
Regards,Maria
I could send you some links etc that might help. You could try Italy Expats for some forums, sorry my internet is not great at the moment or I’d see what I could find. Wait to hear from you ciao lisa x
That terrace, On that wall I can see an iron framework attached all around, with a fancy iron back, basic frame for the seat to attach seating boards, giving safety and also more seating and also a cool place to sit with a magnificent view.
Sounds like what we had in mind Michael, we have two children so need to address the safety issues with the drop being so deadly. We’ve been told that we have to take all the concrete off, dig out the vaults underneath and redo the bars which are used under the concrete to add stability for earthquakes. Big job but it will be a feature and has the most incredible views! Thanks for coming over and chatting, we hope to turn the house into a community project with an emphasis on a simple rustic lifestyle which we can share with visitors. x
How exciting! I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes you! We have just moved out of our house and put everything into storage in preperation for our first big Euroupe holiday in December! 🙂
Hey Olivia, how exciting make sure you pack you Winter woolies!! You’ll love it! Just been over for a visit to your blog, very cool! Do you happen to know Melissa at “Suger Coat It” at all? Love those Pink tights by the way!
ciao Lisa
Wow, you are living my dream! My Italian husband and I will be moving to Perth at the end of next year, so our dreams are now about making a life for our children down under! Love what you are doing,
Hi Edwina, how wonderful that you and your family are coming down under! A big change from Dubai I would imagine. I am a late starter when it comes to food, I love to eat it yes just never had to cook it. My Italian husband has done all the cooking up till now (15 years) and he is working nights at the moment so dinner is falling to me argghh. Luckily our family has always eaten homecooked meals and the kids like to cook as well. I am aquiring an appreciation of beautiful produce that is cooked with love… sounds just like what you are doing!
ciao lisa
Lisa,
You are such an inspiration to me….I can literally feel your ‘passion and love’ with all your post! Simply awesome, beautiful photos….I want to move to Italy, start learning Italian this week!
Wendy
Thanks so much Wendy, it is still incredible to me that I can connect this way with others that have that same passion for life! I have a glitch with the blog comments and it seems that you may not be able to comment back to me. I wonder if this happens could you let me know on the Contact page which has an email. I am in the process of fixing this and love to be able to create a place where we can all connect.
ciao for now
Lisa
lisa@vertexinfosolution.com/renovatingitaly
Beautiful post Lisa. Keep on keeping the dream alive.
Good luck
Thank you so much Leanne, coming from you that is a huge compliment. It’s so close I can taste it…
ciao bella
Lisa
Hi Lisa, I have just come across your blog. How wonderful to live your dream! I will follow with great interest! My mother was from Calabria and my dad from Emilia Romagna and my husband’s family from Piedmont. We hope to visit Italy next year. Isn’t it funny, we have Italian cousins who are contemplating a permanent move to Australia! Good luck with selling your house!
Hi Marcellina,
I have just been over at your blog and I keep thinking WOW did she really make this? Mouthwatering and I loved your Violet Crumble. My husbands father is from Calabria (Soveria Mannelli) and his Mum from Salina which is an island close to Sicily. We lived in Piemonte of course and love it with a passion. Have you been to Italy before? We had so many people in Italy who couldn’t understand why we would want to leave Australia to live in Italy when all the wanted to do was the reverse… funny.
ciao for now
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
so you’re next to Colletta, we’re always go there when we
are picking up new plants from Albenga and some Olive Oil at my favorite producer, and enjoy a small lunch. I like some of the old villages in that area, and ofcourse the small gardens and the more than beautiful staircases from Colletta.
Ciao Natasja
Hi Natasja,
What a small world! I am so looking forward to exploring our new home when we arrive. My husband has assured me that I will
love it, and those curved staircases are incredible. Perhaps one day we will meet for a little lunch at Colletta. Do you have any
favorite villages in the area?
Your Borgo Vallone is stunning, the website for both the B&B and photoblog kept me busy for some time!
So nice to see you here,
ciao Lisa
hopefully it will not be long before your dreams can become a reality.
Thanks Linda,
This delay has unexpected benifits, my Mother in Law went to hospital for surgery on a cyst and turns out it was ovarian cancer at stage 3, she is now having chemo as a precaution. My own Mother has just had surgery on her spine and I hope to spend some time with her when she is out of hospital.
If all this had happened while we were settling into our new home in Italy I and my husband would have been beside ourselves with worry.
I see you have enjoyed a big project with your repaint, the house looks so different. When we painted the house in Gambasca we mixed the paint up in the cement mixer which was a lot of fun. The trestle that our friend used to paint the high bits looked like it was held together with string…. luckily he was very wiry and climbed up and down with no problems.
ciao for now
Lisa
Hi Lisa- I just found your blog and am a new subscriber.We stayed in Colletta 2 years ago, and it was a piece of heaven! I would love to return to live in that area. You are living my dream of renovating a stone home in Italy;I hope one day I get to realize it.
Chris