Napoleon Bonaparte and the city of Tolentino, Le Marche, Italy

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Vanessa

It might seem strange to link Napoleon Bonaparte to the city of Tolentino, however Bonaparte touched the life of this city twice. As a young general Napoleon Bonaparte conducted the first Italian campaign successfully against the Austrians. As a result he eventually persuaded Pope Pius VI, who was aligned with the Austrians, to agree to a peace accord. The signing of this treaty took place in Tolentino on 19th. Continue reading →

People from Le Marche, Italy – World Famous Marchigiani!

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Vanessa

See on Scoop.it – Living in Italy

Whilst that beautiful Italian region nestling between the Apennines and the Adriatic- Le Marche – has only been “discovered” relatively recently by foreign visitors, it has curiously been the birth place of some of the world’s most famous Italians!

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Olive trees at Casa Carotondo in Le Marche, Italy

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Vanessa

Olive trees at Carotondo in Le Marche, Italy

Olive trees growing at Casa Carotondo in Le Marche, Italy during a mild February 2014.

Casa Carotondo is perched on top of a hill some of which (the south-west facing bit) belongs to us. It is difficult to know how to use the land productively; apart from planting olive trees and vines. We had not been here long when we found out you can buy olive trees – two years old – for only four Euros each, it seemed an obvious thing to do. We would produce our own olive oil! Of course everyone associates olives and olive trees with Italy. You see olive trees growing in most areas of the country, so naively we thought it would be a straightforward thing to do. Continue reading →

The Eremo di Soffiano in the Sibillini Mountains, Le Marche, Italy

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Vanessa

The sign pointing to the Eremo di Soffiano in the Sibillini Mountains, Le Marche, Italy

While driving from Casa Carotondo to the Prati di Ragnolo (the meadows of Ragnolo) to look at the wild flowers and the views you will pass the Santuario di San Liberato. Shortly after that is a turning to the left with the signpost Eremo di Soffiano (the hermitage of Soffiano). You can park your car at the junction and take the easy walk to the hermitage. The path leads you into a steep valley with the river Terro flowing below. After about 30 minutes you will come across the remains of a cave that was used by Franciscan monks as a hermitage many centuries ago. Continue reading →

A green roof at Casa Carotondo, Le Marche

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Vanessa

The green roof of apartment Priora at Casa Carotondo

Green roofs have been around for some time, but are now increasingly being regarded as a way to improve the environment in cities. The city of Chicago, for instance, has now declared that it sees green roofs as the way forward to try to reduce rising temperatures in the city as well as enhancing air quality. Heat is stored in the roof and walls of buildings during the day and given off at night, the so-called Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. A green roof prevents this heat storage happening. Through the daily dew and evaporation cycle, plants on vertical and horizontal surfaces are able to cool cities during hot summer months. They also provide some insulation to the building below, even in winter. Continue reading →

Alberico Gentili from San Ginesio, Le Marche, Italy

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Vanessa

Casa Carotondo is located in the commune of San Ginesio. Alberico Gentili is San Ginesio’s most famous son. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of international law. Having been a student of international relations, his name was already familiar to me before we moved here. Strange I should now be living in his birthplace. Continue reading →

The Grotta dei Frati in the Fiastra Valley, Le Marche, Italy

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Vanessa

The Fiastra Valley in Le Marche, Italyas seen from the Grotta dei Frati.

The Fiastra Valley as seen from the Grotta dei Frati.

The Fiastrone river has its source high in the Sibillini Mountains. The valley the river flows through has a number of caves in it, some of which are still accessible today. These caves have served as places of refuge for people, in particular monks, over the centuries. I am not a religious person but the stories behind these cave hermitages seemed fascinating from the human point of view; that men were so bound up in their religious belief they were prepared to live a life of absolute poverty, in cold and discomfort and against the contemporary rulings of the Church. It is interesting to get an idea of how they lived by visiting the cave but also to have some background knowledge of the situation at the time. Continue reading →

Renovating a house in Le Marche, Italy – a personal account.

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Vanessa

I shall start with a disclaimer. We rent holiday apartments, we do not offer estate agency or renovation services. However we did renovate/are still renovating our own house and can therefore provide some insight into the process. The aim is not to discourage or spur you on, simply, to give you an account of our experience. I should also add that we did not come here specifically to start a renovation project. One of my conditions on buying the house was that we get the builders in to do at least the heavy duty work. However we started with a laughably small budget for a house of 400 sqm. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and it would have been better to employ builders to do, at least, the basics despite the expense. Instead we have kept the costs down but the whole project has taken a long time and we still haven’t finished. I would also like to reassure prospective guests that building work only takes place in the winter! Continue reading →

Coppicing at Casa Carotondo, Le Marche, Italy

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Vanessa

Casa Carotondo has its own small wood. It was not something we had specifically wanted when looking for a house but while considering our move to Le Marche from London, we found out that gas in Italy is quite expensive. So we were pleased that we actually had our own source of fire wood. Chopping and preparing firewood is actually time-consuming and tiring work but somehow satisfying at the end of the process when you stand back and look at your full log store. It is a job that is generally carried out in early spring, when there are a thousand other things to do in the garden. We do have gas at Casa Carotondo but mostly for cooking or to heat the sanitary water on a cloudy summer’s day (we normally use solar panels to heat the water). Although some energy in the form of diesel and electricity is used to chop and transport the wood, on the whole it is a sustainable and cheap way to keep warm.
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Why we moved to Casa Carotondo in Le Marche, Italy

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Vanessa

Casa Carotondo in Le Marche, Italy in2004 before we started renovating it.

Casa Carotondo in 2004 before we started renovating it.

I am often asked by guests why we came here. Was it always our dream to set up home in Italy and live la dolce vita? The answer in our case is a simple: No. We were living in London and had both given up the jobs as goldsmith (Rob) and software consultant (Vanessa) we had been doing for too long. We were fed up with routine and were looking for an adventure and a new challenge. We had done a couple of house renovations. I was fed up with house renovation, Rob wanted something a little more demanding. I wanted a large garden with a vegetable plot. We enjoy walking and cycling so the idea of living close to mountains was enticing; both of us had wasted many hours in traffic jams travelling from London to various hilly hotspots in Great Britain only to be greeted by a deluge of water falling from the heavens. Of course living in a warmer climate is in itself a bonus compounded by the availability of products from that climate such as wine and olives and the added interest of a foreign culture and language. It was a friend who put the idea of Italy in our heads.