The Montalcino House

Slow and steady progress + The olive trees will stay + Something ails us

If you are just tuning in, check out our past newsletters to catch up on our adventure of finding, buying, and restoring a 200-year-old home in Montalcino.

Montalcino, seen from atop the walls of the Fortezza.

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Slow and steady progress

Settimana prossima inizierò a chiamare tutti, Stefano said. Next week, he’s going to start calling everyone again.

When we left Montalcino at the end of June, we had a plan and a timeline: Tile and general construction would wrap up by early July. Ceilings, walls, and floors would be finished by late July or early August. Then, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, and switches would be installed, so that we’re ready for doors and trim by September.

We mostly stayed on track. Years ago in Italy, nearly everything shut down in the latter half of August for the summer holiday. Now, it’s more common for businesses to remain open, with key employees taking their vacation in turns, or closing for shorter periods of time. This summer, our painter, plumber, and electrician kept things moving forward at our house. Our geometra, Gabriele, stayed in touch, as did our general contractor, Massimiliano.

There were fewer decisions to make, though, so we, too, took a step back. We’re approaching a year since work on our house began. It’s been an exciting journey, but as anyone who has embarked on a remodeling project knows, the constant decisions, communication, and coordination (not to mention the invoices!) take a toll. The quieter summer gave us a chance to replenish and prepare for the final push.

September is upon us, and it is time to pick up the pace again. Stefano needs to connect with the marmista and the fabbro to coordinate the installation of the stone countertops in the bathrooms and the completion of the fireplace surround. I need to contact the furniture store to check on the arrival timelines for our beds and sofa. We also need to follow up with the kitchen supplier to confirm the arrival and installation of the kitchen cabinets, countertops, and appliances.

We’ll be back in mid-October, and if all goes well, we’ll finally be able to sleep in our own house!

Slow and steady progress was made this summer.

The olive trees will stay.

If you’ve followed our Montalcino house newsletters, you know that our giardino is home to two large and unruly olive trees. The plants have not been pruned in years and have become overgrown, blocking the view of the Val d’Orcia from both the backyard and the terrace.

We’ve been trying to decide what to do with the trees. Some told us that it would be a shame to remove the centenarian plants. Others, including our neighbor, Mariano, who prunes olive trees for a living, said that we’d be better off removing them and replacing them with two new olive trees of a smaller variety, more appropriate for a backyard.

After much deliberation, we decided to remove them and went through the process of requesting permission from the city to replace them, as even olive trees fall under Montalcino’s historical preservation rules. Then, while speaking with our architect Stefania, who advised us on lighting and will help us with landscaping, we reconsidered yet again.

We knew from digging in the back yard that those two trees have huge root systems. Stefania noted that extracting the stump and roots would be a big job. She pointed out that it would be very difficult to get the necessary equipment into the backyard, so we would need to be prepared to dig the roots out by hand. Moreover, she pointed out, doing so would likely create soft spots and the shifting that could jeopardize the foundation of the home and the retaining walls surrounding the yard.

She’s right, we realized. Removing those trees could cause everything to start moving. The house, walls, and trees have been co-existing there for nearly 200 years - there’s no need to disrupt that balance now. That settles it; the due ulivi will stay. They are just going to get a really good haircut.

One of our two unruly olive trees. The three different limbs are likely offshoots of the original trunk, which likely almost died in the deep freeze of 1985.

Something ails us

I knew something was terribly wrong on Wednesday morning when the sirens kept coming. We live in the heart of Minneapolis; the occasional police car or ambulance is a normal part of our city's soundscape. But this was different.

At first, I thought there must have been a bad automobile accident, or perhaps a fire, but emergency vehicles continued to race down the street, their sirens' pitch conveying a speed and urgency unusual for our residential neighborhood. Soon, the whir of helicopters added to the cacophony. I soon learned that just about six blocks away, a mass shooting was taking place at a worship service for children marking the first week of class at Annunciation Catholic School. Two children were killed; eighteen others were injured, two of whom critically; and hundreds of children, families, and educators endured an unimaginable trauma.

Three days later, here in Minneapolis, we are still reeling. Blue and green ribbons, for Annunciation’s school colors, line the trees, street signs, and businesses of the surrounding neighborhoods. The front lawn of the school and church has become a memorial site, visited by a steady stream of people leaving flowers and messages of strength and sympathy, and the news media are still set up across the street. We’ve held candlelight vigils, exchanged hugs, and issued statements of grief and anger.

Part of our anguish is the realization that it is probably only a matter of time before the next school shooting takes place. School shootings are a uniquely American problem. Their frequency and the number of fatalities are increasing. Despite that, past school shootings have not led to meaningful action, and our current political leaders do not appear to have the will to set their differences aside and find solutions to keep children safe. It’s baffling. Something deeply ails us.

People constantly ask Stefano and me if we plan on moving back to Italy, especially since we bought the Montalcino house. Usually, we say something about waiting to see where our kids land, maybe once we are fully retired, etc. Weeks like this, though, make us stop and think.

To take action:

• Sandy Hook Promise

• Moms Demand Action

• Students Demand Action

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Scenes from Montalcino

We’re looking forward to returning to Montalcino for the second half of October and hopefully sending pictures of the (mostly) finished house. In the meantime, here are a few scenes from Montalcino from our photo archive.

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About Montalcino

Montalcino is a small, medieval town located about 25 miles south of Siena, 85 miles south of Florence, and 145 miles north of Rome. Perched on a hill in the heart of the world-class Brunello di Montalcino wine-producing region, overlooking the Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Montalcino offers scenic views of the surrounding countryside's olive groves and vineyards. Visitors come from all over the world to enjoy the town’s cultural events and to experience its wine tourism. It’s long been one of our favorite places to visit.