Furniture Frenzy

Before our last trip to Bagni di Lucca we set ourselves the task of purchasing the basic furniture for the house. Not knowing the delivery lead-times, we wanted to do this now to ensure that the house would at least contain a minimum amount of furniture by the end of July so that we can stay there during our August holiday.

So, armed with our shopping list and accompanied by our indispensible and fantistically efficient local project manager/interpreter, we set out to get as much accomplished as we could in one day. It really helped that we had made a couple of reconnaisance missions to the various shops during previous visits, so we had formed a pretty good idea of what we wanted and where to find it.

We hit about five or six different stores over the course of about ten hours and managed to get almost everything we set out to buy. Of course, we spent more than we wanted to spend, especially on one of the bedrooms, but overall I think we did pretty well.

The following day we struck out to choose mattresses and pick out a washing machine and dryer.

The final tally for the weekend: Main living room: one sofa, one comfy chair. Big fireplace room: two leather art deco style chairs with a footstool (to put by the big fireplace), one chaise lounge. Kitchen: dining table with six chairs. Bedroom one: wooden bed, two nightstands, a ginormous armoir. Bedroom two: iron bed, two nightstands, marble-topped chest. Bedroom three: two single iron beds, nightstand, normal-sized armoir, small desk and chair.

We still have several things we will need to buy, like tables, mirrors, lamps and assessories, but once August arrives, we should have enough of the basics in place to stay in the house.

Colour Madness Redux

My acute (actually, it's probably chronic) colour-choice anxiety continues. The preliminary verdicts on the choices so far. . .

Main bathroom tiles: excellent. Although it is hard to see in this picture, in real life, they look great.

Kitchen wall: so far OK, but I have only seen it on a small patch on the wall.

Walls for main rooms: Yikes! I'm not convinced that this works. I think it might be too yellow. However, I've agreed to live with it a while and see. Maybe it will grow on me.

Still to be seen: shutters and doors, outside walls and the ground floor bathroom tiles.

Overall, I'm relieved that the tiles turned out well. If a paint colour doesn't work, we can always re-paint. But if we get the tile wrong, that's another story altogether!

Progress, Progress, Progress

The builders and tradesmen have accomplished quite a bit since our last visit. They have finished the plumbing and electrical work, the trenches in the walls and floors made for the new pipes and wiring have been filled and plastered. . .

the bathroom tile work has begun. . .

the wall for the new ground floor bathroom is up. . .

and even the painting of the interior walls has started.

We expect them to complete the kitchen installation by mid-June and finish off the bathrooms and the interior paint work about the same time.

Although a huge amount of work remains, including all of the exterior painting, roof and gutter work, not to mention building the patio and a great deal of landscaping, things have progressed steadily so far. It looks like we may make it by the end of July after all. At least we are cautiously optimistic.

Puccini's Land

By spending time in this part of Tuscany during the past few months, we have learned that this year marks the 150th anniversary of Giacomo Puccini's birth. Puccini was born in Lucca on December 22nd, 1858, is the most performed composer in the world, which I suppose anyone who knows anything about opera would already know (as you may know from reading my other blog, my knowledge of opera remains somewhat limited).

Throughout the year, many concerts, lectures and other events will celebrate this anniversary in "Giacomo Puccini's Land," which encompasses Lucca, city and province, and the surrounding areas including Bagni di Lucca.


From the 1890's onwards, Puccini lived mostly in Torre del Lago, a town about fifteen miles from Lucca, where he eventually built a villa on the lake now called the Villa Museo Puccini. During his time there, he wrote his most famous operas, La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900) and Madama Butterfly (1904).

Puccini also spent time in Bagni di Lucca, and it was here that he wrote most of the opera Turondot, that remained unfinished at the time of his death in 1924. I do not know yet what specific events are planned for when we will be in the area, but hopefully we can catch some of them later this year.

The Madness of Colour

For me, choosing colours provides one of the most fun (and anxiety inducing) activities of the renovation project. I've always had an idea of the colours we wanted, but transferring what's in my head to paint samples has proved a bit tricky.

First, to find a colour for the house exterior, we walked around town with a fan of paint sample cards, trying to match the colour of buildings we liked. I'm sure we looked a bit odd going from building to building, but in the end, we found one we liked. We chose an ochre-like yellow, which should look good if we got the match right.

The interior proved more challenging. To help make the decision, we bought about a dozen different sample-size paint cans in various shades of the colours we liked. We then painted them onto several wooden boards to see what they looked like together, and also in various lighting environments.

I thought this would make the decision easier, but it actually made it more difficult - they all looked good in the various combinations, but none fit exactly right. I became convinced that I was searching for a colour that did not actually exist, somewhere between sand, straw and hay.

At one point, we found the perfect colour for the kitchen on a restaurant's dining room walls, but we could not match it to the various sample cards we tried (I suppose I did look a bit silly in the restaurant trying to inconspicuously match paint samples to the wall). We even went as far as asking the restaurant manager if he knew the colour and paint brand, but with no success.

Eventually, the moment of truth arrived: we had to make a decision in the paint store. Armed with our chips and plywood "mood board," we chose the final colours - green (Celtic Forest) for the kitchen walls, the best approximation of the non-existent colour between sand, straw and hay for the walls in the rest of the house, and olive for the shutters and doors

I'm now experiencing a terrifying fear that we've chosen all the wrong colours (I've done it before), and they will look awful once actually on the walls. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I guess we'll just wait and see. After all, it's only paint.

Now, what about the bathroom tiles. . . ?

A Work in Progress

We visited the villa at the beginning of this month to see how things have been progressing. As the pictures below will attest, much has happened. The builders have demolished and removed the existing kitchen and bathrooms, the plumber has removed the old pipes and installed the new plumbing and boiler, and the electrician has completed much of the new wiring in the kitchen and bathrooms.

It's amazing to see the thickness and composition of the stone walls when the trenches are dug for the pipes and wires. It least we can be sure that the house is sturdy!

Here are some comparisons of the house in its original state and what it looks like now. It will be fun to see the end result compared with these.

The kitchen before and now:



The ground floor bathroom:



The upstairs bathroom:



The garden (yikes!):


It looks a little scary, but we're happy that work is progressing on schedule, which does exceed my expectations. We will be back at the end of this month and should see quite a bit of progress. In fact, I'm told the builders have almost finished plastering of the walls.

Can't wait to get back and see how it's going.

Here's the Plan

During the past few weeks, we have put together an outline of the work needed to get the house ready to use. We have been very fortunate to find a fantastic person locally to help us coordinate the renovation work. This has benefited us enormously, as she has already had the utilities connected and she knows the local tradesmen. Once we actually start work, I'm sure that we will find her invaluable.

So, here's the outline of what we will do over the next couple of months:

1. Replace the boiler for heat and hot water, re-plumb heating system and complete plumbing work required for the new kitchen and bathrooms.


2. Install a new circuit breaker and perform general remedial wiring work.


3. Strip out existing kitchen and bathrooms.


4. Replace and repair some roof tiles and install new guttering and downspouts.


5. Strip and refinish doors, window frames and woodwork and replace hardware where required.


6. Install new kitchen and main bathroom.


7. Redesign and expand ground floor bathroom to include a shower and room for a washing machine.


8. Strip and refinish floors.


9. Replace or restore if possible the iron gate to the road and install an electric opener.


10. Build a stone terrace and walkway in the garden.


11. Build a bookcase under the staircase.


12. Paint interior and exterior.

While the list seems extensive, it fortunately does not include major reconstruction work. The biggest jobs will be the bathrooms, where we will move a wall, do some re-plumbing and put in new stone tiles; the kitchen, which should be a pretty straightforward fitted-kitchen installation.

Bathroom that will be expanded to include a shower and space for the washing machine:

Main bathroom: everything must go!


A bookcase goes against the wall under the staircase. . .

We're going to Bagni di Lucca in two weeks to catch up on things locally and to pick out the fixtures for the kitchens and bathrooms. We can't wait!

Getting Started

We haven't been back to Bagni di Lucca since we completed the purchase, but things have been happening nonetheless. The plumber, the electrician and the carpenter have all provided estimates for various pieces of work. Of course, we need to do a little more than we thought, but we kind of expected that.

Mostly it's the plumbing: we knew that we needed a new boiler, but the plumber says that we should probably replace the pipes that supply steam to the radiators as they are old and not in very good shape. This is one of those situations where everything is OK now, and could remain so for some time (maybe even for years). Conversely, the pipes could start cracking and leaking tomorrow.

In the end, we decided to go ahead and replace the pipes. It's more work and expense now, but much more peace of mind. Besides, the work involves trenching into the walls, so we would rather do it concurrently with the other work and while the house remains unoccupied.

Luckily, the old cast iron radiators are in great shape, and only need stripping and refinishing. These not only give character to the house, they also do a great job heating it. Apparently they are highly sought after and hard to find, so we're fortunate to have them.

Hopefully the plumbing work on can begin soon, and we're putting together the overall plan for everything else.

At this point we hope to be ready for late summer, but that may be optimistic!

A Map

A map of the villa's location, courtesy of Google Maps and a suggestion from a reader, Jeffrey in Connecticut. You can click on the "SAT" button to view a satellite picture.


View Larger Map

Before. . .

Just before the closing last week, I walked through the house to take stock of the work we will need to do. Luckily, aside from some repairs to the roof and gutters, the house does not require serious reconstruction work.

The biggest jobs will be fitting a new kitchen and bathrooms. Otherwise, we need to clean and restore the floors, strip and re-finish the woodwork on the doors and windows, update the electrics, paint the walls and some complete some other decoration work.

We're hoping to start the initial work within the next few weeks. If all goes well, we could finish by summer, but that may be too optimistic.

First step: clear out all the old junk!

Closing, Part 3 – The Finale

We met in the notary's office to sign the final documents. The notary serves in an official capacity as a neutral party to facilitate the transaction. She ensures that all parties understand and accept the transaction's terms, certifies the transaction's legitimacy, completes the required documentation and, very importantly, makes sure that all parties pay the various taxes.

With my bank drafts in hand, I arrived at the notary's office where a secretary ushered me into a conference room to meet my translator. We were soon joined by the 95-year-old owner's daughter and son-in-law, who represented her with a power of attorney, along with the estate agent, the architect serving as “technical advisor” to certify the official title and registration documents, and the notary herself.

We had assembled to sign two main documents: the deed of sale itself and the mortgage deed. The process requires that the notary read the ten page deed of sale in its entirety out loud to us. The translator had prepared an English translation for me, and we followed along as the notary read in Italian. As the reading progressed, we stopped periodically to discuss certain points (apparently it was important that the document correctly identify the vendor as a housewife rather than a pensioner) and the notary modified the document in real-time on her computer.

The section that outlined the specific property included in the sale generated the most discussion (and confusion). This purchase does not include simply a house on one a single plot of land; rather the property consists of about four small parcels of land linked together, the house itself and a garage that is part of another house altogether.

As the notary read out each numbered parcel and the technical advisor verified it on the official documentation, we found inconsistencies in the documentation. We spent about twenty minutes clarifying what exactly we were buying and after much discussion, gesticulating and paper shuffling (see previous post) we finally achieved clarity, or at least an acceptable level of ambiguity, and we moved on.

Finally, after an hour of reading, discussing and modifying, the notary pronounced the document complete, printed out a clean, fresh copy that the vendor signed on each page. Now it was my turn, and at this point I committed a major blunder.

When told where to sign, I did – using a blue-ink pen. Horror or horrors. The notary chastised me immediately as my pen slid across the paper leaving the offensive blue markings. Apparently, everyone knows that one can only sign documents with black ink. Duly chastened, I signed the remaining pages in black, and apparently my transgression could be overlooked if it was contained to one page – it was never mentioned again.

I thought that we had finished at that point, but we still had to go through the same process for the twenty-four page mortgage deed. This document required less discussion, but it was the notary's responsibility to ensure that I had a full understanding the mortgage contract. This process took another 45 minutes

Finally, in a flurry of activity, everyone stood up, checks changed hands and we finished. All of a sudden, it was done.

I left, dazed, confused and with a significantly lighter wallet. But we now own the house!

Closing the Deal, Part 2

Before signing the papers to close on the property, I visited the local bank to finalise the opening of my account and get the numerous bank drafts that I would need to hand over at the signing.

The process for setting up an account in Italy is not greatly different from doing so in the US or the UK, with one notable exception: Italian bankers possess an impressive array of rubber stamps, which they use with great enthusiasm at various points on dozens of documents.

An interesting dynamic, however, emerges in the process, one that often appears during complex (and often not-so-complex) interactions with Italians. I am not yet fluent in Italian (in fact, sometimes I can barely understand the language at all), but despite the language barrier, I have noticed a particular ritual occur in Italian transactions, even when there is no actual negotiation involved (like opening a bank account, for example).

The first person will make a request or a statement. In response, the counterparty will frown, perhaps make a "hmmmm" sound, and then launch into a sometimes impassioned, but often measured explanation of how difficult this will be, that it most likely cannot be done (impossible!) and certainly not within the time frame suggested.

An intense, but cordial, exchange follows for a few minutes, usually rich with repetition and gesticulation. Finally, as if they have reached an unspoken time limit, the parties miraculously agree. "OK, va bene," and it's done. Problem solved. On to the next item, where the process repeats itself.

You need to access the account this morning, today? I don't think we can do that. Four bank drafts by this afternoon? Impossible! Your address is in London? Hmmmm. You need internet access? We will need the special documents to be signed by the dirigente, and he is only here for one hour.

Watch carefully, and you will see this interaction play itself out repeatedly in Italy: in restaurants, at shops, at airports, and especially in banks and government offices. Nothing is simple or easy, but eventually, everything gets done.

In the end, we accomplished my banking tasks in about an hour. With the invaluable help of a translator to smooth the process, I signed a flurry of documents (stamp, stamp, stamp. . ), met the dirigente, got my bank card and secured the drafts to pay for the house.

So armed with my freshly minted drafts, I left the bank for the Notario's office to close the deal.

Closing is Complete

All did not go according to plan on Monday. I left for Stansted airport before dawn at 5:00 AM so that I would arrive in Bagni di Lucca in time to visit the bank to sign papers and get the bank drafts required for the closing scheduled for 4:30 that afternoon. I also planned to visit the house to review the renovation work we may want done with the woman who will manage the work locally for us. Ah, the best laid plans. . .

I arrived at the airport to find it shrouded in fog – not a good sign, and after an hour's delay, they finally cancelled the flight. A mad dash back to the terminal followed, where a mob, formed from the diaspora of multiple cancelled flights, milled impatiently waiting to re-book. A quick survey of the situation told me that my best options lay elsewhere.

I caught the express train back to London, hoping to reach Gatwick airport in time to catch a later flight, and also hoping that my travel agent could find one, which she promptly did. Two trains and two tube rides later, I was on a plane to Pisa, but not in time to make the closing. Luckily, the estate agent had rearranged everything for Tuesday (thankfully everyone was available) and equally fortunately, my schedule allowed me to stay another day to get it done.

So, after twelve hours of travelling, I arrived at Roberto's hotel in time for a good night's rest before the activities now planned for Tuesday. In the end, everything on Tuesday went smoothly, although the process proved convoluted, long, sometimes amusing and always uniquely Italian. I will save that story for the next post, but for now, the villa is officially ours!

Ready to Go

Monday is the big day. We have solved the problems, although I think we compromised a bit too much (caved, actually), and completed the paperwork. I am flying to Italy Monday morning to sign the papers and hand over a boatload of money. Then the house will be ours (well, and mostly the bank's)!

As I said before, now the fun part starts, although I guess we should do something about that roof first.

A Bump in the Road

Things had been progressing smoothly until a couple of days ago. We have sorted out all of the paperwork set a date to sign the final contracts. Unfortunately, the survey of the property has uncovered some previously unkown problems with the roof: it's not actually waterproof! Nothing that cannot be fixed, but a costly problem that changes our perspective on the financial aspect of the transaction.

We have now resumed negotiations with the vendor to solve this problem and reach an agreement that satisfies everyone. I am confident that we can resolve this, and while I knew we would experience complications along the way, this development is still disappointing. We would hate to be forced to walk away now.

The Devil's Bridge

I remember unexpectedly seeing the famous Ponte della Maddalena, also known as the Ponte del Diavolo (the Devil's Bridge), the first time we drove from Pisa to Bagni di Lucca. We immediately recognised this unique and beautiful landmark, originally built around 1100, from its appearance on a British TV property show about the area, but we had not known exactly where it was.

The bridge, notable for its unusual asymmetric arches, spans the river Serchio only a few kilometres from Bagni di Lucca in Borgo a Mozzano.

Legend has it that when the master mason building the bridge fell behind schedule, he made a pact with the Devil to finish the bridge in one night in exchange for the soul of whomever crossed it first. After the builder finished the bridge, he outsmarted the Devil by sending a pig across the bridge first, thus defeating the Devil and sending him back into the depths of the river.

The Devil has not been seen in the area since.

Finding Bagni di Lucca

We discovered Bagni di Lucca nearly four years ago at the beginning of our first serious property hunting trip. We had decided to start our search in the hills north of Lucca, as well as look further afield in the Garfagnana and Lunigiana.

These two beautiful but lesser-known areas of northwest Tuscany remain rich in history, home to numerous castles and mountain villages, and largely untouched by tourism. We chose Bagni di Lucca, which lies at the edge of the Garfagnana, as our base for the first part of our trip, mainly because one of our estate agents is located there.

After arriving in Pisa on the late flight from London, we reached the Hotel Corona in the dead of night where our magnificent and gracious host Roberto welcomed us. We chose this hotel on the recommendation of our estate agent, as we did not know the area very well, and we made an excellent choice. This great hotel, located on the edge of town, provides comfortable rooms and friendly, personal service on top of superb food in the restaurant.

During the next two or three days, we spent most of our time viewing several properties in the area around Bagni di Lucca; however, we also found time to explore the town. We strolled through the streets, drank coffee and wine in the bars, ate ice cream at the gelaterie, and dined in the ristoranti. We even found a favourite lunch spot, Ristorante da Bruno, which serves fantastic white truffles from the area.

Later that week, as our search took us further into the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, we discovered the delights of many towns and villages and enjoyed spectacular mountain scenery. However, when we returned to Bagni di Lucca on the last night before heading home, the town felt comfortable to us. Somehow it had become a familiar place to return to after exploring the new and unfamiliar, even though we had been there for the first time only five days earlier.

Although we didn't find a house on that trip, Bagni di Lucca captured us in a way. We returned several times during the following few years to stay at the Hotel Corona, eat at Ristorante da Bruno and enjoy the sights and attractions of the area. And although our search for an Italian home took us to many different parts of the country, I'm not really surprised that we finally bought our house here.

An Auspicious Sign

I found my horoscope today very satisfying. It reads:

"Long-term investments, especially those involving property, could pay off at this time. If you have been thinking of buying or selling a home, this is the time to do it. . ."

Not that I actually believe in this sort of thing, but hey, we will take any help we can get!

Getting Closer

Although it often seems to me that nothing is happening, in fact, the process is actually moving along roughly as planned. Lawyers, estate agents and bankers have exchanged documents, performed legal searches and valued the property. We have even started to zero-in on a date for completion, now tentatively planned for mid-February.

Meanwhile, we're still thinking about about kitchens, bathrooms and furniture.

Funding the Dream

One thing that I keep forgetting until I experience it again: the act of spending money is very different from planning to spend money.

During the four years of contemplation the led to our Italian property purchase, I have rigorously planned and re-planned, modelled and re-modelled the financial consequences of the transaction. This involved creating financial scenarios that included different houses in different locations, wildly fluctuating budgets, and sometimes staggering amounts of debt combined with highly suspect projections of capital gains, interest rate moves and foreign exchange fluctuations.

As a result, I am making this purchase with with my eyes wide open. I completely understand and have come to terms with the financial impact (and the uncertainties involved) from a personal cash flow and balance sheet perspective. The picture is not entirely pretty, but certainly within my tolerance for superfluous spending and assuming unnecessary debt.

Yesterday, however, cold reality hit as I started writing cheques. Well, I did not really write any cheques. I actually transferred the funds using my bank's web site, but "writing cheques" provides a stronger visual image, so go with me on this.

Despite the detailed planning and preparation, despite knowing that the transaction will not bankrupt us, despite the fact that we are fulfilling a long-held ambition of owning a house in Italy, writing the cheques still hurts.

During the past two days, I have paid the deposit on the property (big hurt), the contract registration tax (little hurt), a valuation fee (almost painless), and the agent's brokerage (medium hurt, but worth it). Still to come will be the surveyor's fee, a notary fee (more than you would think), numerous and sometimes large taxes and registration fees (yes, Italian bureaucracy is still going strong), and of course officially taking on the huge mortgage obligation at completion.

Of course, the real fun begins once we actually own the house. Kitchen, bathrooms, re-plastering, re-wiring, furniture. . .

I will keep you posted, but now I'm going to take some ibuprofen.