We are staying with a large party of people in a lovely old villa near Montevarchi & Bucine in Tuscany. We know that there is the cantine aperte on the 31st but we will all be gone by then.
I own a piece of land and we are sometimes visited by hunters. I am a veggie and am therefore upset by the hunting. I feel that there are ways to stop hunters coming on your land. Get to know them, ask them nicely. If you are living here permanantly the last thing you need is to become a social pariah. We are trying to communicate with our neighbours and not alienate them. I realise that there is no tresspass law in Italy and it appears that only the Comune can designate "No Hunting" areas... I came to Italy to live here, and have to some extent accept the way things are, after all they have been this way for so long.Maybe to change things takes a little longer & one has to be more understanding. We do not own the land we just look after it for a bit eh? Sprat
You mention road signs so I conclude you are thinking of a driving holiday here. Whether you intend to drive over in your own car or hire something here, a word of warning; you need nerves of steel.It would be obvious stating that they drive on the wrong side of the road out here, but if only it were true. They in fact drive on any side of the road that takes their fancy & trust their fate to whatever saint they have stuck to the dashboard. This is especially true of narrow winding country roads where all traffic; cars, trucks & buses, will suddenly appear round the bend ahead on your side of the road. Don't let your nerves falter. With consummate skill that is exclusively theirs they will shepherd you halfway onto the grass verge while they disappear in a cloud of dust leaving you scrabbling for the Valium.White lines at road junctions get repainted regularly every half century yet most find it difficult to determine priority & often fall back on the "give way to traffic entering the junction from the right" rule. This rule can be highly entertaining when used while negotiating a roundabout, especially when you consider that they go anti-clockwise round them here. Don't be put off though cos a car is very useful for exploring Italy unless, as first-timers, you are doing just the three major tourist centers you mentioned Tammy. In what order are you doing them? Save Rome till last; it IS the best. Last time we went we tried to stay in one of the Convents (there's one by the Spanish Steps) but it was a Public Holiday & they were all full. Rome has the atmosphere of a real living breathing city whilst Florence can feel a bit like an open air art gallery, with some of the rudest gallery attendants in Italy. Top tip: if you are used to the English habit of walking crowded streets & everyone politely negotiating each other you will, as I was, be exasperated by the lack of pavement manners & be constantly getting out the way of people that are oblivious to your existence. Keep your eyes looking down & your path will be miraculously kept clear.Second Top Tip; visit the Dolomites. Take some walking boots & a rucksack & stay in either Val di Fassa or Cortina. Mind-blowing.Pilch
.......is, in fact, Italian as most people outside of Tuscany, metropolitan Rome & Milan tend to favour their own dialect which can be significantly different from Italian. Usefully though, on the tourist trail, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Rome, especially among Italians that work in the tourist trade, primitive but functional English is often spoken, although don't expect everyone to do so. Most Italians understand the value of English as the internationally accepted language & will try what little they know on you, especially the young. If you are thinking of visiting Italy try to make the effort of learning some basics in advance (forget the grammar & concentrate on vocabulary & pronunciation) & bring a decent phrase book with you. The real bonus is that most Italians, in stark contrast to the British, are outgoing, friendly, guileless, desperate to please, very generous natured, very understanding & polite. Your two previous replies must have been from people that failed to notice your picture which demonstrates how young you are & are therefore excused a degree of youthful naivety, something I am sure they were never blessed with themselves.Pilch
€600 a week!!!!!! We function on a 1/3rd of that & eat out occasionally, drive to U.K. a couple of times a year, run two mobile phones, internet & a vehicle. We did not grow our own food this year so had to do all our shopping and use local shops. We don't live the life of Riley, but had two or three long visits away. We do watch what we spend, but still have treats. So....I can only suppose it's what your used to. If you need and want to go to 5 star hotels & eat out at fancy restaurants, and need to change your car every year & a new wardrobe every year then I suppose you need €30.000 a year. Secondo me.Sprat
Hi Sparky,I have some sympathy with Alan cos you confused me too, but Alan confused me even more. I can only follow one or two logical trains at a time. Anyway never mind about all that. I'd like to know your thoughts on pros & cons of English versus Italian domestic wiring. I love the Italian conduit system. So easy to repair & adapt. Why no ring main though........ it's got to be better. Brit sparkys respect polarity but the Italians will run a live on any old colour. They, I must admit, see the value of double pole switching but probably only to keep their ambivalent polarity safer: but then again there's always the good old RCCB to Salva your Vita.So what's to stop you running 2.5mm twin & earth ring-mains in Italian conduit for power circuits & even connecting up good old UK 2-gang sockets & running lighting circuits in twin & earth too. Bet it couldn't be classed as illegal or unsafe providing the salva vita is included.Pilch
This is what I do with my Zucchini as we have loads.3-4 small zucchini sliced about 1/4 -1/2 "Butter1 largish tomato chopped into small cubesachet saffron powder2 garlic cloves choppedsmall teaspoon of chilli oil ( less if preferred)grated parmesan or pecorinospaghetti for 2Melt butter, add zuccs, fry till golden...slowly without burning butteradd garlic..cookadd tomato. place lid on to melt tom into a juiceadd chilli oil, or olive oil. add saffronSalt & pepper...i stir in some of my home-made basil oilCook till it melds into a thick sauce, add a handful of parmesanPour over pasta add more parmesan if needed & eat Very quick lunch Sprat
Have you tried using Formule 1? Cost per night €30 for 2 people. I went into above link to cost up a double room and it showed €110 per night. Not cheap.
House designs for Italian winters.It's actually a very interesting thread this cos I reckon the vast bulk of Italian houses could be improved in so many ways to combat cold & damp.Considering that most of Italy has hotter summers & colder winters than the UK. You'd think that the concept of the "thermal break" would have gained some currency. I mean, they recognize that double glazing works & they are prepared to spend quite generously for it but they then go for uninsulated walls, floors, roofs etc. Sorry, the thread started by saying to forget thermal insulation but how can you? OK then, forget SIP's panels, forget cavity wall construction, forget insulated dry lining.Both in the UK & here in Italy they used to glue the stone & brick that they built houses from together with lime based mortar. Across the 20th century Portland cement gradually became the norm. Whereas in the UK we continue to this day to cover our internal wall faces with plaster, the Italians have moved on to sand & cement "intonaco". Sand & cement is far less water permeable than lime mortar & plaster mixes so it would be easy to asume that it's better at keeping the damp out but, short of there being serious water ingress probs like failing gutters, downpipes & rising damp, that impermeability actually is counter-productive. Assuming that the external fabric of a building is modestly weatherproof the majority of moisture & damp related problems originate from moisture created INSIDE the house not outside. Cooking, bathing, breathing: all the moisture these processes create remain in the air & are partially absorbed by the furnishings, bedding etc. With no ventilation grills in the walls nor trickle vents in windows, across the cooler months, when windows & doorsare closed to keep the heat in, the air becomes more & more moisture laden. With uninsulated walls covered with cold non-permeable sand & cement the situation is exacerbated. Plaster finishes, which are lime based, extract moisture from the air to a pretty incredible degree, up to 40% their own weight, & release it when the ambient moisture content of the air & ventilation allows. Result: a natural & automatic regulation of humidity/damp in the house. If the living accomodation is ground floor or partly buried in a hillside then all of the above applies with the addition then of the incorporation of an effective DPM: not a damp course but a DPM. (See previous post)Porches, pergolas & loggias are great. they keep much of the fierce heat of summer out & as well as the severe cold of winter. They do that because they function as a thermal break. I love the concept of extracting heat from the subsoil in winter & it's cooling effect in summer from the "ground source effect". Ground temperatures remain fairly stable throughout the year so that the ground is warmer than the air in winter & cooler in summer. Any living accomodation situated on the ground floor will benefit from this effect & will offer a far more comfortable space to live in provided there is a DPM. Many Italians hibernate during winter into a smaller number of rooms or even a winter appartment. Shame they can't convert a bit of the cantina.Another way of dealing with the Italian winter could be to stay in the UK for a few months. What with global warming & increased cost of living here, & apart from the more profound cold in Italy, there is no longer much difference. Oh, I forgot, Christmas is better inthe UK.Pilch
No Adriatica, a DPM is one thing, what you are referring to is a "Damp Course". In the UK they used to be slate, then bituminized felt & now heavy grade plastic. It's laid on top of the first couple of courses of block or brick & are slightly wider than the wall they are providing a damp course for. DPM is a vast, tough sheet of plastic laid over the compacted rock & sand before the concrete foundations go in. Its drawn up at the sides to isolate the foundations from the ground.In some rare cases, where there is something solid like rock etc just below the surface, a lightweight structure like mine can be supported on block on concrete pads as you describe. A mobile home, just like a caravan, will have a frame that maintains its rigidity, preventing twisting & can be rested on blocks or even it's own wheels. The Log Cabin I'm getting will rely entirely on what's underneath it fo it's structural integrity. Unfortunately most soils & subsoils do not have the ability to support any kind of structure in the manner you describe without problems. The subsoil in our area is deep clay over tufa &, were I to follow your recommendations, all the windows & doors would be jammed shut within a year due to the shrink & heave clay soils are famous for. One corner of the building might slowly rise as the moisture content increases & another possibly drop from drying out resulting in a slight twist to the structure. A solid steel reinforced concrete pad, properly engineered, is the only solution I've heard of & sitting it on a DPM will block ingress of moisture to the underfloor timber cavity. Cats can be skinned in a variety of ways, each having it's plusses & minuses, but this is the method that, on balance, will be best unless a Civil Engineer can tell me otherwise. Gala Placida, did you know that your UPVC windows can probably have closeable trickle-vents installed at very little cost & disruption & are well worth thinking about.Pilch
Comments posted
I own a piece of land and we are sometimes visited by hunters. I am a veggie and am therefore upset by the hunting. I feel that there are ways to stop hunters coming on your land. Get to know them, ask them nicely. If you are living here permanantly the last thing you need is to become a social pariah. We are trying to communicate with our neighbours and not alienate them. I realise that there is no tresspass law in Italy and it appears that only the Comune can designate "No Hunting" areas... I came to Italy to live here, and have to some extent accept the way things are, after all they have been this way for so long.Maybe to change things takes a little longer & one has to be more understanding. We do not own the land we just look after it for a bit eh? Sprat
You mention road signs so I conclude you are thinking of a driving holiday here. Whether you intend to drive over in your own car or hire something here, a word of warning; you need nerves of steel.It would be obvious stating that they drive on the wrong side of the road out here, but if only it were true. They in fact drive on any side of the road that takes their fancy & trust their fate to whatever saint they have stuck to the dashboard. This is especially true of narrow winding country roads where all traffic; cars, trucks & buses, will suddenly appear round the bend ahead on your side of the road. Don't let your nerves falter. With consummate skill that is exclusively theirs they will shepherd you halfway onto the grass verge while they disappear in a cloud of dust leaving you scrabbling for the Valium.White lines at road junctions get repainted regularly every half century yet most find it difficult to determine priority & often fall back on the "give way to traffic entering the junction from the right" rule. This rule can be highly entertaining when used while negotiating a roundabout, especially when you consider that they go anti-clockwise round them here. Don't be put off though cos a car is very useful for exploring Italy unless, as first-timers, you are doing just the three major tourist centers you mentioned Tammy. In what order are you doing them? Save Rome till last; it IS the best. Last time we went we tried to stay in one of the Convents (there's one by the Spanish Steps) but it was a Public Holiday & they were all full. Rome has the atmosphere of a real living breathing city whilst Florence can feel a bit like an open air art gallery, with some of the rudest gallery attendants in Italy. Top tip: if you are used to the English habit of walking crowded streets & everyone politely negotiating each other you will, as I was, be exasperated by the lack of pavement manners & be constantly getting out the way of people that are oblivious to your existence. Keep your eyes looking down & your path will be miraculously kept clear.Second Top Tip; visit the Dolomites. Take some walking boots & a rucksack & stay in either Val di Fassa or Cortina. Mind-blowing.Pilch
.......is, in fact, Italian as most people outside of Tuscany, metropolitan Rome & Milan tend to favour their own dialect which can be significantly different from Italian. Usefully though, on the tourist trail, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Rome, especially among Italians that work in the tourist trade, primitive but functional English is often spoken, although don't expect everyone to do so. Most Italians understand the value of English as the internationally accepted language & will try what little they know on you, especially the young. If you are thinking of visiting Italy try to make the effort of learning some basics in advance (forget the grammar & concentrate on vocabulary & pronunciation) & bring a decent phrase book with you. The real bonus is that most Italians, in stark contrast to the British, are outgoing, friendly, guileless, desperate to please, very generous natured, very understanding & polite. Your two previous replies must have been from people that failed to notice your picture which demonstrates how young you are & are therefore excused a degree of youthful naivety, something I am sure they were never blessed with themselves.Pilch
€600 a week!!!!!! We function on a 1/3rd of that & eat out occasionally, drive to U.K. a couple of times a year, run two mobile phones, internet & a vehicle. We did not grow our own food this year so had to do all our shopping and use local shops. We don't live the life of Riley, but had two or three long visits away. We do watch what we spend, but still have treats. So....I can only suppose it's what your used to. If you need and want to go to 5 star hotels & eat out at fancy restaurants, and need to change your car every year & a new wardrobe every year then I suppose you need €30.000 a year. Secondo me.Sprat
What the hell has happened to this site? It used to have real people on it that could answer a question like this.Pilch
Hi Sparky,I have some sympathy with Alan cos you confused me too, but Alan confused me even more. I can only follow one or two logical trains at a time. Anyway never mind about all that. I'd like to know your thoughts on pros & cons of English versus Italian domestic wiring. I love the Italian conduit system. So easy to repair & adapt. Why no ring main though........ it's got to be better. Brit sparkys respect polarity but the Italians will run a live on any old colour. They, I must admit, see the value of double pole switching but probably only to keep their ambivalent polarity safer: but then again there's always the good old RCCB to Salva your Vita.So what's to stop you running 2.5mm twin & earth ring-mains in Italian conduit for power circuits & even connecting up good old UK 2-gang sockets & running lighting circuits in twin & earth too. Bet it couldn't be classed as illegal or unsafe providing the salva vita is included.Pilch
This is what I do with my Zucchini as we have loads.3-4 small zucchini sliced about 1/4 -1/2 "Butter1 largish tomato chopped into small cubesachet saffron powder2 garlic cloves choppedsmall teaspoon of chilli oil ( less if preferred)grated parmesan or pecorinospaghetti for 2Melt butter, add zuccs, fry till golden...slowly without burning butteradd garlic..cookadd tomato. place lid on to melt tom into a juiceadd chilli oil, or olive oil. add saffronSalt & pepper...i stir in some of my home-made basil oilCook till it melds into a thick sauce, add a handful of parmesanPour over pasta add more parmesan if needed & eat Very quick lunch Sprat
Have you tried using Formule 1? Cost per night €30 for 2 people. I went into above link to cost up a double room and it showed €110 per night. Not cheap.
House designs for Italian winters.It's actually a very interesting thread this cos I reckon the vast bulk of Italian houses could be improved in so many ways to combat cold & damp.Considering that most of Italy has hotter summers & colder winters than the UK. You'd think that the concept of the "thermal break" would have gained some currency. I mean, they recognize that double glazing works & they are prepared to spend quite generously for it but they then go for uninsulated walls, floors, roofs etc. Sorry, the thread started by saying to forget thermal insulation but how can you? OK then, forget SIP's panels, forget cavity wall construction, forget insulated dry lining.Both in the UK & here in Italy they used to glue the stone & brick that they built houses from together with lime based mortar. Across the 20th century Portland cement gradually became the norm. Whereas in the UK we continue to this day to cover our internal wall faces with plaster, the Italians have moved on to sand & cement "intonaco". Sand & cement is far less water permeable than lime mortar & plaster mixes so it would be easy to asume that it's better at keeping the damp out but, short of there being serious water ingress probs like failing gutters, downpipes & rising damp, that impermeability actually is counter-productive. Assuming that the external fabric of a building is modestly weatherproof the majority of moisture & damp related problems originate from moisture created INSIDE the house not outside. Cooking, bathing, breathing: all the moisture these processes create remain in the air & are partially absorbed by the furnishings, bedding etc. With no ventilation grills in the walls nor trickle vents in windows, across the cooler months, when windows & doorsare closed to keep the heat in, the air becomes more & more moisture laden. With uninsulated walls covered with cold non-permeable sand & cement the situation is exacerbated. Plaster finishes, which are lime based, extract moisture from the air to a pretty incredible degree, up to 40% their own weight, & release it when the ambient moisture content of the air & ventilation allows. Result: a natural & automatic regulation of humidity/damp in the house. If the living accomodation is ground floor or partly buried in a hillside then all of the above applies with the addition then of the incorporation of an effective DPM: not a damp course but a DPM. (See previous post)Porches, pergolas & loggias are great. they keep much of the fierce heat of summer out & as well as the severe cold of winter. They do that because they function as a thermal break. I love the concept of extracting heat from the subsoil in winter & it's cooling effect in summer from the "ground source effect". Ground temperatures remain fairly stable throughout the year so that the ground is warmer than the air in winter & cooler in summer. Any living accomodation situated on the ground floor will benefit from this effect & will offer a far more comfortable space to live in provided there is a DPM. Many Italians hibernate during winter into a smaller number of rooms or even a winter appartment. Shame they can't convert a bit of the cantina.Another way of dealing with the Italian winter could be to stay in the UK for a few months. What with global warming & increased cost of living here, & apart from the more profound cold in Italy, there is no longer much difference. Oh, I forgot, Christmas is better inthe UK.Pilch
No Adriatica, a DPM is one thing, what you are referring to is a "Damp Course". In the UK they used to be slate, then bituminized felt & now heavy grade plastic. It's laid on top of the first couple of courses of block or brick & are slightly wider than the wall they are providing a damp course for. DPM is a vast, tough sheet of plastic laid over the compacted rock & sand before the concrete foundations go in. Its drawn up at the sides to isolate the foundations from the ground.In some rare cases, where there is something solid like rock etc just below the surface, a lightweight structure like mine can be supported on block on concrete pads as you describe. A mobile home, just like a caravan, will have a frame that maintains its rigidity, preventing twisting & can be rested on blocks or even it's own wheels. The Log Cabin I'm getting will rely entirely on what's underneath it fo it's structural integrity. Unfortunately most soils & subsoils do not have the ability to support any kind of structure in the manner you describe without problems. The subsoil in our area is deep clay over tufa &, were I to follow your recommendations, all the windows & doors would be jammed shut within a year due to the shrink & heave clay soils are famous for. One corner of the building might slowly rise as the moisture content increases & another possibly drop from drying out resulting in a slight twist to the structure. A solid steel reinforced concrete pad, properly engineered, is the only solution I've heard of & sitting it on a DPM will block ingress of moisture to the underfloor timber cavity. Cats can be skinned in a variety of ways, each having it's plusses & minuses, but this is the method that, on balance, will be best unless a Civil Engineer can tell me otherwise. Gala Placida, did you know that your UPVC windows can probably have closeable trickle-vents installed at very little cost & disruption & are well worth thinking about.Pilch