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A close approximation

Friends in Vicenza...their villa (my term)

We have good friends in Vicenza who own a beautiful home attached to a church on the outskirts of the city (age uncertain)

You walk in through the front door, and you are transported back into time. Old brick, stone, and carvings greet you, with a wonderful winding marble staircase, worn smooth over years of use by the Monks who lived here originally.

Heavy wooden beams, lindles, and old doors with huge metal hinges, with leaden windows, which allow arches of sunlight through, to warm the large rooms, with high 14 foot ceilings. Fireplaces, with beautiful wood mantles adorn most of the rooms, but heating is supplimented throughout with modern gas fired appliances, none of which are noticeable to disturb this feeling of yesteryear.

I can not count the number of rooms contained within the thick stone walls, but twenty would probably be close in number. It stands two stories from the front courtyard, and three stories from the rear garden area.

Renovations were undergone about five years ago, in keeping with the original design, but all modern conveniences were installed, making it a joy to come home to on a chilly evening. No feelings of dampness are felt, even when sitting still reading a book.

At night, all is still, no creaking or moaning which is often heard in homes in Canada as temperatures drop, or the loud snaps that occur when the wooden studs freeze solid, and shift their burden to be shared by the rest of the wooden structure.

In spring time, with windows wide open, if you listen carefully, you can hear the stream bubbling past on the property edge. Mornings are a real joy. You awake to the sounds of birds, singing away, each species trying their best to out do the other.

An idylic setting, wonderful friends, all found within this beautiful country. Italy. Can life get any better?

Ownership of a home of this age comes complete with vast responsibilities for the homeowner. They are not allowed to change roof lines, alter the shape of windows or doors, and in anyway destroy or eliminate the historical beauty of the structure. The property must be maintained and/or upgraded according to certain specifications established by building codes.

This makes home repair exceptionally expensive. Talk about a 'money pit'. Not every contractor is capable of such work, and only certain contractors capable of reproducing the beautiful craftsmanship the artisans of yesterday produced. Working in this material (water/sand) is painstakingly slow, as curing time for new work is so important, taking a month or more for interior walls to set. Please understand, I am going only on hearsay, and have never experienced the physical application of such skills in masonary. The closest I have come was applying a chemical to the wood surfaces of this home, every nook and cranny of it, in order to attend to an investation of a wood boring insect called 'Tarley'. The spelling is probably not correct, but I will improve my accuracy by the time I complete this narrative.

This destructive little bugger eats its way into the wood, and lays its eggs, and the off spring then wander about, staking claim to any un-inhabited areas. Eventually, the wood will gain an antique 'look', so valued by collectors of old furniture, but so damaging to the integrity of the structure they are found in.

The goal of the application of these chemicals, is to kill the off spring when they come to the surface after hatching, and attempt to go 'house hunting' on their own. They chew on the treated wood, then bingo, one generation destroyed. It takes about three to four applications, one per season to finally get all critters attended to.

A very messy job, using chemicals with no warning labels of any sort, which create red, tingling rashes on exposed surfaces of your skin. I hope it takes more than one application to attend to the 'silly bugger' who agreed to be helpful.

Time will tell, and I'll attempt to give updates each year...if I miss an update, pls send condolences via VT to Ma Kettle. Its been a great life.

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New Construction...

Watching new homes being constructed in Italy is a great interest of mine. I am absolutely fascinated by the methods used to put a building together in Italy.

In Canada, a house is made of cement building blocks, and timber by-products, such as spruce studs, and scraps of wood shavings glued together to form chipboard, some wood veneer laminated together to form plywood, some nails, staples, fibreglass insulation, foam, and ashfelt shingles. A vinyl, tin, or wood siding is applied to the exterior, maybe a stucco fascade, or brick accent, but that's it. A house could be completed within three months, more or less, before it becomes a home. Fences, driveways, and yards are after thoughts, and generally are left to the home owner to complete.

In order to construct this type of house, you dig a hole first for the basement, pour a cement foundation and floor, and get a crew of carpenters with saws and hammers, give then a plan, and set them to it.

In Italy, homes are built with water and sand, and a little bit of wood, with clay tiles for the roof.

You don't usually see a basement, but obviously a foundation is laid prior to construction.

I'm no expert, and I haven't been here long enough to be precise, but I can comment on what I noticed.

First off, a tall crane is installed adjacent to the site of the new structure. Next, a huge cement mixer is off-lifted from a truck by the earlier installed crane. I do mean huge, certainly by Canadian standards. Next come the truck loads of bricks, pallets of cement bags, all removed by above mentioned crane. A crane operator must be a well paying job. (does anyone know??) He's appears to be very important to the construction industry.

Once supplies are on site, then come the crew. I never saw many people, usually only two, maybe three people max.

It appears that one of the first things they do, is install temporary fencing, which is made of a heavy gauge wire, and then it is covered with an orange plastic wrap, which provides some privacy from people like me, but primarily very clearly defines the area as a construction site.

The building goes up very slowly. Almost like building with Legos, but with craftmen doing the fitting. Every block must have the right amount of cement applied, or at some point the wall becomes uneven.

In Canada we use pre-cut 'studs', and build each wall seperately, and raise into place by man-power alone, and tack each section together, until all walls are in place, then permanently affix one to the other. Remember, I am simplifying the process. I understand the skills required.

In Italy, the blocks appear to be installed one by one, gradually encircling the structure, going higher and higher. As the height of the building increase, a series of very complex scaffolding is erected.

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talk about a cement mixer...

IF ANY READERS HAVE COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS PLS E-MAIL ME.

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every construction site has a crane...

PLEASE BE PATIENT. THIS PAGE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. I AM WAITING FOR MORE INFO PLUS HAVE LOST MY PICTURE DISC...TEMPORARILY I HOPE...

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

WOULD APPRECIATE ANY INFORMATION FROM VT MEMBERS RE ITALIAN HOUSE CONSTRUCTION...CAN FIND NOTHING ON THE WEB.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION