{"id":1173,"date":"2025-07-19T07:37:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T07:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ouritalianfarmhouse.com\/ourstory\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2025-08-12T08:39:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T08:39:51","slug":"a-house-we-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ouritalianfarmhouse.com\/ourstory\/2025\/07\/19\/a-house-we-like\/","title":{"rendered":"A house we like"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A small brick-and-stone farmhouse, two rooms on the ground floor and two rooms above, sits empty at the edge of a broad meadow that slopes gently to the south.  By foot, up a steep paved road, one can reach Piazza Maggiore, the medieval center of Mondov\u00ec, in 15 minutes.  The property sits with its back to the road.  Behind a wall of brick and stone with an old-fashioned wooden portone<\/em> is a small front garden where old roses grow against the house, a grape arbor shades an outdoor table, and the yard is bordered by fig trees, a large bay laurel, and a walnut tree.  The rest of the property includes an overgrown orchard and the big meadow.  These are the chief virtues of the place; the house has no architectural significance except as a modest example of the vernacular, with vaulted brick ceilings in the lower level and an open, double-volume hayloft that forms an ell at the east end of the house.  An external stairway at the west end is the sole access between the two stories.  The house has no running water, no electricity, no cooking or heating facilities beyond two small fireplaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our consultant architect estimates 154 square meters of living space in the existing house.  After enclosing the staircase and finishing the upper level of the loft (depending on permits from the city), we might finish with a home of 180-200 m sq.  This process could take 12 \u2013 24 months.  Costs of transforming the building into a year-round dwelling would include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n