RENOVATING
“A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid”
J.R.R Tolkien
Our home in Bobbio Pellice has a tiny circular window high up on the crest of the roof line. Although I searched I couldn’t find it inside. My husband being a little more inventive worked out that it must be over the second bedroom.
Pushing the ceiling panels he soon found the secret opening and a loft filled with hidden treasures documenting the history of the house.
Using on old handmade wooden ladder Sam and Carina braved the loft and were soon passing down ancient baskets, round green bottles, an old stirrup, a partially made boot, a leather suitcase, old magazines from the 50’s, a hand drawn map with a child’s writing…..each hidden treasure a window into the lives led here.
and the gang x
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/header-Lantic-Vetreriabatch.jpg
443
590
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2014-01-30 07:39:062022-12-14 15:02:34L’Antica Vetreria – the glass factory renovation
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DSCF1241-editbatch.jpg
442
590
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2013-04-21 06:38:242021-08-23 18:14:36Italian Doors – a conversation
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/Guest-Renovator-Casa-Colleverde.jpg
443
590
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-10-31 21:06:552022-12-14 15:01:46Casa Colleverde – a stunning transformation
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/header-Jill-Pennington.jpg
443
590
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-09-28 20:58:092022-12-14 14:51:10Jill Pennington – The Diary of a single parent abroad
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/rsz_jeff_blue_ceiling.jpg
323
432
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-09-04 19:59:392025-01-06 18:35:51Villa de Vecchi – Interior images
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/borgo-di-vagli-1-2.jpg
443
590
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-06-27 21:37:282023-04-11 17:40:45Borgo di Vagli – a walk through time
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/rsz_red_room_door_guys.jpg
315
432
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-06-11 22:22:552018-07-28 18:56:42Balestrino – Inkheart and Coffee Tables
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tuscany-003.jpg
293
465
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-05-04 21:14:162022-02-13 19:22:45Renovating Italy meets the New York Times
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nhm-couple.jpg
288
432
Lisa Chiodo
https://www.renovatingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/RI-logo-created-1-180x180.png
Lisa Chiodo2012-04-04 08:17:012022-12-14 14:50:30A Dream of Italy – The Field Stones of Umbria
I am feeling very honoured to be observing such sacred moments. Unpacking the contents of your roof space…. you must have felt like you were handling some very precious relics. Even writing this I can imagine how amazing it must have been. Your new home is sublime. I would feel quite in seventh heaven. With love, Jx
Carina found a tiny envelope with a hand painted card inside. It was from a christening over 50 years ago. Yes I do feel very close to the old man who lived here finding these things hidden away. The entire area is like stepping back in time, the people here are born and bred in the borgata, and are so friendly and keen to share the stories of the past. Now I have to become fluent as it’s driving me nuts having to rely on Sam to ask questions LOL xxx sending love x
So lovely, all these treasures. It is so enriching to have a house that breathes. I remember when we first bought this place we found ‘moneghe’, used to warm up freezing beds in Veneto. They’re up in our portico now. Looking forward to seeing more shots. Yes, the fresh water is a rare and special thing! Xcat
Oh I could use something to warm up the bed right now that’s for sure. I am certainly present while washing dishes here as I need to heat up the water on the stove first LOL x I have so many photos I don’t know where to start x
Wonderful photos, Lisa.
I love discovering old things left behind and untouched for decades!
That house looks like it’s already livable. Do you have a heat source now?
What an adventure for you and the family. I hope Spring comes soon, too.
I love the name of the town or neighborhood. I am now calling my hubby,( whose real name is Bob,) Bobbio!
Yes…..I say it Boh-Bee-Oh! We like it.
The house is solid and structurally sound. It’s liveable only for the heating which we will get in asap. A friend here’s father passed away and they are giving us many of his household possessions so we just need to organize a truck and someone to help with the removal. We are waiting for the weather to improve a bit x
xx
Oh Lisa how very special. They will be gorgeous decorative pieces. I have to ask does the water taste beautiful?
Belinda the water is incredible and so cold it takes your breath away. We just found another huge basket which we were told was one of a pair that would be used on a donkey. Priceless x
OH gosh…..that experience is not something you can ever get from a Book!! Incredible the things that are waiting for you in your attic. Incredible to see a drawing from a child left there, and those baskets are gorgeous.
I so want to go to Italy after seeing it through your families eyes 🙂
It’s just mind boggling Lisa, we were talking with an old lady in her late 80’s who grew up here and she was telling us about the partisans and the Nazi’s coming through the village. So many incredible stories and her family offered to take us with them when they take the cows up the mountains to pasture. It is just spectacular here, I still pinch myself everyday x
Wow Lisa, beautiful pictures and hidden treasures.
Well I have to credit them to my hubby or he’ll disown me, just the scoop one is mine. He does take some wonderful shots and studied commercial photography which is where we met x
What precious things! Now you can open an antique store, Lisa. I’m surprised you have antique beds like that way up there–I thought they were a Sicilian thing! How incredibly lucky to have water from a fresh spring right in your house. Too divine. I love the stories that old houses tell, and yours is going to talk a lot, I think!!
The bed is a treasure and the springs are great. I love the height and the headboard, it will definitely be a feature in the house. The house has huge doors which open onto the road through the borgata and when you push them open you enter the ground floor with huge cantina, area for the animals, a large piza oven, and all kinds of tiny rooms which we will explore further once the power is turned on. Of course we would get a house which talks alot, just like us!! x
What precious findings Lisa. And water from the sorgente…..crystal clear and delicious I bet X
Icy cold and fresh it’s just beautiful. We very soon learn just how precious water and wood are around here, as soon as we tell an Italian we have water from the sorgente flowing through the house the eyes light up!! I showed my hubby your post with the photo of the family cooking between the sheets and he’s going to ask his Mum to take a look xx
This is so exciting Lisa – thank you for sharing. F xx
It’s nice to know that the history of the place will remain and I hope to frame some of the items xx
Amazing, what an incredible experience (especially for the kids), thanks for sharing. xx
I thought my daughter very brave to climb up with Sam, we might need a sturdier ladder though x