Tag Archive for: renovation
” Villa de Vecchi, off in the distance.
It damn near took my breath away. “
Jeff Kerwin ~ photographer
Recently I wrote of Villa de Vecchi, a beautiful abandoned building I came across through an image shared on facebook. I not only fell in love with the building but also wanted to discover the story of the original owners. Since writing this post I have traveled further in my quest to find the “truth” and been lucky enough to meet many others with the same passion.
The interior of Villa de Vecchi is simply stunning and I can imagine how sumptuous it must have been in it’s day. With so many details and intricate moldings, patterned walls, and vivid color still visible the house still holds traces of it’s former elegance.
That Villa de Vecchi speaks to so many and draws them to visit intrigues me. What has somebody see an image online and then plan over years to visit in person. To not only achieve that dream but record the visit so beautifully.
The images I fell in love with while researching Villa de Vecchi were all copyright so I didn’t share them. Imagine my delight when I found out that Jeff Kerwin was the photographer. He came across the story and left me a comment, a new friendship was formed. We certainly share a love of photography and abandoned places. He travels to Italy regularly and his passion is clear. Another friendship formed through an unusual coincidence.
Jeff has very kindly given me permission to share these images and I have selected a small number from his incredible archive. As he says
“I live in Washington, DC but my heart belongs to Italia. Especially the Mezzogiorno (southern Italy). Napoli stole my heart and Sicilia blew my mind.”
“I am honored to be featured on your blog, Lisa. I apologize for not getting around to telling you sooner how I discovered Villa de Vecchi and came to visit it. I’ll do so now. I first saw a pic of it on Flickr maybe 4 years ago, in one of the many groups devoted to abandoned places or “beautiful decay.”
Anyway, last year sometime I discovered it again on Flickr, and this time was able to attach a name to it: Villa de Vecchi. I googled the name, thinking it probably would not reveal much. But lo and behold, I discovered just where it was (Cortenova), a story about how it was believed to be haunted, and that it really did have a dark past.
With a little help I discovered it could get to it easily enough by public transport.
After an hour’s bus ride I saw a sign for Cortenova, and a minute later Villa de Vecchi, off in the distance. It damn near took my breath away. Stepping onto the grounds and then standing right in front of it made my head swim! I just couldn’t believe it was right there in front of me.“
Just typing this has brought it all back to me, as if I was just there today. Thanks for letting me relive those moments.
I hope you will visit his Flickr page and discover this very talented photographer.
Further Resources
Villa de Vecchi also has supporters on facebook who would welcome your interest. If you have any information or images please take a moment to contact them.
~ Salviamo Villa de Vecchi
~ Villa de Vecchi – Cortenova
Balestrino
“Take nothing but pictures…leave nothing but footprints”
Once upon a Time….” Meggie and her father share an extraordinary gift for bringing characters from books to life when they read aloud. But there is a danger: when a character is brought to life from a book, a real person disappears into its pages.”
So began a journey to Balestrino, my daughter and I were watching “Inkheart” and I found the village it was filmed in is near our house in Veravo. I set out to discover what I could and found more than I bargained for. One day I will visit Balestrino.
Slowly consumed by time
The castle watching over the deserted village
Untouched
Time collapses…. this village lives outside time
A memory place
ancient paths through endless corridors taken over by nature
Balconies, doorways, peeling layers of paint as thin as parchment, an old shoe, a discarded bike
A stray cat
Their owners gone leaving only silence
Empty houses, quiet streets, an ancient clock no longer needed
After falling in love with Balestrino I was distressed to come across these images on a website. These men go into abandoned villages and remove the doors which they then make into tables and sell ….. they took three from Balestrino. Sadly they are quite proud of the fact.
These abandoned Villages like Balestrino are fragments of time,
they need to be protected not exploited.
and the gang x
Further Reading and Images
Rosella Scalone Mia
image credits ~ one, two, three, four, five, six