Meeting with the architect

In the morning we drive to Diano Marina to collect our original contract from Notaio Trucco. Quickly done. Stylish actions with even more detailed drawings. Then we meet the girls, who have walked from Torre Papone down to San Lorenzo al Mare, and drive up to Vasia. There we will meet the mayor and sign papers about the water fee and municipal tax. It must be paid twice a year - in June and in December. Currently it stands at €500 per year. The mayor, who has a reasonable command of English, was very nice and accommodating. It is of course important for the village that all houses are taken care of and inhabited.

While we meet different people here and there who want to talk for a long time with us, and we with them, the girls get to grips with the completion of the painting. Fantastic that they could come and help us.

After the meeting with the mayor, we meet with Roberto Saluzzo and Fabio Tallone to discuss the best way to deal with the crack in the facade on the garden side. It is included in Fabio's quote but probably requires stronger reinforcement than Fabio had anticipated. It also means more money...

As for the rest of that facade, we had intended it to be done in a way that is common these days. That you let the old plaster that is ok remain and where the stone has come to light, you just plaster around. We think it's neat and that it looks a little alive. However, Roberto states that it is a modern invention that does not belong on the houses in the villages here.

We agree that it should of course be lime plaster, but we don't want it to look too new and perfect.

Difficult to communicate this in a language we do not master. However, we understand that if you work with good materials and raw materials, it will age beautifully and over time it will become perfect. So now we hope to be able to get help with lime plastering the facade towards the garden in the same slightly pale yellow, sandy color tone as it is on the front of the house. We await a quote from Fabio. Since the scaffolding is already up and paid for, it is smart to take it at the same time. We have to wait for the front, though... we think it's beautiful as it is...

Det är otroligt roligt att lyssna till Roberto som har en stark koppling till byn, har haft släkt som bott i vårt hus och, som arkitekt, har stor kunskap om hus i allmänhet och i Ligurien i synnerhet. En bra kontakt för oss när vi vill göra förändringar i huset. Vi talade kort med honom om att bredda dörröppningar och ta ner väggar på övervåningen. Att bredda dörröppningar var inga problem men att ta ner väggar kan påverka valven. Vi måste vara försiktiga så vi inte skadar konstruktionen. Han nämnde att det tidigare har varit en större öppning till terrassen och att där vi vill ha en dörr in till ett skafferi har det tidigare varit en öppning. Vår tanke är inte att riva en massa väggar och göra en öppen planlösning utan det handlar mer om att få in ljuset i köket.  

Vår vän Mauro, Robertos bror, har även han mycket information om husets historia. Bland annat om flera kardinaler som besökt huset och druckit thé på verandan. Vi vet dock ännu inte vad MM i entrédörren står för. Troligtvis Martini Manenoucha efter Ugo Martini och någon som vi inte förstått vem det var... Vi forskar vidare.

Före och efter. Fast det är inte helt klart. 

Det ska målas en gång till och taket ska målas med mera men det är en start. På en väldigt lång resa...