It is February, the sun is shining and the oranges are growing in neighbour's garden. Below it is our palazzo that stands together with this picturesque church at a small piazza with no name in the historic center of Pizzo.
view of Palazzo Pizzo, chiesa del Carmine and the bay with beaches of Pizzo
Now, below, this is an old picture of February 2008, when we just started the renovation and restoration. The old windows have been taken out already, the old doors are still in and we had some sample of coloured plaster painted on the facade. The roof is not tiled yet. The walls of the facade show cracks and damages. However, I love this picture. It shows a charming old house and a calm sea with sunshine. Oranges are growing in the neighbours garden and the church makes it even more peaceful. This picture is my screen saver since three years.
BEFORE: our house in February 2008
But Angelo complaint. After all the work he had supervised and done, I could update my screen saver, he said. So, I asked him to send me an update, same perspective please - and that's what I got:
AFTER: our house in February 2011
New plaster, new colour, new roof tiles, walls for window frames repaired and new windows mounted, new window sills, new entrance doors, new zoccolatura (skirting board), new iron grids for ground floor windows, new roof rail and rain gutter, restoration of "fake" stucco windows, re-painted balcony rails, new bell and name plate, installation of a second street lamp from the commune, dismounting of a flood lamp (for the church), rewiring for the lamps .... - I think, this is it. For the exterior. But one old thing we reuse: the former green metal letter box plate.
You might also like these Before & After posts:
Photo source: photo nr. 2 was taken from a window of an apartment in a neighbouring house that was under renovation three years ago. But since this apartment now belongs to a foreigner who was not in Pizzo, Angelo had to climb on top of the roof to get a similar perspective. Mille Grazie !
Looking good :)
ReplyDeleteI am impressed myself ;-)
DeleteYou have done a fine job. was the house part of the church at one point...perhaps home for hte priest.?
ReplyDeleteGood question. Possibly. But the information we have date back around 100 years and back then it was in the possession of two noble families from Maida, a small city in the mountains not far away. They came for spring and summer breaks to Pizzo to enjoy the fresh breeze.
DeleteCongratulation to all of the team! Wonderful progress, keep it up - and you will be flooded with visitors for cocktails on your terrace...
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Yvalie
Aperol Spritz, yes!
DeleteThis is the best part: Having friends and family visiting!
Lookin gooood! On the way to Tropea, I caught a glimpse from the highway of your blue balcony rail last month.
ReplyDeleteReally?! It can be seen that far?
DeleteWe never take the highway, maybe I should have a look ;-)
It looks absolutely wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHow is the floor laying going?
All my crazy colours in Phuket are from the dulux range. Many thanks for adding Concrete Jungle to your
inspiring blog list.
Hi Heather,
Deletewell, by know you know, the parquet is laid in Version C, a mix that you also recommended. And how amazing - that voting post of mine was recently mentioned in NYT and IHT!
It is looking just wonderful.... a job well done!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for adding concrete jungle to your inspiring list!
All the crazy colours I painted here in Phuket are from dulux!