Article 5

Holiday villa with private pool at Tuscan Paradise. An historic private 4 bedroom (all en-suite)18C farmhouse with private pool in Tuscany overlooking an amazing lake sleeping 8. Additional studio for a further 5 not let independently to ensure complete privacy.

tuscany, tuscany holiday private villa, tuscany holiday private villas, tuscany holiday villa, tuscany holiday villa with pool, tuscany holiday villas, tuscany holiday villas with pool, tuscany italy, tuscany villa, tuscany villa holiday, tuscany villas, tuscany holiday villas, holiday villa tuscany, holiday villa tuscany italy, holiday villa in tuscany, holiday villa in tuscany italy, holiday villa rental in tuscany, holiday villas tuscany, holiday villas tuscany italy, holiday villas for rent in tuscany, holiday villas in tuscany, holiday villas in tuscany italy, holiday villas with pool in tuscany, luxury villa in tuscany, luxury villas in tuscany, private holiday villa in tuscany, private holiday villas tuscany, private villa in tuscany, private villas in tuscany, villa in tuscany, villa rental tuscany, villa rental in tuscany, villa to rent tuscany, villa to rent in tuscany, villas for rent in tuscany, villas in tuscany, villas in tuscany italy, villas to rent tuscany, villas to rent in Tuscany, accommodation tuscany:

Since signing the compromesso – the equivalent of an “exchange of contracts” in the UK – and paying over a large deposit, we endeavoured to get a commitment from the necessary parties – builder, plumber, geometra etc…- as to the price of our project, which we had worked out in detail with Robert drawing up his own set of detailed plans as a starting point. It is all very well having a guesstimate before we did the deal but we really needed something in writing on which to base our budget for the complete project to include taxes, VAT (IVA) local commune charge and so on. After a site-visit with our geometra and Albanian builder we thought all parties had a good idea of what we wanted to achieve.

The rental house was to have four large double bedrooms, all en-suite. The idea was to remove the ceilings to expose the attractive roof shape and old timbers. Downstairs the large kichen/dining room has an enormous stone fireplace and chimney which need to be moved one meter to the right. A fair amount of structural work is needed in the lounge as there is a lot of movement which will need to be stabilised by inserting 32 eight foot micro-piles under the foundations. To complete the picture there will be a 12 x 6 metre pool for the exclusive use of the villa guests. Our house turns out to be a building of significant historic importance which could mean that our plans for arches, a loggia, and extensive development of the cantinas could be delayed for up to 12 months. The small pottery is fairly straightforward and will be a simple place of inspiration to those who wish to try their hand at the art of wheel thrown pottery. Completing the group of buildings is the music studio which will have a large rehearsal space on the first floor with far reaching views of the beautiful together with two bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs.

Our builder arrived at our apartment presenting his quotation on a small sheet of scrap paper with a price tag twice as much as we had agreed. As this was so much more than we had been led to believe it would cost we looked at each other in disbelief. After three hours of heated negotiation the builder had discounted his price to just over half. We decided it would be best for us to draw up our own contract detailing everything that needed to be done. The whole document totalled 23 pages – and it was impressive. Now all that was required was the signature of the builder.

Meanwhile, our son Luke (16) had made his first visit to our new home, and spent the week exploring Anghiari and filling it with the dulcet tones of his viola practice as there is never a day of rest for a talented young musician. His trip luckily coincided with La Scampanata, a 4 week festival held every five years. The members of the ‘Società della Scampanata’ (virtually the entire town) make a date to be in the main square at 6 o’clock every morning. Anyone who is late is dragged out of bed, given a more or less ‘fair’ trial and then hoisted up onto a special carriage and pulled around the town while everyone else throws everything they can think of at him until he is completely covered and entirely unrecognisable. The origins of the Scampanata seem to go back to a pagan cult of the goddess Angiria.

If the builder agrees to the terms of the contract, we will sign the final deed, pay over buckets of money and hopefully building work will start 7 days later. Will we have 18 months of hell? – who knows, only time will tell!