Saturday 4 February 2023

Finally...


 After nearly six weeks, I've finished clearing out the ruin! To the extent that I'm going to, at any rate. It's now at the stage where the geometra can take his photographs and finalise his re-structure plan, for filing with the Comune - after which, we just wait (and wait, and wait, and wait, as I understand it. Six months seems to be the norm to get any kind of approval). Having excavated down to the original floors, and carted away fallen beams, and boulders, and broken ceiling and roof tiles, and countless loads of soil, I then cut away as much of the creeper as I dared, without risking the walls coming down around my ears (and even that was a close-run thing, as at one point a boulder twice the size of my head crashed down without warning onto the scaffolding I was standing on, about six inches to my left, and very nearly finished me and the scaffolding tower off, in one go! It gave pause for thought.)


Tomorrow, I'll do some basic housekeeping, in terms of clearing away the spoil-heaps which have sprung up in the course of the clearing project, and then I'll have an investigatory poke at the other ruin, which is a little further to the east, and in much more ruinous state; if we can uncover some decent floors, then we have in mind re-cycling them for use as the base for pond(s) and greenhouse, and the like. 


So far, so good. 


Tonight's dinner:

Sformatino of fennel, with gorgonzola sauce.

Baked Sea Bass, with colatura di alici; braised cucumber.

Fried crepes, stuffed with apples, served with orange-marsala mascarpone.


1 comment:

suej said...

I just love following other people's projects and yours looks like a project and a half! Very best wishes for your new adventure.
By the way - we had friends round to lunch and she is gluten intolerant. I've kept your recipe for chocolate and almond tart and it was a perfect moment to have it - I'd also done pears poached in red wine and they went incredibly well with the tart. Our guests loved it. Thank you for the recipe.