Summer in a Small Italian Town

 

Summer in a small hill town in Basilicata is a mixed blessing for us. In August many Italians return to their ancestral towns all across Italy to reconnect with friends and family for several weeks. They come from the big cities and other parts of Europe to enjoy the “tranquility” of these smaller towns.

Italians started traveling this past weekend, which was one of the busiest traffic weekends of the summer. Summer vacation in Italy is not a privilege but a right for many.

It is a plus that there will be a series of events planned by the Pro Loco and the church around Ferragosto and our town’s festival for Sant’Antonio di Padova the first weekend in September. (His feast day is in June but he is celebrated at this time in honor of the summer harvest). We will see people that we may only see once or twice a year and the town will certainly take-on a new life for several weeks.

The problem for us is that for most of the year our town has about 600 residents but this summer influx adds almost 200 more people to our town for most of August - people who clog the already limited parking and our few shops. Some act like it is their right to supersede the everyday life of the year-round residents. This is especially troublesome for someone with mobility issues, like myself.

Here’s looking forward to September and a return to some normalcy!

 We are still here!

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on this blog, but despite the ongoing worldwide pandemic we are still living full-time in Basilicata, Italy.

It has been just over 10 years that we purchased our house in Trivigno, were featured on House Hunters International and launched our genealogy business - My Bella Basilicata. We have been busy with daily life - working, interacting and being a part of our local community. We continue to explore not only Basilicata but all of southern Italy.

Many friends and family had to cancel visits here this year but we look forward to things improving in 2021 when we can again share the wonders of living here with others.

Ciao,

Bryan

Time change...

We changed our clocks this week and have had some spectacular sunrises recently. One of the advantages of mountain living.

Siberian blast

Most people have a vision of southern Italy as sunny and warm all year. Though we may be less than 100 miles from the three coasts we are in the mountains at 2500 ft. This means it can be cold in the winter, but snow is infrequent. This January has been different so far. A blast of cold and snow has moved across the Adriatic Sea and settled over Italy, what the Italian news agency ANSA is calling the worst in 20 years. They are dubbing it the "Epiphany Blizzard".

Towns of Basilicata: Trivigno

Trivigno is a small village situated above the Basento River. Common surnames from Trivigno are Padula, Guarini, Bollettino, Larocca, Maggio, Petrone, Prete and Fanelli.

HHI Goes International

We were part of a House Hunters International episode that aired in 2011based on our house purchase here in Trivigno.

Now this episode has truly gone international as it is now showing in Europe on the Fine Living network and in Italy under the program VADO A VIVERE IN ITALIA.

Our friends here who could never see the program in 2011 are now able to see it dubbed into Italian and we have had several stop us in the piazza to comment on how wonderful it is to see us and their town on TV.

You can see the original on YouTube.

Your Journey



My Bella Basilicata

Our move to Basilicata began as a journey to discover the history of Valerie’s family in Anzi and Lauranzana.

Since we moved to Basilicata in 2010 we have had the pleasure of helping other people with their journey to this region. Some people have just wanted to find some of the missing branches in their family tree. Some have needed documents for obtaining their Italian citizenship. Some find their roots here and want to visit Lucania, the land their ancestors called “home”.

 

Historical record book

We have also helped people who have no family connection to the region but appreciate the unique beauty of this area.

If you are looking to trace your heritage in Basilicata, need a guide who speaks Italian and knows the area, or want help in planning an adventure to southern Italy then we are able to help. Come and visit our site at My Bella Basilicata, and let’s make Your Journey a satisfying one.


Clients exploring the town of their ancestors

MyBellaBasilicata.com    MyBellaVacanza.com

The Wall

Before...

When we first looked at our house here in Trivigno we imagined removing some of the plaster to expose the stone work we know lies below. We recently undertook this endeavor in our bedroom…in a 300 year old building this is never a simple project.

Valerie’s parents were here at Easter and my father-in-law and I planned to use some of this time to do this project. The walls of our house are up to 3 feet thick and I have access to the back side of our bedroom wall which looked to have stones in reasonable condition and uniformity. Neither of us are novices at do-it-yourself projects, however this presented some issues we both quickly realized would be more than we anticipated

On the left what we initially found.

  We started to remove some plaster and what was exposed looked to me like a problem; a jumble of mixed stones with an irregular plane that had been hidden by various layers of plaster. I was afraid we had opened a can of worms and had visions of potential structural issues. Fortunately our friend Tonino is a structural engineer who has worked on many projects in Trivigno. When I showed Tonino my concerns he assured me that our wall was nothing unusual and was structurally sound. Tonino also recommended that another friend of ours, Giuseppe who has worked on many houses in town, might be able to help with the work.

Giuseppe came by and gave us some insights on preparing the exposed stone to be re-pointed. We removed the layers of plaster, the various types of mortar used over the centuries, cleaned the rocks and filled in the gaps with a base mortar. In this process we also found some of the holes where wood beams had been placed to support the floor above and the remains of a former window opening that we turned into a niche.

The niche

When it came time for the detail work I had Giuseppe come and work with us to repoint the wall. Watching him do this stonework, which he has done for 20 years, was like watching an artist. He could “see” what the wall should look like with specific stones and made several suggestions that were incorporated into the final product.

The work in progress

Once the stone section was done we had to let it dry thoroughly. Valerie was in the US for a family wedding recently so I used this time to finish the project. I applied a sealer to the stone and mortar and again worked with Giuseppe to redo portions of the wall where the plaster was to remain. This requires a couple of very thin layers that must dry before the next one is applied.

Once the plastering was complete I set about to paint the entire room. Remember that this is an old building with walls of plaster over stone – there are no even or smooth surfaces. Two coats of paint later, a lot of cleaning, moving back the furniture and the house was ready for Valerie’s return.



The finished product

As with most projects on a house of this age, the time and effort to do this exceeded what I had expected but we are very pleased with the results.



Buona Pasqua da Trivigno!

Buona Pasqua!



La Primavera Arriva

There are more signs of Spring each day. The older men in town chatting in the sun, people enjoying the mercato and the winter wheat in the fields around us is becoming greener. As we approach the end of March the weather here is improving with fewer days providing the possibility of snow and longer days with more sunshine and warmer temperatures.

I like to take walks along a road that provides a good view of our town, Trivigno and the surrounding mountains. When we lived in New Mexico one of our desires was to someday own a place in the mountains where we could spend time relaxing. Here in Basilicata we have the best of both worlds – a home in the mountains and a home in Italy. At around 2100 ft. we aren’t at a high elevation compared to NM but being surrounded by higher peaks we definitely have the experience of mountain weather.



Trivigno (PZ)

There are other pluses to our location in that we are an hour from the coast and close to all the fresh produce that Basilicata offers. Most importantly we have chosen a town where everyone is willing and able to help each other. Una Vita Piu’ Bella

Festa di Sant'Antoun 2013

Sant' Antonio di Abate

January 17th is the feast day of Saint Anthony of Abate, the patron saint of animals. This is an important day for much of Italy and people up and down the boot take their animals, from horses to turtles, to the church for a blessing. Being the country town that it is, this is also an important day for Trivigno.

We first experienced this here two years ago, unfortunately last year I was in the US. The town festa was moved to Saturday, to attract more visitors from nearby towns. Large bonfires are built in the two larger piazze and there were several stands serving various foods (pasta, sausage sandwiches, roast meats and grilled bread).

The festivities began with an ox cart carrying local children into the piazza, the lighting of the bonfires and some traditional dancing. This was broadcast live on the local RAI channel. The music and dancing continued well into the morning hours. We could hear the band playing as we slipped into bed.

This morning the smell of smoke was evident when we headed out for a caffe and remnants of the fires were still burning in the piazza.

HHI link

Since House Hunters International filmed here in Trivigno many have asked how they can view our story if they miss it on HHI or don't have access to American cable. Since airing in 2011 the episode has been removed from the HGTV website.

We have posted the video on our YouTube channel for My Bella Basilicata: HHI in Trivigno

We hope you enjoy this and other videos on our channel.

No cars possible

This is the "road" we go up to get to our house. Obviously no cars would fit up this path, especially since our place is still about 20 meters down the arch to the right.

The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times of London has an article in today's edition about Basilicata - more specifically about Trivigno and Valerie. Karen Robinson of the Times was in the area a few weeks ago and met with Valerie to look at what real state offerings there are here in Trivigno and in Muro Lucano, a little to the north of us. This was a collaboration of My Bella Basilicata and an Italian property agency in Muro Lucano.

If you have found this site from either this article or the HHI show in the US and would like more information on life and properties in Basilicata please visit our site by clicking: My Bella Basilicata.

Now Really, It’s Not Reality!

It was one year ago this weekend that we finished-up shooting our episode for House Hunters International. We had an enjoyable experience and the crew we worked with was great and fun. Some of the locals in Trivigno still talk about how the “Brits” can put away their fair share of Peroni.

Our story has aired a couple times on HGTV and this has led to some inquiries about our town and even a stint on the local RAI station. All in all it was and has been a positive experience.

This past week there have been some stories in the US press that the House Hunters episodes may not be a true representation of how it really happens. No kidding!?!
My response is - if you think any of the “reality” shows on TV are realistic and without any staging, then you better stay away from used car lots.

It is entertaining to see the different locations where people buy properties on HHI. It can be a fun way for an expat to tell their story and have a few moments of fame.

TV Link for RAI3

Here is the link for the show we were featured on today. This is RAI 3's weekly program Settimanale, our segment is the first 7:30 minutes.

"Sono a Casa"

TGR

RAI is the national television network, actual there are RAI1, RAI2 and RAI3. These were the only ones on the airwaves long before Mediaset’s medusa spread across the peninsula. Each region has its own RAI3 newscast each day, your local news source, called TGR - TeleGiornale Regionale.

Our local TGR was in Trivigno in January and the reporter heard about gli americani who chose this small town as their own. She decided this would make a good human interest segment for their Saturday mid-day show. So a few weeks ago we spent a couple hours with this reporter and her cameraman being interviewed.

All in Italian

This was not like our House Hunters International filming where we had an idea ahead of time what the questions were going to be and then maybe two or three takes…in our native tongue. Nope…lights, camera, go for it!

Valerie did great. Even our friends who were there during the interview thought her Italian was very good. When it came my turn…not so good but I got through it.

Our roughly four hours with the TV crew will be cut down to about six minutes. Once it airs on TGR it is supposed to be available on the internet. Check back as I will post the link when we have that information.

HGTV, TGR…who will come calling next to hear our story about moving to a small town in Basilicata?!

House Hunters International – Trivigno

Last night HGTV aired the episode they filmed of us last spring about our house buying experience in Trivigno, Italy. This episode highlighted Trivigno, Basilicata (the region this small town is in) as well as Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region.

For those who may be finding this blog after watching the HGTV episode, we moved from Corrales, NM to Italy in 2006. We settled into Ascoli Piceno and after locating family connections for Valerie in Basilicata purchased a home in the small, but charming, hill town of Trivigno.

If you are look for more information about Trivigno and Basilicata, including available properties, be sure to visit My Bella Basilicata.

If you want to know more about our adventure in Italy and Trivigno then read more on this blog under the labels section.

House Hunters International

We received notice that the episode we filmed for HHI in June will be aired on HGTV on November, 04 at 10:00 PM Eastern. We have not seen this episode so the final product that all of America will see is still a mystery to us.

Unfortunately our friends in Trivigno will not be able to watch this as HGTV is not accessible from Italy. They'll have to wait until we receive our DVD copy.

Be sure to tune into HGTV on the 4th to see a glimpse of Trivigno and Basilicata.

Here is the HGTV link for when they have our episode scheduled.

If you want to learn more about Trivigno and Basilicata look at My Bella Basilicata.com.

Estate a Trivigno

Summer 2011

Trivigno is a small mountain village but there has been plenty to do during August. Just before Ferragosto people started to return to town from other parts of the country to spend a few weeks in the cool, clear mountain air…and see their family and friends. The Pro Loco office has organized several events each week to keep everyone entertained.

In addition to the religious events surrounding Ferragosto, there was a movie night in one piazza, two different nights of dancing in another piazza, a comedian put on a show in the local amphitheater, we had a pizza and music party in the piazza above our house, there was an artists’ show around town and August is not over, yet. The 3rd and 4th of September will be the climax event with the celebration for San’ Antonio with a large mercato, procession, two nights of dancing with bands and concluding with fireworks on the 5th.

There are towns around us who have had more and larger events but they are all larger towns and their events are designed more to attract visitors. The events in Trivigno are focused more on providing activities for the locals. A chance to go out in the evening chat with friends, take a stroll and have something new to do.

Trivigno has had many new faces, to us, during August and it has been an opportunity to meet new people. However, come September 5th these “turisiti” will depart and tranquility will return to our small village.