Archirent News

Hidden underground waterways to visit in Bologna

A few steps from Marsala Apartment in Bologna, anyone walking without paying the due attention around may have a sudden great surprise! A view of a waterway, closed amongst two rows of buildings suddenly appears in a town which has not evidence of rivers or crossing canals. The view is similar at those we are accustomed to see in Venice. Actually waterways have played a primary role in the history of the city of Bologna but in recent times all canals have been covered for ensuring the modern traffic. There are only a few surviving parts of the still existing net of rivers and canals under the sunlight in the whole town. The Canale delle Moline is one of those.
The underground waterways are an original tourist attraction in Bologna!

 


 

Trullo della Luna - Some photos

A guest sent to me this  portfolio of images of the interior of Trullo della Luna. Let me share it with you. Scrolling down to the older posts you will find panoramic views of the externals. 

 This  is the so called "alcova" with a sofa bed easily convertible into a bed for two. Behind the tent there is a niche used as wardrobe. 

 The  bedroom the ceiling is traditionally made up of tuff bricks. Bed is original, once owned by the grandparents of Giulia, my wife.

RAI5 shows Ferrara through the nice descriptions of Philippe Daverio

Let me suggest watching this TV special about Ferrara, in the core of which there is our Casa delle Volte. Philippe Daverio, anchorman in the field of art and architecture, describes accurately the town with his versatile sensibility. Even if issues about art sometimes involve a difficult lexicon, Mr Daverio has the quality of being understandable by the most people! He speaks a plain Italian and I am sure whoever knows a bit of Italian can be satisfied by easiness of comprehension. I am sure the program (49 minutes of great images) will be appreciated by all people who want to visit this town, and why not, stay in a wonderful flat as our Casa delle Volte. 

 

Trulli and Emphyteusis

Some words about San Michele Salentino, the village on which territory my trullo is located. It has quite a recent story but its birth seems a medieval story. At the end of 18th Century all the territory was under the governance of Prince Gerardo Dentice di Frasso. In the area he settled the Masseria San Michele and Masseria Ajeni where the village is now located but only his son, Francesco Dentice, gave a great impulse to the development of the new settlement. He assigned territories in Emphyteusis to peasants coming from Ceglie Messapica, Ostuni ed in Carovigno.
Actually when in 2006 we bought the ruins of an ancient trullo (now the restored Trullo della Luna), we had some problems with the notary: we discovered that the vendor was the regular holder of the "possession" of the building but he was not the "owner". The subtle difference rises back to the described feudal system of Emphyteusis: the "owner", in this case the heir of Prince Gerardo Dentice di Frasso, was still the "emphyteuta" and the peasants were only "métayers". Currently in Italy there are no more forms of perpetual lease but the oldest traditions remained into the formal and public acts. Actually we had to spend a lot of time to find out who was the last heir-at-law of the ancient nobleman who once was the only undisputed proprietor of a vast area of territory. San Michele Salentino became an independent town only with “Regio Decreto” on 2nd October 1928. King Vittorio Emanuele III has signed the Royal Decree.

 

If you want to follow the steps of Garibaldi, the hero of two worlds, take a visit at Baldini Restaurant, just round the corner of our Magenta Apartment in Florence. I understand the importance of visiting the Uffizi but please don’t forget to sample the genuine cuisine of Florence. Baldini is the right place: sample the “ribollita” o the “pasta e fagioli” which are on the first line of the menu' and I suppose always present. I suspecting that so many guests are asking to return to Magenta Apartment just because it is located so close to this marvellous place!

Rai1-TV channel broadcasted a special about Alto Salento

Some days ago, Rai1-TV channel broadcasted a special about Alto Salento
(link here), where all the territories around our Trullo della Luna were showed with particular attention to the traditional local products: Torre Guaceto Marine Reserve, San Vito dei Normanni, Ceglie Messapica, Ostuni. Very interesting the “masseria” where extra virgin oil is produced or the part where the typical cultivation of “carrubo” is described. You’ll find also something about the "carne al fornello": half way between a normal butcher's shop and a trattoria just for bar-b-q; or the “barattiere”: half way between a cucumber and a melon: a delicious ingredient for a fresh “insalata”; or the “rami di sole” (sun branches) which are the typical small-tomato brunches prepared in all the costal area of Salento: they are particularly delicious due to the fact that tomatoes grew with salted water. If you have already visited our Trullo della Luna I should have already suggested the right place in San Michele Salentino where to find them at the best quality.

 

The Biennale is worth a visit to Venice

The Biennale is worth a visit to Venice this year! Here’s the link to an interesting walk with Philippe Daverio and Marino Folin, who was a professor at IUAV (Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia) at the time I was attending it in Venice. He then became also director of the prestigious University. The used Italian language is quite simple, considering the complexity of the cultural issue. I think anyone who knows a bit of Italian can take advantage of the interesting speech. Philippe points out an interesting consideration: no one of the architectural solution showed in the biennale could have been approved by any of the Italian local planning authorities due to the rigid and rational bounds they normally apply to ensure a standard way of doing architecture. I can confirm it! When I started the profession of architect in the town of Bologna, almost twenty years ago, maybe because the town at that times was still under the influence of the communist ideas, it was not possible to plan a room without adhering at some imposed schemes. They were officially imposed to accomplish the standard dimensions of the furniture. I had some inspectors who measured the distance between the axes of the water closed and the bidet in a bathroom I was building: due to a modest discrepancy of a few centimetres (an inch), I had to modify the entire layout of the bathroom! Philippe has a funny cure to suggest for such type of bureaucracy: the Italian planning authorities should have their headquarters in the fantastic installations of the Biennale so to get accustomed to appreciating the force of innovation instead of being so fussy to pursue the banality of the imposed choices. We have still two weeks available in Nati’s House before the Biennale ends: from 30 of October to 6^th of November and from 13 to 20 of November. Hurry up, take a low cost flight: Nati’s House is waiting you.

 

Visits to the Gardens of Venice

Gabriella Bondi is a good friend and, as architect, also a colleague. She is behind the organisation of the Wigwam® Club Giardini Storici Venezia (Historic Garden of Venice). Let me present here in her behalf the pages of the “Wigwam® Club News”. There are some interesting visits to take part in some of the most beautiful places of Venice during the next two weeks. All these places are commonly out of reach of the tourist mass so, if you are able, take advantage of these marvellous gardens otherwise precluded. Text are in Italian but if you need help, please contact me.

Torre Guaceto, the Marine Reserve close to Trullo della Luna in TV

Yesterday the Italian Rai-TV broadcasting corporation offered the vision of Torre Guaceto, the Marine Reserve close to my Trullo della Luna, in Apulia. Here the link to see the show in the net. Unfortunately the spoken language is only Italian.

 
 

New panoramic views of the trullo

I just returned back to Bologna from the couple of weeks we are used to spend in our Trullo in Apulia during August (2010). I present here a series of photos I took binding the camera on the tip of a pole to perform more panoramic views. Quite a rough system but it worked… unfortunately I had no helicopters to perform higher shots.
Of course more info about the trullo in: http://www.archirent.it/Trullo_della_Luna