And the winner is...

... PP, il architetto !

While we all were still voting and thinking and discussing about version B or C and about the white column in the middle yes or no - our young architect and his team were working.

When we made the decision to do version C - the simple one - the column in the middle (version B) was already plastered on the wall.

I just reviewed the pictures, send by PP (grazie!), and was asked to made the final decision by Angelo and CC :

To remove the column tomorrow morning or not ?

Well, well, the argument of the architect sounded reasonable:
'Secondo mè è necessaria per interrompere la monotonia dell'orizzontalità, e di avere tutta la parete rustica.', the column would interrupt the monotone horizontal.

And also some Pizzitani which have seen the work today, recommended to leave it.

So GREEN light to go ahead (luce verde).

For your (and my) understanding: the version that will be implemented, is a mix of version B and C. The column in the middle (as I understood) will not go down all the way. The lowest part remains (more or less, I assume) untouched, while the stone part will have a white column that finishes under the roof.

(PP, perfavore, is this the final version?)

Thank you all for your votes, comments and emails! Very much appreciated!

It was fun. - I leave the poll open for some more days, in case you still like to vote.

-----------------

update: poll is closed, here is the result:

version B 46 % (mix of modern and old)
version C 33 % (simple version)
version A 20 % (shoe box version)

The (side) Facade Election

Our beautiful main facade...



... and the side facade of the house you see first when you approach the house:



We can't leave it like this.
Everybody agrees.

But everybody has a different opinion about HOW to renovate this part.

The discussion is very lively. This I understand from the Italian emails copied to me...

We have 2 problems:

1) it should not look like a shoe box
2) it should not be too expensive


Here are 3 approaches for the (side) facade:

A)
'The expensive shoe box version'
(repeating the design of the main facade for each floor)



B)
'Mixing old and new elements'
(renovating nicely the stone wall and adding white columns from the main facade)



C)
'The simple version'
(coloured plaster only on the top floor that is the newest part of the house; renovating part of the stone wall to water & wind proof; the lower part remains as it is as it borders to the neighbour's property)



How about voting ?
Are you still in voting mood?
We have 3 candidates: A), B) or C)
Please vote on the top of the blog roll (on the right)

(I am not sure which one is actually preferred by whom).

To support the decision making process for everyone, I post some more pictures around the house:

House from the garden

Nicely detailed renovated garden wall

The other side facade - it was plastered before

House from seaside (1)

House from seaside (2) - including side facade in question


And here some samples from facades in Pizzo:

Facade sample for the use of mixed medium - stone and plaster (click on photo to enlarge)

Stone facade partly plastered (click on photo to enlarge)

Most famous stone wall (from the castello of Pizzo)

Please vote for your favorite solution on the (right) blog roll
A) most detailed (expensive shoe box)
B) mix of old and new elements
c) most simple version

I am curious about the result and about how to use the poll gadget!
Thank you for your support!

Sweet 200

The rejuvenating cure and aesthetic surgery of the main facade are almost done. The lady looks pretty and her peach skin immaculate. Almost like a 'torta'. Sweet 200 (years)!

And the new iron grids look so sweet with their quirky elaborations matching the grids of the balconies and the one over the main entrance.



... yes, it was our decision.

We thought we need some curlicues to not have the grids look like prison grids.

Before I start again wondering if it was the right decision ... we need to see the whole picture, the entire facade in real, on site.


Pictures sometimes don't show you the way you look at the things in reality.

Take the blue balkonies. First I was not 'amused', then we got more pictures from different angles. Like this one below.
I love the reflections !

The Roof

Oh, look, our roof!
Since we don't pay by the hour anymore all goes so fast.
Who has approved the roof tiles (coppi)? You? No.
Well, nice that we don't have to worry and think about everything.

I guess the colour matches the commune's standards. And I hope they please the neighbours too.

We had talked about roof tiles last year and agreed to use 'antique' looking coppi as it is an old house in the historical center of the village. You are not free to choose any colour. The commune regulates the use of tiles in the historical center. They all should be of the same colour: kind of light red, pinkish apricot. This is a good thing because it makes the old town look so beautiful:

blog action day 2008: poverty

Last year the subject was 'the environment'. This time blog action day is about 'poverty'. All bloggers are asked to blog about that subject to create awareness, to help, to do what they can. The main purpose is to create a discussion.

Thanks to my blogging friend Michelle (in Calabria!) from Bleeding Espresso, I found out in time to participate.

It is interesting that today morning my son (5) woke up and told me that he wants to donate books and toys to poor children that have lost their parents. He said: "Mummy, do you remember, in China, you gave this nice blanket and I gave my clothes to these poor children who lost their parents?" (it was after this terrible earth quake).

So before kindergarten he was searching through his books.
I had told him that in Germany, we do not have this urgent need like it was the case in China. But he insisted.

The only charity project that came to my mind was the 'Martini Markt' in our community that will take place on November 11 and 12 in the parish hall. Already now you can deliver your books and toys and other goods that will be sold on these days. The revenue goes to social projects and people in need. (Stuttgart Gänsheide, evgl. Gemeindehaus, Martini Markt, 11. + 12. November, 10h00 -22h00)

Another serious project seems Plan. I supported it before. But instead of a donation you could also support a 'god child' for 25 Euro per month. You can even indicate your personal wish for a country. I am thinking of China or Thailand, as I have lived happy days in both countries and would like to give back. They are actually running a special campaign to support girls worldwide.

And I want to mention my blogging friend Maryam, who is not only a successful blogger at My Marrakesh, but also a human rights and democracy specialist. She posted recently the sad story about Vestine in Rwanda and how you could help her and four other genocide survivors set up micro-businesses so they can support themselves with dignity into the future.

Also, I read an article about how we could (slowly) change the world by shopping the right way. E.g. bananas in a fair trade shop might be more expensive then in the supermarket but at the end a banana farmer is getting slightly more money for his organic bananas and therefore he can afford to pay higher salaries to his banana pickers, he can send his kids to school (no child work) and he is able to life in a cottage with a paved floor. (Of course this is causing higher CO2 emmission than eating local apples. But then the South remains poor).

Thank you for your attention.