Winter Happenings at La Fortezza
Happy Holidays everyone. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that just because I leave La Fortezza for the winter, it doesn’t mean that everything comes to a standstill. We recently hired our house manager Irelva. Some of you know that she cares for her 2 horses and a donkey named Ivo on the property. So now the whole family lives on our property. This summer we built a wonderful paddock and shelter for our babies. They also are able to roam the property and graze the land thanks to electrified fencing strips that can be moved all over the property. These bands allow them to roam and graze at their leisure. They love it and so do we. But I digress… Irelva lives on the property fulltime. Those of you who’ve met her at our retreats know how special she is. Honestly I have no idea what we did before she arrived. She’s really made a huge difference at La Fortezza and we love her.
Having said all of this, Irelva needed a proper apartment to live in on the compound. We have this amazing space it has a barrel vaulted ceiling. Located at the bottom of the fortress it’s called the “cantina”. It was a place that we used as storage, and in the past it was a wine cellar and pantry space for salami, prosciutto and cheese storage. Most likely since wheat was grown on the property grain and seeds were stored there as well as olive oil. We found an old press there so most likely grapes were pressed from our vineyard and wine was made in the space. For years we have wondered how to utilize this immense room. It’s about 50 feet by 60 feet Then of course as always in this magical place, it’s purpose presented itself to us. Quite simply in fact. So it has now becoming a living space for Irelva.
It should be finished in February just in time for me to trick it out. It will have an art studio vibe. Since Irelva is an artist, it is a no brainer. She’s a painter and currently she’s learning to make felt hats. Stay tuned for more on that. Please subscribe to my You Tube channel, we will be filming the finished studio apartment in upcoming episodes. I am so excited to get the final renovation project finished and Irelva all moved in. Doing this project long distance can be challenging, but this is not my first time. I am excited to show you it all to you in the Spring. x