A soft place where hard work happens..
... for instance, writing that necessary book.
Buìet, a small plot near the chestnut forest with the fattest chestnuts, is one of the few flat pieces of land on our property. For a long time it was a vegetable garden, until in 1994 when the road leading to it slid away into the depths. I stumbled upon it by chance, following a spring, and found rusty garden tools there — even plastic children’s toys. It was completely overgrown with brambles, acacias, hazel trees, and a few wild cherry trees.
Because, for reasons I still can’t quite explain, it felt like a very special place to be, I decided to build a small wooden cabin there. A fairy-tale house, with a cupboard, a table, and two chairs. And a bed you comfortably roll into via a little ladder. Outside, a covered kitchen gradually took shape. Everything very simple.
Sleeping in the Forest
I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better
Mary Oliver
We invite you to stay in our small woodland cabin, a gentle place with soothing qualities.
Available for a minimum of three days and nights, for a modest fee. The cabin lies about one kilometre from our home and is easily reached on foot via a winding forest path. We transport your luggage by tractor and, if desired, can deliver breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The cabin is fully self-sufficient, with solar-powered electricity, running water, a small gas cooker, a wood-burning stove with firewood, and all basic necessities including cookware and bed linen. There is no Wi-Fi — a place to truly unplug.
Winter stays are not recommended due to snow. Spring and autumn are beautiful; summer is unmistakably Italian, though the forest offers welcome shade. Nature is always present: crickets and woodpeckers by day, owls and dormice at night. Mosquitoes may appear; most other animals remain shy.
You are warmly welcome.
