I usually spend 6 months each year in Italy and 6 months in Australia. I like to arrive in Italy in February to enjoy the last of winter and beautiful spring before heading back to Australia in June for our perfect winter in subtropical Brisbane. I then return to Italy for a couple of months in autumn. I like to think I have the best of both worlds.
This year things didn’t go to plan. I arrived in Italy as usual in February on the day the first covid death happened in the country. A few weeks later I was in lockdown at our mountain house, Casa Debbio, a remote house outside the village of Vergemoli in the mountains in northern Tuscany.
I started writing posts about the situation in Italy on March 9th from Casa Debbio, just before our area was sent into lockdown. At that stage I was still hopeful, like everyone else, that the virus would not spread from northern Italy.Italy now
On March 12th I reported on our second day of lockdown. We were not allowed to leave home except to by food and necessities. I chose to stay at Casa Debbio instead of our apartment because at least I would be able to be outside in the garden as we have no houses near us. I left the house about once a week to go to the supermarket and that was it. Lock down in Italy
I was at Casa Debbio for almost 3 months with no company except for Filippo on the days he worked in the garden. Luckily I am quite self sufficient and am happy enough alone as long as I can keep busy. This was easy in spring. I had the growing garden to work in and I got to know it intimately.
It was a delight to watch plants grow, especially my gorgeous peonies. I have around 70 plants and this year they were spectacular. I had so many flowers I liked to keep bunches of them in my kitchen window so I could see them when washing dishes, a truly boring job.
Another favourite thing in my garden is the first weeping cherry I planted. There are a couple more now and I hope they will be as lovely as this one.
I developed a routine for myself. Each morning if it was fine I would make a coffee and a pastry and sit on the terrace on front of the house on our swing chair. On wet or windy days I stayed inside and cooked.
I would talk to family and friends in other parts of the world before a walk around the garden to decide what needed to be done and to admire the glorious views all around me and remind myself how lucky I was to be safe in a beautiful place.
Spring was very dry and much of my time in the garden was spent watering. The sunny days were lovely and I had tanned legs for the first time in 40 years. Before next summer we will put in some irrigation to make things a bit easier.
A new project this year was to turn my straw bed into a garden bed. There were mixed results with this. Wild goats ate most of the plants…back to the drawing board for next year.
Once lockdown ended on the 18th May we were allowed much more freedom. I moved between Casa Debbio and our apartment in Ponte a Serraglio. I remember the first time I drove downtown the mountain, it was the first time I had been past the supermarket in the nearest town in months. The roads were almost empty and it felt quite eerie to be out and about.
I soon got used to it and for the summer months life was almost normal. We had to wear a mask most of the time and almost all dining was outdoors, but this was not a problem. I travelled to a few places in Italy and did some guided walks in Bagni di Lucca. I am not usually in Italy in summer, so it was a new experience for me.
Here are a couple of my favourite trips. There are more in the archives.
Urbino, perfect Renaissance city
My flight home in mid June was postponed, then postponed again and eventually cancelled so I deferred it until October thinking all would be OK by then. I was wrong. That flight was cancelled too. I didn’t even try to rebook it as I have little interest in a 2 week isolation in a hotel on my return to Australia.
Once summer was over and cooler weather drove people inside the virus returned with a vengeance and restrictions were put in place again. I returned to Casa Debbio for another lockdown.
This was not as enjoyable as spring. The autumn weather was not kind. We had lots of rainy days which kept me inside and the short days are a bit dreary. On fine days Filippo and I did lots of work in the garden. New garden beds were created and peonies that were in pots have been moved into the new beds. If they all survive the garden is going to look amazing next spring.
We have some new terraces planted with fruit trees below the house thanks to Filippo and Ugo and there will be a new car port before next spring. There are also plans for some new stone walls and some rock pools below our spring…can’t wait. One of the benefits of being here all year has been the time spent in the garden working and planning.
We have had a few brief bouts of freedom when I was able to be out a bit. Lucca was lovely in autumn. Autumn in Lucca..
Autumn at Casa Debbio was stunning. The last of autumn colour
A day of snow was wonderful. First snow at Casa Debbio
My recent trip to Florence was excellent. It was the first time I have been here for Christmas. Christmas in Florence
There are lots of local stories about Bagni di Lucca if you look on my other blog http://Bella Bagni di Lucca
This current lockdown will end on 7th January if all goes well. I understand why the authorities wanted to shut down over the Christmas holidays and I am OK with it. One lost Christmas is worth it if lives are saved.
This year has been a difficult one for most of us. I admit to being quite depressed at times, especially when the weather is awful and I am stuck inside with not enough to do and little motivation to do much anyway. I have to keep reminding myself that I am very lucky. I don’t have a job or a business to lose, I don’t have to worry about money and I am safe. This is usually enough to get me back on track.
The plan for 2021 is that my husband Jim will come to Italy in March and we will go back to Australia in mid June. It all depends on what happens with Covid of course. I am hopeful that the vaccines will start to work and life will return to some kind of normal. I will be getting the vaccine as soon as it is available.
One of the things that helped me through my extended stay in Italy has been my connection with friends at home and around the world via phone and social media. I could not have managed my isolation as well without this contact. Thank you to all those who have kept in touch with phone calls, emails, messenger and comments on my blog.