What the papers say...

From The Mail on Sunday, of 13th November 2005 by Sebastian O’Kelly – Part 2 of 2

“......Needless to say, it’s also up for sale, in whole or in part, though if anyone wants the entire complex the price would be about €5 million.
“It’s probably a bit much for us at our age and although it’s fun to meet lots of diffrent people, we would certainly be open to any offers”, says Tunstill.
Since he arrived in Umbria, he has sold nearly 250 rustic houses and pictoresque ruins, restored 75 more, and sits on a portfolio of ten of his own which he will restore and sell – and which will fund his retirement.
Moving into the boutique B&B busiùiness, which is increasingly popular with the influx of American visitors to central Itlay, was something of an accident, but not the first for the Tunstills.
“We had not meant to sell our first house, which we loved, but when the English doctor next door offered me a ridiculos amount of money for our section of the farmhouse, we reached for the suitcase and were out of there within a week!”
For more than a decade he owned a small shop nera the Imperial war Museum selling his own hand made lead soldiers. It’s a business that is still going strong, and in the basement of la Preghiera is a small museum, free to visitors, of toy soldiers from around the world, along with curios dating from as farbackas Roman times, that have turned up in the properties Tunstill has restored over the years.
There is an undeniable streak of fantasy to Tunstill that accounts for his succes in business – itself the subject of plenty of envious gossip among the poorer expats of Umbria. Along with the lead soldiers, he has built up a business selling old italian postcards that he buys up for virtually nothing in britain and sells on his website, www.cartolinetunstill.com , to italian collectors for between €20 for a street scene of Edwardian florence to €185 for one showing a handshake between Mussolini and Hitler.
He also putting together a collection of books, www.reelstreets.com , juxtaposing street scnes in famous British films with photographs of what they look like now.”

What the papers say…..

The mail on Sunday, of 13th November 2005 by Sebastian O’Kelly – Part 1


“Fifteen years ago, John Tunstill used to buy his trousers second hand at the market in Città di Castello, the small town in the upper Tiber Valley in Umbria, around which he has made his home – and his fortune.
At the time, he was in the late 40s, newly arrived in Umbria, but with ambitious plans to set up as an estate agent and property developer in an area that he correctly forecast was going to be “another Cotswolds”.
For Fabio Lelli, John’s elegant Italian business partner, this eccentricity and thrift in clothes shopping caused mingled feelings of ridicule and disgust. But there is no denying that this irrepressible entrepreneur has spectacularly succeeded in his ambition.
In those days, Tunstill, now 63, and his wife Liliana, 61, a blonde and blue-eyed Uruguayan of German origin, lived in a two-up, two-down section of an old farm on an exposed hillside outside nearby Umbertide, the rest of which he had sold off as a second homes. Today, he lives in the village of Calzolaro in a vast former monastic retreat called La Preghiera, which has its own stream and gardens, a house in the grounds, swimming pool and even its own chapel, which is used for weddings.
It is far too large to be a private house and earlier this year, after the complex came back to life having been excavated from centuries of alluvial mud, it opened as a fancy 12-bedroom boutique B&B, a place “where four nights of luxury cost only €895 (£605) per person.....”

Come here in Umbria!
For more informations see www.villamoscatelli.com & www.lapreghiera.com

Waiting for Valentine’s Day

Every 14th of February celebration in honour of the Saint take place around the Basilica of Terni, Umbria, central Italy, with the traditional Fair. The entire month of February is dedicated to festivities in honour of St Valentine, Terni's first Bishop, who died in 273 by order of the Roman prefect Placidus Furius during the persecutions executed by the emperor Aurelius.
His life, given to the apostolate and enobled by his matyrdom, induced the citizens of Terni in 1644 to proclaim him the Patron Saint of the City and patron saint of lovers. But the fame of Saint Valentine all over the world is the legend which originated in the anglo-saxon countries. He gave a flower from his own garden to his young visitors. Two of these young people fell in love; and this love resulted in such a happy union that many other couples followed their example, and the Saint dedicated one day of the year to the benediction of love. The present Basilica of Terni was built in 1605 on the ruins of previous temples, and contains works of art of great interest, particularly in the crypt.

Come to La Preghiera, a romantic and intimate hideaway in Umbria, a perfect location to spend Valentine’s Day... See our website, www.lapreghiera.com , for our special offer!

From Victoria and JP Goyet, recent guest here at La Preghiera, Umbria, Italy:


“JP and I can’t thank you enough for a lovely stay with you in your warm and gracious home. We’ll long treasure our meeting and overnight in your beautiful corner!”

The Italian ceremony of the tree stump

The traditional panettone of Milano, Italy, was originally nothing but a large loaf of bread, the preparation of which was supervised by the owner of the house, who, before it was baked, carved a cross on it with a knife as a sign of blessing. The large loaf was then eaten by the family reunited for the traditional Christmas ceremony of the tree stump, “ceppo” in Italy.
The father, or the head of house, made the sign of the cross, then took a large tree stump, usually oak and laid it in the fire place, with a bunch of juniper and poked the fire. He poured wine into a goblet, sprinkled it onto the flames, taking a first sip then passing it to the other members of the family. The father then threw a coin on the ceppo and distributed more coins to the others. Finally the family presented him with three large loaves of wheat and, in a solemn gesture, cut a small part, that was preserved until the following Christmas. The stump symbolized the tree of good and evil, the fire the work of redemption of Jesus Christ; the loaves, antecedents of the panettone, symbolized the mystery of the Holy Trinity. From this ancient and evocative tradition we still have today two parts: the belief of the "miraculous restorative power" of the "pangrande" consumed at Christmas, and the same "pangrande" which is now known as panettone.