HistoryBuilt in medieval times,, with cantina walls that date from the 14C, the house was first renovated in the 1700s, as indicated by the external staircase, the plastering over the stones, and enlargement of windows and doorframes.
We've been told that in the 1800s it was owned by a local signorile family, the Quartieri, as a summer house: they'd retreat here for the pure air and the breeze that comes up the valley every afternoon. One of the last counts is said to have been born here in 1901. There's a Quartieri street and statue in Bagnone, and the family still own a villa there. When we asked our neighbours if our house had a name, they said they'd always referred to it as al palazz (dialect for il palazzo), in the sense of 'the big house' where gentry used to live. So that's what we call it when the house needs a name. |