In this video update, come with me on a tour of the cantinas below our house in Italy. These rooms are not part of our current renovation plans outside of one of them becoming the utility room where all the heating and plumbing lines will run. But, they hold some fascinating history about the house!
What You See in the Video
- Walk down to the cantinas to see the largest room with its wine-making tank.
- See how grapes would have arrived and be put into the tank.
- Check out the cantina room on the other side with its shelves for wine bottle storage.
The Story Behind-the-Scenes
The wine-tank room is one of the most amazing rooms of the house. The brick vaulted ceiling’s herringbone pattern arcs upward at least 15 feet high. The room is cavernous with a giant wine tank nearly as tall as the room itself filling the back area. A few old unlabeled wine bottles, some open some not, are scattered around the back of the room on an old bench.
Seeing this cantina when I first toured the house was like walking into a room from another time. It was a bit disorienting, but also beautifully haunting. I was sure no one had been and nothing had happened in this room for many decades.
The house is so big that you realize things over time. With so much to do, it took a while before I figured out that the grapes for winemaking would have been brought in by a truck or wagon and poured through the window and into the tank below. But it’s one of those things that once you see, you can’t unsee. All at once the arrangement of the cantina rooms all made sense and I felt privy to part of the house’s story that’s only told to the ones who really get to know it.
Fast forward to now and we definitely envision using the space for something. We’re just not clear on what just yet. Obviously, it could be a room for wine tastings and hanging out. But I think we’ll only know for sure once we can live in the house a bit and see what makes the most sense based on how we’re using all the spaces.
The tricky part is moisture. As far as cantina’s go, this room is pretty dry. But there’s still moisture in the air so any seating or tables would need to be inorganic. The tradeoff is the temperature. It stays blissfully cool in this room and the other cantina rooms, even in the summer.
For now, it’ll be used for some storage and otherwise untouched. But its future potential is exciting.
Where To Next?
See all the renovation updates in order by heading back to this renovation journey page.
Or watch more now using the navigation links below.
Previous update: Renovation Plans: Co-Living Considerations
Next update: Renovation Update Part 9: Ground Floor Milestones
