UnderAnotherTuscanSun - clubborgodivagli.com June 10'.pdf · on Kauai’s Hanalei Bay, surrounded...
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YELLOW THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, June 11, 2010 W13 THE HOME FRONT Under Another Tuscan Sun Best-selling author Frances Mayes renews her love affair with Italy— with another restoration F RANCES MAYES takes a heart-first approach to real estate—and has done well by it. In 1990, she fell in love with a tumbledown villa just outside this sleepy hill town about 70 miles southeast of Florence, and the questionable pur- chase and backbreaking restoration resulted in “Under the Tuscan Sun,” a best seller in 1996 and later a suc- cessful film with Diane Lane. In 2003, picking wild blackber- ries on a hill, Ms. Mayes and her hus- band spied through the brambles a dilapidated stone cottage and fell headlong all over again. Another ren- ovation, another book. “What a lone- some beauty,” she writes of the home in the final installment of her Tuscan trilogy, “Every Day in Tuscany,” which has sold 83,000 copies since its publication in April. It’s not that the author needed an- other summer home, a mere 15-min- ute drive from the first (she lives the rest of the year in Hillsborough, N.C.). That one, called Bramasole (“yearn- ing for the sun”), had proved a reli- able muse, inspiring not only the tril- ogy but two lavishly illustrated coffee-table books and a furniture line for Drexel Heritage. During high tourist season, upwards of 200 on- lookers a week flock to the villa. Ms. Mayes says she enjoys meeting the pilgrims but finds it a bit disconcert- ing on a Tuesday morning, drinking coffee in her nightgown, to look out the window and see a busload. What she calls “the mountain house,” however, could hardly be more remote. Built in the early 13th century by hermits who followed St. Francis of Assisi, Fonte delle Fo- glie—The Font of Leaves—is a humble structure set high on a peak over- looking the vast and rolling country- side. When the Mayeses found the house, it had been vacant for half a century; it was dark as a tomb, and nearly as airless. The stone roof was surprisingly intact, save for a few bald patches and a couple of holes. But one side was collapsed and the doors choked with vines and weeds. The ground floor was divided into four cramped mangers, for animals, and the top floor into four high-ceil- inged rooms with two fireplaces but littered with plaster and debris. This time around, armed with more than a decade’s worth of knowledge—of the grim realities of DIY, as well as the complexities of Italian history—Ms. Mayes opted to not take on the renovation herself, but instead hire an expert. This was the man she refers to as her “Italian brother,” the preservationist archi- tect Fulvio Di Rosa. The two met after one of Mr. Di Rosa’s restoration projects had de- lighted Ms. Mayes. Since the 1980s, he’s been buying abandoned borghi—tiny medieval villages scat- tered throughout the Tuscan moun- tains, built with stone walls so thick they give silence new meaning—and meticulously bringing them back to life. That zeal for authenticity ap- pealed to Ms. Mayes’s passion for his- tory. “When we are together we just talk and talk—and talk,” she says. Properties in the area generally sell for about $7,000 to $12,000 per square meter (a little less than 11 square feet). The Mayeses paid $140,000 total for theirs, plus three years and hundreds of untallied re- ceipts for the restoration (high-level projects usually run about $3,000 to $3,600 per square meter). That’s not counting the old carved stone fire- places, blacksmith-made stair rails, hand-painted cabinets, 17th-century doors, and the bocce court and bun- galow they’ve added since. Such touches, right down to the Busatti bed linens, make the cottage feel gorgeously rustic—as luxurious as a boutique hotel, yet devoid of arti- fice, much like the hermit’s retreat that it was. “Of course, owning two houses in the same town is utterly bi- zarre,” says Ms. Mayes. The couple divide their time equally between the two, even though she’s con- stantly leaving her red cardigan at the wrong one. To reach the mountain house, one bumps along a long, rocky dirt road, swerving to avoid potholes, parks at roof level, and descends a winding path leading to a wide, sloping lawn carved from the surrounding forest. The restored main house and an outbuilding contain four bedrooms between them. The new bungalow is built into a slope (something only re- cently permitted by law) and includes a fifth bedroom suite that doubles as a workplace for this pair of writers. (Husband Edward Kleinschmidt Mayes is a poet who has published widely.) The grounds skillfully layer wild woods and manicured landscaping, harmonizing with the mix of old and new buildings. The hills fan out be- low, all the way to a glimpse of Lake Trasimeno shimmering in the far distance. It feels like there’s nobody on earth but the Mayeses and whichever friends they invite over for long Sundays of swimming and playing bocce—or, this summer, sampling the recipes for “The Tus- can Sun Cookbook,” which Ms. Mayes will publish next year. On a recent tour, Mr. Di Rosa stopped to crouch and point to a 500- year-old crack in a floorboard, or to mirror his hand along a plaster wall’s contours, its surface intentionally left slightly wavy instead of straightened into the harsh lines of modernity. His design philosophy can be summed up as “simplicity is luxury.” He goes to great lengths to locate the same ma- terials used by the original carpen- ters and masons—chestnut beams, terra cotta tiles—and hews as closely as possible to the original construc- tion methods. “The more you learn of the history,” he says, “the more you come to understand why the builders made the decisions they made.” This sentiment rings true for Ms. Mayes. Life at the mountain house lets her slip more completely into the country’s rhythms. “In America I usu- ally feel up against time—looking at my watch, booking appointments weeks in advance,” she says. “Here time is more of a river to float on, than a current to swim against.” Author Frances Mayes, top, with Italian restoration expert Fulvio Di Rosa and her mountain house, Fonte delle Foglie. Above, the living room of the house. (clockwise from right) Al Hurley; Sandro Michahelles Fotografo for The Wall Street Journal; Steven Rothfeld) BY CANDACE JACKSON Crichton’s Hawaii, For Sale A Hawaiian es- tate owned by the late author Michael Crichton is on the market for $12 million. An adjacent home owned by Mr. Crichton’s trust sold in Decem- ber for $10.1 million. The home still listed is a 1926 estate on Kauai’s Hanalei Bay, surrounded by mountains and adjacent to the beach. Built for a local doctor, the nearly 1.2- acre estate includes two homes built on three lots. The 3,000-square-foot main house, remodeled in 2002, has two bedrooms, two baths. There’s a yoga studio and a detached three-car garage. A guest cottage has two more bed- rooms. The grounds include tangerine trees and botanical gardens. The estate that sold has three beach cottages on two lots, with a total of four bedrooms on 0.75 acre. The author, who died in 2008 at age 66, wrote “Jurassic Park,” ”The Androm- eda Strain” and “Congo,” all made into movies. The “Jurassic Park” films were shot on Kauai. Mr. Crichton also created television’s “E.R.” Barbara L. Sloan from Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty Inc. has the listing and handled the sale. Patagonia, $30 Million A 180,000-acre ranch in the Patago- nia region of Argentina has gone on the market for $30 million. The ranch, known as Estancia Alicura, is owned by Ward Lay, the son of Herman Lay, the co-founder of Frito-Lay Co. and the for- mer chairman of PepsiCo. Ward Lay bought the property in 1998 from a company controlled by the Benetton family, which founded the fa- mous retailer. Mr. Lay declined to say how much he paid but says his improve- ments include converting the site from sheep to cattle ranching. The main house (see interior below), a restored colonial hacienda that Mr. Lay has renovated, has five bedrooms and comes with two large guest houses and a pool. Staff lodging and a stag-hunting and trout-fishing op- eration are included. Ted Turner owns a ranch adjacent to the property. Mr. Lay says he’s selling to focus more on his Argentine wine business. Trent Jones of Hall & Hall in Sun Val- ley, Idaho, has the listing. Beatle’s Onetime Lair An estate once owned by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr at the height of Beatlemania has hit the market out- side London. The sellers are asking £5.95 million, or about $8.6 million. The home is in the gated commu- nity of St. George’s Hill, in Weybridge. Mr. Starr lived there for several years in the late 1960s; fellow Beatle John Lennon lived nearby. The house, for- merly known as Sunny Heights, has six bedrooms, six baths and a ’60s psychedelic wall mural painted over the fireplace. Simon Ashwell of Savills in Weybridge has the listing. Email: [email protected] RELATIVE VALUES | A Shore Thing A sampling of oceanfront homes under $1 million SANDWICH, Mass. $895,000 A 1,742-square-foot home with five bedrooms and three baths near the Sagamore Bridge, which connects the Cape to the mainland. DETAILS: The 1960s shingle-sided home is on a beach that has views of boats coming through the Cape Cod Canal. The three-level house has a vaulted living room with a large stone fireplace. The home has a heated sunroom and an outdoor deck that have views of the ocean. An unfinished space above the garage could be converted into an entertainment room. SHORE MEAL: Seafood Sam’s, along the Cape Cod Canal, serves lob- ster eight ways, including a casserole and a fried version with butter- flied gulf shrimp. FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Sunny, high 66 degrees SOURCE: Melinda Chapin with Sotheby’s International Realty in East Sandwich, Mass., 508-568-1714, [email protected] PALM BEACH, Fla. $895,000 A 2,500-square-foot penthouse oceanfront condominium with two bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. DETAILS: The penthouse, on the fifth floor, has a wraparound terrace with views of the ocean and the Intercoastal bay. The living room and master bedroom have floor-to-ceiling windows with expansive ocean views. The owners eliminated one bedroom to expand the liv- ing room and den. The condo complex has tennis courts, a pool and a fitness center. SHORE MEAL: The restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, a short drive or walk along the beach, has a menu that can include yellowfin ahi tuna and crab risotto. FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Partly sunny, high 90 degrees SOURCE: Donald Gorbach with Corcoran Palm Beach. 561-707-6210; [email protected] LONG ISLAND, Bahamas $985,000 A 2,883-square-foot beachfront home with three bedrooms and 2½ baths on 1½ acres. DETAILS: This 1970s house sits on a private peninsula on one of the lesser-developed Out Islands. The property comes with a backup gen- erator, and a covered walkway from the house leads to the detached master bedroom, with its own kitchenette and deck. There’s snorkel- ing and bonefishing offshore. SHORE MEAL: The Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort, a walk of about 15 minutes, has a restaurant that serves Caribbean food with views of the beach. The menu includes conch fritters, grouper and steak. FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Sunny, high 91 degrees SOURCE: John Christie with H.G. Christie Ltd. in Nassau, a Christie’s Great Estates affiliate. 242-357-7572; [email protected]. —Candace Jackson (l-r) Lauren Clough; Corcoran/VHT; HGChristie Ltd (t-b) eyevine/Zuma Press; Hall and Hall PRIVATE PROPERTIES BY KATE BOLICK Cortona, Italy See more photos of the homes featured on this page, plus continuing coverage of the real-estate market, at WSJ.com/RealEstate. Read an article about another Di Rosa restoration at WSJ.com/RealEstate. C M Y K Composite Composite MAGENTA CYAN BLACK P2JW162033-0-W01300-1--------XA 06/11/2010 EE,FL,MW,NE,NY,PH,SA,SW,WB,WE BG,BM,BP,CH,CK,CP,CT,DA,DE,DN,DR,DS,FW,HL,HW,KS,LA,LD,LG,LK,MI,NA,NM,OR,PA,PI,RI,RO,SB,SH,TD,TS,UT,WO P2JW162033-0-W01300-1--------XA
Transcript of UnderAnotherTuscanSun - clubborgodivagli.com June 10'.pdf · on Kauai’s Hanalei Bay, surrounded...
YELLOW
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, June 11, 2010 W13
THE HOME FRONT
Under Another Tuscan Sun
Best-sellingauthor FrancesMayes renewsher love affairwith Italy—with anotherrestoration
F RANCES MAYES takes aheart-first approach toreal estate—and has donewell by it. In 1990, she fellin love with a tumbledown
villa just outside this sleepy hilltown about 70 miles southeast ofFlorence, and the questionable pur-chase and backbreaking restorationresulted in “Under the Tuscan Sun,”a best seller in 1996 and later a suc-cessful film with Diane Lane.
In 2003, picking wild blackber-ries on a hill, Ms. Mayes and her hus-band spied through the brambles adilapidated stone cottage and fellheadlong all over again. Another ren-ovation, another book. “What a lone-some beauty,” she writes of the homein the final installment of her Tuscantrilogy, “Every Day in Tuscany,”which has sold 83,000 copies since itspublication in April.
It’s not that the author needed an-other summer home, a mere 15-min-ute drive from the first (she lives therest of the year in Hillsborough, N.C.).That one, called Bramasole (“yearn-ing for the sun”), had proved a reli-able muse, inspiring not only the tril-ogy but two lavishly illustratedcoffee-table books and a furnitureline for Drexel Heritage. During hightourist season, upwards of 200 on-lookers a week flock to the villa. Ms.Mayes says she enjoys meeting thepilgrims but finds it a bit disconcert-ing on a Tuesday morning, drinkingcoffee in her nightgown, to look outthe window and see a busload.
What she calls “the mountainhouse,” however, could hardly bemore remote. Built in the early 13thcentury by hermits who followed St.Francis of Assisi, Fonte delle Fo-glie—The Font of Leaves—is a humblestructure set high on a peak over-looking the vast and rolling country-side. When the Mayeses found thehouse, it had been vacant for half acentury; it was dark as a tomb, andnearly as airless. The stone roof wassurprisingly intact, save for a few
bald patches and a couple of holes.But one side was collapsed and thedoors choked with vines and weeds.The ground floor was divided intofour cramped mangers, for animals,and the top floor into four high-ceil-inged rooms with two fireplaces butlittered with plaster and debris.
This time around, armed withmore than a decade’s worth ofknowledge—of the grim realities ofDIY, as well as the complexities ofItalian history—Ms. Mayes opted tonot take on the renovation herself,but instead hire an expert. This wasthe man she refers to as her “Italianbrother,” the preservationist archi-tect Fulvio Di Rosa.
The two met after one of Mr. DiRosa’s restoration projects had de-lighted Ms. Mayes. Since the 1980s,he’s been buying abandonedborghi—tiny medieval villages scat-tered throughout the Tuscan moun-tains, built with stone walls so thickthey give silence new meaning—andmeticulously bringing them back tolife. That zeal for authenticity ap-pealed to Ms. Mayes’s passion for his-tory. “When we are together we justtalk and talk—and talk,” she says.
Properties in the area generallysell for about $7,000 to $12,000 persquare meter (a little less than 11square feet). The Mayeses paid$140,000 total for theirs, plus threeyears and hundreds of untallied re-ceipts for the restoration (high-levelprojects usually run about $3,000 to$3,600 per square meter). That’s notcounting the old carved stone fire-places, blacksmith-made stair rails,hand-painted cabinets, 17th-centurydoors, and the bocce court and bun-galow they’ve added since. Suchtouches, right down to the Busattibed linens, make the cottage feelgorgeously rustic—as luxurious as aboutique hotel, yet devoid of arti-fice, much like the hermit’s retreatthat it was.
“Of course, owning two housesin the same town is utterly bi-zarre,” says Ms. Mayes. The coupledivide their time equally betweenthe two, even though she’s con-
stantly leaving her red cardigan atthe wrong one.
To reach the mountain house, onebumps along a long, rocky dirt road,swerving to avoid potholes, parks atroof level, and descends a windingpath leading to a wide, sloping lawncarved from the surrounding forest.
The restored main house and anoutbuilding contain four bedroomsbetween them. The new bungalow isbuilt into a slope (something only re-cently permitted by law) and includesa fifth bedroom suite that doubles asa workplace for this pair of writers.(Husband Edward KleinschmidtMayes is a poet who has publishedwidely.)
The grounds skillfully layer wildwoods and manicured landscaping,harmonizing with the mix of old andnew buildings. The hills fan out be-low, all the way to a glimpse of LakeTrasimeno shimmering in the fardistance. It feels like there’s nobodyon earth but the Mayeses andwhichever friends they invite overfor long Sundays of swimming andplaying bocce—or, this summer,sampling the recipes for “The Tus-can Sun Cookbook,” which Ms.
Mayes will publish next year.On a recent tour, Mr. Di Rosa
stopped to crouch and point to a 500-year-old crack in a floorboard, or tomirror his hand along a plaster wall’scontours, its surface intentionally leftslightly wavy instead of straightenedinto the harsh lines of modernity. Hisdesign philosophy can be summed upas “simplicity is luxury.” He goes togreat lengths to locate the same ma-terials used by the original carpen-ters and masons—chestnut beams,terra cotta tiles—and hews as closelyas possible to the original construc-tion methods. “The more you learn ofthe history,” he says, “the more youcome to understand why the buildersmade the decisions they made.”
This sentiment rings true for Ms.Mayes. Life at the mountain houselets her slip more completely into thecountry’s rhythms. “In America I usu-ally feel up against time—looking atmy watch, booking appointmentsweeks in advance,” she says. “Heretime is more of a river to float on,than a current to swim against.”
Author Frances Mayes, top, with Italian restoration expert Fulvio Di Rosa and hermountain house, Fonte delle Foglie. Above, the living room of the house.
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BY CANDACE JACKSON
Crichton’sHawaii,For Sale
A Hawaiian es-tate owned by thelate author
Michael Crichton is on the market for$12 million. An adjacent home ownedby Mr. Crichton’s trust sold in Decem-ber for $10.1 million.
The home still listed is a 1926 estateon Kauai’s Hanalei Bay, surrounded bymountains and adjacent to the beach.Built for a local doctor, the nearly 1.2-acre estate includes two homes built onthree lots. The 3,000-square-foot mainhouse, remodeled in 2002, has twobedrooms, two baths. There’s a yogastudio and a detached three-car garage.A guest cottage has two more bed-rooms. The grounds include tangerinetrees and botanical gardens.
The estate that sold has three beachcottages on two lots, with a total offour bedrooms on 0.75 acre.
The author, who died in 2008 at age66, wrote “Jurassic Park,” ”The Androm-eda Strain” and “Congo,” all made intomovies. The “Jurassic Park” films wereshot on Kauai. Mr. Crichton also createdtelevision’s “E.R.” Barbara L. Sloan fromColdwell Banker Bali Hai Realty Inc. hasthe listing and handled the sale.
Patagonia, $30 MillionA 180,000-acre ranch in the Patago-
nia region of Argentina has gone onthe market for $30 million. The ranch,known as Estancia Alicura, is owned byWard Lay, the son of Herman Lay, theco-founder of Frito-Lay Co. and the for-mer chairman of PepsiCo.
Ward Lay bought the property in1998 from a company controlled by theBenetton family, which founded the fa-mous retailer. Mr. Lay declined to sayhow much he paid but says his improve-ments include converting the site fromsheep to cattle ranching. The main house(see interior below), a restored colonialhacienda that Mr. Lay has renovated, hasfive bedrooms and comes with two largeguest houses and a pool. Staff lodgingand a stag-hunting and trout-fishing op-eration are included. Ted Turner owns aranch adjacent to the property.
Mr. Lay says he’s selling to focusmore on his Argentine wine business.Trent Jones of Hall & Hall in Sun Val-ley, Idaho, has the listing.
Beatle’s Onetime LairAn estate once owned by Beatles
drummer Ringo Starr at the height ofBeatlemania has hit the market out-side London. The sellers are asking£5.95 million, or about $8.6 million.
The home is in the gated commu-nity of St. George’s Hill, in Weybridge.Mr. Starr lived there for several yearsin the late 1960s; fellow Beatle JohnLennon lived nearby. The house, for-merly known as Sunny Heights, hassix bedrooms, six baths and a ’60spsychedelic wall mural painted overthe fireplace. Simon Ashwell of Savillsin Weybridge has the listing.
Email: [email protected]
RELATIVE VALUES | A Shore ThingA sampling of oceanfront homes under $1 million
SANDWICH, Mass.$895,000A 1,742-square-foot home with five bedrooms and three baths nearthe Sagamore Bridge, which connects the Cape to the mainland.
DETAILS: The 1960s shingle-sided home is on a beach that hasviews of boats coming through the Cape Cod Canal. The three-levelhouse has a vaulted living room with a large stone fireplace. Thehome has a heated sunroom and an outdoor deck that have views ofthe ocean. An unfinished space above the garage could be convertedinto an entertainment room.
SHORE MEAL: Seafood Sam’s, along the Cape Cod Canal, serves lob-ster eight ways, including a casserole and a fried version with butter-flied gulf shrimp.
FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Sunny, high 66 degrees
SOURCE: Melinda Chapin with Sotheby’s International Realty in EastSandwich, Mass., 508-568-1714, [email protected]
PALM BEACH, Fla.$895,000A 2,500-square-foot penthouse oceanfront condominium with twobedrooms and 2½ bathrooms.
DETAILS: The penthouse, on the fifth floor, has a wraparound terracewith views of the ocean and the Intercoastal bay. The living roomand master bedroom have floor-to-ceiling windows with expansiveocean views. The owners eliminated one bedroom to expand the liv-ing room and den. The condo complex has tennis courts, a pool and afitness center.
SHORE MEAL: The restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort PalmBeach, a short drive or walk along the beach, has a menu that caninclude yellowfin ahi tuna and crab risotto.
FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Partly sunny, high 90 degrees
SOURCE: Donald Gorbach with Corcoran Palm Beach. 561-707-6210;[email protected]
LONG ISLAND, Bahamas$985,000A 2,883-square-foot beachfront home with three bedrooms and 2½baths on 1½ acres.
DETAILS: This 1970s house sits on a private peninsula on one of thelesser-developed Out Islands. The property comes with a backup gen-erator, and a covered walkway from the house leads to the detachedmaster bedroom, with its own kitchenette and deck. There’s snorkel-ing and bonefishing offshore.
SHORE MEAL: The Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort, a walk of about15 minutes, has a restaurant that serves Caribbean food with viewsof the beach. The menu includes conch fritters, grouper and steak.
FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Sunny, high 91 degrees
SOURCE: John Christie with H.G. Christie Ltd. in Nassau, a Christie’sGreat Estates affiliate. 242-357-7572; [email protected].
—Candace Jackson
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PRIVATEPROPERTIES
BY KATE BOLICKCortona, Italy
� See more photos of the homes featured on this page, plus continuing coverage of the real-estate market, at WSJ.com/RealEstate.
� Read an article about another Di Rosarestoration at WSJ.com/RealEstate.
C M Y K CompositeCompositeMAGENTA CYAN BLACK
P2JW162033-0-W01300-1--------XA 06/11/2010 EE,FL,MW,NE,NY,PH,SA,SW,WB,WEBG,BM,BP,CH,CK,CP,CT,DA,DE,DN,DR,DS,FW,HL,HW,KS,LA,LD,LG,LK,MI,NA,NM,OR,PA,PI,RI,RO,SB,SH,TD,TS,UT,WO
P2JW162033-0-W01300-1--------XA
