SonoPizzitano
The House in Pizzo: BEFORE AND AFTER
This is a photo of the front of the original house as we bought it in late '07. We worried a lot before and during the rebuild. Renovations started in early '08 and were not completed until 9 August '08. It was a bit of a gamble maybe. Even the agent who arranged the sale advised us to buy a new-build but I was not interested, as I wanted to be in the centro storico among local people and not out in a tourist village with ex-pats mostly and other foreign tourists. We had holidayed in Tropea and found Pizzo as a result of a conversation with another holiday-maker. We went on the internet and found agents involved in property in Pizzo, one who had good English and the other was an architect/geometra. We came back many times to look for properties and settled on this in late September after negotiations with agents and a vendor/ builder/ architect who would rebuild for us. We signed an initail contract based on it having a new sun terrace "con vista sul mare", and paid a deposit, returnable if we did not get permission for the terrace. That was a sticking point but we got it. Despite delays, we were told we did very well and many have come to praise it who did not believe it could be done, considering the state of the "rustico" we had first seen SEE " BEFORE" PICTURES BELOW
The photo above shows the old roof beams which were re- used and are a feature now, but the ceilings/floors had to be lowered to get 3 storeys where there had been just two high ceilings. The back room on the ground floor ( up left) had been a shed really and had to be dug to a considerable depth as can be seen. It is now a kitchen. The ground floor front room was a mess (right photo). The photo below (on left ) shows work on the room and an arch in the making to access kitchen (which was the old shed) and on the right the old door and the condition of the walls.
The House after rebuilding: kitchen through arch of front room ; front wall, door and balcony ; shower/ toilet/wash room on ground floor with back door; the much prized terrace and view
