Gerardo and Gaetano were my heros. I was in Italy May 2023 and my rental car died. I don't mean broke down. I mean died!! I was driving downhill on a steep two lane curvy road between Treia and Tolentino when I lost power, brakes and steering. The thing about this road is you can only go so fast and I am slower than your average Italian. There was a line of cars behind me and I managed to wrench the steering wheel to the right and pull off the road without causing a pileup. I don't scare easily, but I was shaking when the car finally rolled into a curb and stopped. Following close behind is a sport in Italy and it's the only thing about driving there that I don't enjoy.
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I called the Hertz number for English and still needed help from a native Italian speaker who happened to be in the area where I pulled off. The plan was that I wait for the tow truck and then go to the garage in Morrovalle. From there I take a taxi to the Ancona airport to pick up a new car. Two problems with that plan: 1) there are no taxis in Morrovalle or the surrounding area 2) the Ancona airport is an hour away. Gerardo and Gaetano are brothers who own the garage and towing business. Pretty sure it was Gaetano who drove the tow truck. I asked his name, but had a hard time understanding his thick dialect. We headed off to Morrovalle and with the help of our friend, the translate app, I sorted out that G&G would take care of procuring a ride to the airport for me.  

The garage and tow yard are exactly what you'd expect only cleaner and with better looking mechanics. One of the G's motions for me to come in the office and he presents me with a taxi bill for 180 euros. Hertz had told me to pay upfront and they will refund me when I returned the car to Rome. I pay, then me and the G's head out into the tow lot. Turns out we are going to Ancona in G&G's vintage Alpha Romeo!! We zoom north and arrive at the airport in record time. Turns out the Hertz office at the airport is chiuso aka closed!! We are not a happy bunch. One of the G's calls Hertz and gives them a thrashing Italian style. Plan B is to go to the Ancona shipping port to pick up a car. Problem is it's 6:50 and the port office closes at 7:00. It would typically take 20 minutes to get to the port from the airport, but thanks to G&G and the Alpha we made it in 10! At the Hertz office I am asked what the mileage was on the car when it died and if I filled it up with gas. I am hypoglycemic and hadn't eaten in over six hours, so my head almost exploded. Eventually, we sort the details and I am shown to my replacement vehicle. They have given me the total gansta car - a huge black SUV with dark tinted windows. Absolutely not your typical car in Treia. It is so big I can't drive it into the historical center and even if I could, I wouldn't want to. The last thing I want is my neighbors to see me driving this tank and wondering where the money came from to buy Catlantis di Treia.

The house was listed with Tempocasa in Tolentino and Viktoria was my agent. In Italy it is common to work directly with the agency that has the listing, so you may have a few agents if the properties you’re interested in are with different companies. Viktoria was amazing and I highly recommend her. Every moment I knew she had my best interests in mind. Big bonus is she speaks better English than I speak Italian.

I took this photo on a Saturday in December 2021, the one and only time I viewed my future home before signing the contract. The electric service was turned off so we used our phone flashlights to see what we could. On the Tempocasa website it was listed as habitable and I quickly realized that was a relative term. Growing up my family had a construction company and I am in my element among the dirt, noise, and power tools. Fortunately, the price was reasonable and reflected the need for renovation.

The house consists of three floors:
piano terra (ground floor) = garage & entrance to the stairs
​piano prima (first floor) = main living floor
piano secondo (second floor) = large multi-use room, guest bedroom & bathroom

Michael and his girlfriend, Christine, came with us to view the house. Christine and Michael kept saying that it had tons of potential and they were right! We noted how rare it is to have a house with a garage in the centro storico. It has high ceilings and big windows for good natural light. We went up to the piano secondo and out to the terrace. Wow, the incredible view!! On Monday I made an offer.

​May 2019 we went to Italy to celebrate Mother's Day - my mom, my aunt, me. It was unseasonably cold and rainy for May and mom didn't understand why we couldn't just drive to my house in Florida for a warm jacket. She was already four years into Alzheimer's and living with me in Sarasota. My aunt and I decided we needed to take the trip we had talked about so often before mom was unable to travel. The blessing in her memory issues was that she was fully present in every moment while we were there. She couldn't remember the long arduous flight or the four hour drive from Rome in constant rain. She was happy that every town had gelato and she was there with my aunt, her dear friend. We laughed, ate delicious food, made the best of the rain and cold, and indulged in lots of gelato! 

Clararose, my mom, was a funny, vibrant, courageous, adventurous woman before the curse of Alzheimer's changed her into someone she would have never wanted to be. I promised her I would do everything I could to keep her home with me and not put her in a facility. I was able to keep that promise even though it was truly one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm beyond grateful for her caregivers - Alice, Bon, Keri, and Kristin - I absolutely could not have done it without them. Eighteen months post our Italy trip she died in bed with beloved cats purring next to her. I would do it all over again. 

Catlantis originated in Sarasota. In 2011 a neighbor’s cat had a litter of kittens and he put the mother and kittens outside. Spring 2012 those kittens had kittens. There was a total of 25 between the original kittens and the new ones!! Then, the neighbor moved and left them all. There was going to be 100 if we didn't do something. So, we cleared out a room in the house and trapped Every Single One. Over the next few months aka The Summer of Fuzzy Love we took them to the free spay/neuter clinics a few at a time. We were able to socialize some and found homes for them. The rest we cared for. Michael was working from home at the time and he did the heavy lifting feeding and taking care of them. There are still 8 of the original feral colony that I care for. The house was from then on referred to as Catlantis.

When I found my home in Treia I knew in addition to Catlantis of Sarasota there would be a Catlantis di Treia. Along with the outdoor colony, I have four indoor kitties - all strays who heard of the food supply through the cat grapevine. I'm sure the strays will find me in Italy as well. I wonder how to say Crazy Cat Lady in Italian.

When Michael first moved to Marche in 2016 he was repeatedly asked "Come mai Marche?” He couldn't figure out how to answer 'How never Marche?' - the literal translation of 'come mai' being 'how never' - eventually, someone explained that the spirit of the question was 'Why did you choose Marche of all the places in Italy?' 
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I choose Marche because it is authentic Italy without the crowds of tourists, tour buses, and cheap tchotchkes for sale. The land is green and lush; the Sibillini Mountains are stunning; the Adriatic sea welcoming. The Marchigiano people are wonderful! They are friendly, helpful, kind, and quite curious about the foreign woman renovating a townhouse in Treia. 

Many of the people in their teens and 20's speak some English due to learning it in school, but very few other people speak it. I am learning Italian and a translation app is my constant companion. Apparently, I've learned to say, "Mi dispiace, parlo un po d'italiano, ma non molto bene" quite well. Because, even though I am saying, "I'm sorry, I speak a little Italian, but not very good" the person I'm speaking to responds with an affirmation that, in fact, my Italian is quite good and then they proceed to talk to me in the fast paced partial dialect that they use with their friends and family. Porca miseria!!​

​Yes, Italy!!!
Join me on my Italian adventure. In December 2021 I signed a contract on a townhouse in Treia, a stunning ancient town in the region of Marche. In the category of differences between Italy and America - the closing finally happened in September 2022 - nine months later! More on that in another post.
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I feel in love with this area when my then husband and now dear friend, Michael, and I were searching for a house in Italy. We visited different parts of Tuscany and almost choose Lunigiana in the north.  After three years exploring we found the region of Marche and knew we had found la dolce vita ❤️