Il Mio Tuscolo: Benvenuto a Castelletto – Welcome to a little castle!

While preparing our move to Italy we naturally heard different kinds of commentaries from the near and dear ones. Some said wow that’s cool, minority sounded skeptical towards our plan but everybody asked why on Earth are we doing this, leaving the ‘safe life’ behind, moving to a country with totally different culture and language? What can be so interesting in that country of spaghetti, mafia and gigolos?

Well. People get few chances to do something exciting and exclusive in their lives and we don’t want to miss our chances. This means that we ought to learn a new language to begin with. It is a challenge but it only broadens the comprehension of a culture and a country. Adapting to new routines and patterns of behavior is also a richness which makes a person comprehend oneself better and helps discovering new sides of life. We are doing this because we can. Someone said it in two words: carpe diem!

We are establishing a centre for cultural exchange on the Roman Mountains. The facility we have is a beautiful villa called Castelletto that has three floors, own yard, garage and great surroundings. At the moment the Jasmines are blooming and the scent is truly enchanting. The yellow stone house is built in 1936 and has pieces of antique pillars embedded on the walls. Our mountain village, called Grottaferrata, lays 20 kilometres out of the centre of Rome on the miraculous Tuscolo hill.

The third person moving with us is Riitta who has taught icon painting for decades in Finland. In addition to icon painting she is a very versatile crafts(wo)man and talented at sewing, tiffany glassworks and many other handicrafts. Moreover she has studied cultural anthropology and knows the history of art in and out.

In general, we want to offer workshops for people who are interested in expressing themselves and simultaneously enhance the cultural exchange between these two countries. We want to make our Castelletto a place of inspiration, enabling our guests to find their Tusculum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscolo) in the peace of Roman Mountains. Grottaferrata has perfect location at the volcanic Castelli Romani area, within an easy reach to the greatest outside museum of the world, which is Rome.

We welcome you to accompany our integration through this blog. Here you will have a front seat on following up how Finns will find their place among Italians. We also most warmly welcome you to visit our Castelletto in Grottaferrata. Today our moving truck began its trip from Helsinki reaching Rome probably on Friday, and we have high expectations on having the villa furnished and ready to house you starting from July.

Stay well people and let us here from you. Here is a photo from the main gate to the garden. The Castelletto is a big place so you may believe we have many things in preparation and planning but we'll keep you updated.