noplasticshowers

Upon arrival in Italy, NPS was whisked off to perform, postponing arrival at Villa Emma by several hours.  (For more about the first in country performance of our impromptu group, Into the Unknown, see Making Music Near Biella (Miagliano).)  By the time Davide dropped us off at the property it was dark and beginning to cloud up.

It rained.  Walking up the stairs, surrounded by newly met strangers who were already in bed, at midnight, in a lightning storm with rolling thunder, in a slightly dilapidated old Italian villa from the 1800s…really you couldn’t write a more hackneyed scene.  But there you have it.

There were probably vampires.

In the morning the splendiferous beauty of the place was apparent.  Set in the mountains east/northeast of Milano outside of Biella, Rialmosso is a tiny collection of houses built high into the side of a steep hill from Balma.  Villa Emma is two very steep very tiny roads up from the Church at about the same level as the top of the bell tower.

By this point in the trip, music leaks out of the house.  For example, Chopin.

We have convened to create some art.  But the already slightly whacky plan has been partially derailed by COVID, which has taken out three artists, including our fearless leader.  That means the rest of us are assembling art on our own and performing.

We spend much of our time practicing on the back veranda.

Which has views.

And feels as comfortable as home because of the people.

Collective dinner on stage

COVID quarantine has shifted everyone around.  NPS is in this room with three beds (it is always good to have extra beds around just in case?).  Sometimes a bat visits.

Ceilings are a thing throughout the villa.

Fittingly, the view from this room is of the practice space.  This trip is, after all, about making some art.

The kitchen is reasonably equipped, but not by someone who actually cooks. So there are gigantic whisks and tiny nutmeg graters, skinny spatulas and knives that saw.  All in all, the situation is well beyond workable with very good grocery stores about 10 minutes away by car.

One major benefit of the vila is the huge windows that allow lots of fresh air to pervade the house.  Because of our COVID problem we still mask inside, but the delta between fresh air inside and outside is minimal.  The mountain air is fresh and cool.  Sometimes the mornings are chilly, even in July.

The healthy people have been relegated to the downstairs bathroom.  It does not meet NPS standards, but it is large and the water is hot. (Well, the water is hot for some number of people in a row, anyway.)  If you think of this stay as a giant camping trip, it is very cushy indeed.

We’ll just not even comment about the shower.

Maybe the COVID bathroom is better.  We will never know.

The common areas are mostly downstairs and are beautiful.  We commandeered one chunk as a bedroom to keep everyone distinctly separated.

The wine situation in Italy is excellent of course.  And fixings for Negronis can be gathered by visiting only two stores.

The bar

A car is an absolute necessity here.  Plans to have one available on this trip fell through, and NPS solved the problem with the application of vast quantities of cash.

Plan to rent a car if you stay here.  Getting a bus to Biella is possible, but there is no Tabacchi nearby to purchase bus tickets.  The ride to town takes 52 minutes.

As always in Italia, shopping is a daily phenomenon.  That requires either super human patience or a car.

We have been haunting a couple of important sites in the area.  The first is La Casa del Gelato for ice cream (25 minutes of fun to get there).   The other is Loft Cafe in Biella where we just have to stop by for a Negroni from time to time.

More to come here.

All told, we’ll aware three showerheads to Via Emma.  Bring your tribe and revel in Italy.