Above, the western view from the upper terrace.

Renovations will soon begin in the garden at Casa Castigliana. I spoke with our “muratore” Stefano, who did the beautiful work inside the house last year, and he is in the process of seeking the necessary permissions from the village to begin the works.

Among the projects he will undertake are the rebuilding of a stone retaining wall at the back of the garden that will create an upper level terrace where we plan to put a dining patio, new plantings and lighting. On the main level of the garden, he will rebuild the wood shed with stone columns and add a classic tile roof (replacing the awful corrugated plastic!), and then resurface the large stone patio with natural terra cotta tiles. The project should begin in October and be completed “prima Natale,” according to Stefano.

Once the upper level terrace is finished, the view from there is endless and in the perfect direction to catch a sunset.