10/05/2025
Holiday House Villa Anna Maria is part of two old family homes that have witnessed several very special stories. One of the apartments (Il Tiglio) belonged to my maternal grandparents, Ernesto and Rosaria. They lived there with their three daughters, Elisa, Elide, and Anna Maria (my mother). This neighborhood withstood the ravages of the second world war, with some heavy damage to the roofs, when Fossacesia was bombed by the British forces in their battle to liberate it from the N***s. Unfortunately, the English didn’t realize that the Germans at that point had already moved a bit north, so the bombing was unecessary, as probably most are.
After the war, my grandparents’ three daughters left Fossacesia one by one, in search of a better future in North America, leaving Rosaria and Ernesto alone in a home that had grown too large for them.
Another one of the apartments, our latest renovation, “l’Acero”, with its brick vaulted ceiling, was formerly the 250 year old wine cellar of Ernesto and Rosaria’s next door neighbors, Giovanni and Fiora Natale. The third apartment, “Pepe Rosa”, is actually the result of downsizing our home. It used to actually be our bedrooms and bathroom, and now it’s a bright, elegant mini apartment that many families have already enjoyed staying in since 2019.
How all these living spaces became part of the “compound” as I like to call it, is a special story in itself.
Suffice to say that after several visits to my grandparents in the 60s and 70s, these homes became my own, because I just happened to fall in love with Fossacesia – and the boy who lived next door to my grandparents - and serendipitously ended up living in Fossacesia, where both of my parents grew up before emigrating to the US. After my grandparents died, their house was split into three small apartments, one for each of the daughters. The entrance to Anna Maria’s part is directly connected to my back yard. This is why I call it “Villa” Anna Maria: because there is a lovely back yard with flowers and fruit trees, a barbecue, a gazebo, and a view of Mt. Maiella, but it is located in the center of town, close to all the shops. A lovely spot to enjoy your vacation!
You can read more about the lives that were lived in these homes here at my blog, where I tell about my life in Abruzzo.
After the war, my grandparents’ three daughters left Fossacesia one by one, in search of a better future in North America, leaving Rosaria and Ernesto alone in a home that had grown too large for them.
Another one of the apartments, our latest renovation, “l’Acero”, with its brick vaulted ceiling, was formerly the 250 year old wine cellar of Ernesto and Rosaria’s next door neighbors, Giovanni and Fiora Natale. The third apartment, “Pepe Rosa”, is actually the result of downsizing our home. It used to actually be our bedrooms and bathroom, and now it’s a bright, elegant mini apartment that many families have already enjoyed staying in since 2019.
How all these living spaces became part of the “compound” as I like to call it, is a special story in itself.
Suffice to say that after several visits to my grandparents in the 60s and 70s, these homes became my own, because I just happened to fall in love with Fossacesia – and the boy who lived next door to my grandparents - and serendipitously ended up living in Fossacesia, where both of my parents grew up before emigrating to the US. After my grandparents died, their house was split into three small apartments, one for each of the daughters. The entrance to Anna Maria’s part is directly connected to my back yard. This is why I call it “Villa” Anna Maria: because there is a lovely back yard with flowers and fruit trees, a barbecue, a gazebo, and a view of Mt. Maiella, but it is located in the center of town, close to all the shops. A lovely spot to enjoy your vacation!
You can read more about the lives that were lived in these homes here at my blog, where I tell about my life in Abruzzo:
Chasing my dreams from the United States to Abruzzo, Italy, my parents' homeland
