Italy, Continued, with More Music

duo w/ Emilio Cantini, Ampeleia winery, Roccatederighi, IT, 6/6/25

A year or so ago, after searching for years for an affordable piece of property in Italy, we arranged to look at a place in Roccatederighi, in the hills north of Grosseto. I told our friend Luca, at whose home we first made acquaintance with this part of Italy we love so much. "Roccatederighi?" he said. "The agente immobiliare (estate agent) there is my good friend Emilio, the guitarist I've been telling you about. I've been trying to get you two together!" So we have a mutual friend. Great start. Connections are especially important here in Italy.

The place we're shown is an almost comical disaster (what did you expect in Tuscany for 48k?), but when we emerge back into the sunlight, Emilio suggests we look at something similarly priced but completely different, a little stone structure at the end of a dirt road below the town, surrounded by olive trees. Sooo beautiful. But the thought of the work involved, to say nothing of the burocrazia italiana, keep it on the back burner. In fact, we eventually decide against it.

Fast forward a bit: an informal house concert at Luca's home, with Belgian saxophonist Jon Snauwaert and Emilio, who is, I discover a great jazz guitarist and a lot of fun. At dinner we're seated with him and his lovely wife Lucia. He pulls out his phone and proudly shows us an AI mock up he's made of an improbably romantic, fixed up version of that little stone building: classic Tuscan, cypresses, climbing roses, etc. He really wants us to buy it. He is absolutely sure we will be happy there. His sincere charm offensive bears fruit. We soften our stance; we rethink; in time we make an offer. and last October we buy it, with Luca acting as power of attorney at the closing (by then we were back in New Hampshire).

Fast forward to the present: we are in Roccatederighi, renting an apartment on the piazza for three months while we work on the land and try to get the ball rolling with plans, permits and construction. We love this tiny town and the people in it, many of whom we already know by name, who stop to speak with us on the street, No one is ever in a hurry here. Yet before we know it, Emilio and I have a half dozen shows and we're rehearsing twice a week. Last night we played at Ampeleia, a lovely winery with a great reputation. Tonight we play at a bookstore and bar in Grosseto; in a few days another restaurant, and my last night here we'll be playing in quartet here in town at the Rocc'Arte festival. Meanwhile, I also have two shows back in Florence (two hours' drive) with excellent drummer Mark diFlorio, who I haven't played with in two years, and my longtime bassist friend Lorenzo Vezzali. Non vedo l'ora!

We have no doubts we made the right decision. I love Italy, but never really liked Florence, and in the four plus years we lived there, gigs remained stubbornly few and far between. That music should already be happening for me in this new place is a great gift, and I am grateful and excited to see what develops in the years to come. I have some great gigs to look forward to in NH, as well!