ARTIST'S SPECIAL Charming stone farmhouse in private valley in East Tuscany. Restored in Sleeps six in 3 bedrooms. Car available for long term tenants.
We are looking for ARTISTS ONLY who can housesit our country house in Italy in exchange for bartering some of their art inspired by this wonderful retreat.
Il Mulino di Monteromano, is in the easternmost point of Tuscany, surrounded by le Marche. It is a 200-year-old stone structure that was once a water-powered mill-- or a “mulino” in Italian.
The Mulino sits in its own private valley in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains. Our driveway is a national hiking trail that leads up to the Parco Naturale del Sasso Simone e Simoncello.
The Mulino is within a 30 minute drive of Urbino, Urbania, Sant’ Angelo in Vado, Mercatallo sul Metauro, Carpegna in the Province of Pesaro Urbino in the Region of Le Marche. The city of Arezzo and numerous tourist sites in Umbria and Tuscany are within 1 to 2 hours drive.
This is a region that globalization has not yet touched. The pleasures of this area remind us of the Italian phrase “the best wine comes in small bottles.” The relaxed pace of the region also makes it a safe, easy place to vacation with children. Our young children love to go hiking, berry picking, fossil hunting, and boulder-hopping in the dry creek during the summer. The beach is an hour away, and there are numerous old fortresses and other sites to explore in the area.
Italy isn't just about art history, either. While we are learning the area ourselves, we continue to be impressed at the strong support for the arts at the local level. For example, Sant'angelo in Vado hosts an illustrator's festival in April ("Luandama" festival), and Sestino hosts the "Citta del Sole" documentary film festival in July. The Marche region has a consortium of historic opera houses that present opera's throughout the year. Many of the small cities in the region have contemporary art museums or collections, and all kinds of arts are supported by the Toscana and March regional governments' "Sistema regionale dei beni culturali."
In any year, the most likely dates of availability will be between November 1 to March 1. For 2007, it looks like we will have commercial tenants for April - September (minus the three weeks we will be there in July-August). However, not all of these bookings are certain, so we may have some 1-4 week vacancies, most likely in the March to May 31st period, or after September 1. Since paying down our mortgage is our first priority, we probably won't be able to commit to something until about 2 months before the date of availability, although we are willing to do longer-term planning for the off-season.
This idea of doing a barter exchange for artwork is a new one to us (owning a house in Italy is also new to us since the restoration was just completed in December 2006), so we are still feeling our way through the concept. Part of that process is getting to know each other, so please tell us about yourself.
Interested? Please include photos or links to your art portfolio when responding, as we are ONLY looking to work with ACCOMPLISHED artists.