Finding Home Among the Olive Groves of Abruzzo
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There are moments in life when a place seems familiar long before you arrive. That was how I felt about Italy. Although I grew up in the north of England without Italian roots, I was drawn to the country from an early age. Films such as Roman Holiday and Three Coins in a Fountain filled my imagination, while a snow globe my grandparents brought back from Rome became one of my favourite childhood treasures.
Years later, my marriage to a second-generation Italian introduced me to the traditions, food and close-knit family life that are so deeply woven into Italian culture. Even after that chapter of my life came to an end, my affection for Italy remained.
When my partner Duncan and I began planning our next adventure together, he asked a simple question.
“Where would you like to go?”
My answer came without hesitation.
“Italy.”
Discovering Abruzzo
Finding the right place was another story. Every Italian region has its own character, and we wanted somewhere that offered beautiful countryside while remaining within easy reach of an airport. Our search eventually led us to Abruzzo, a region I knew very little about at the time.
From the moment we arrived, I wondered why it had escaped my attention for so long. Mountains and coastline sit within easy reach of one another, historic towns retain a strong sense of community, and everyday life unfolds at a gentler pace. It felt authentic, welcoming and refreshingly untouched.
In 2009, we found an old stone farmhouse surrounded by olive trees near the town of Bisenti. Built from local river stone, it had seen better days, though we could already picture the home it might become.
Our dream was beginning to take shape.
When Everything Changed
Life, however, had other plans.
Just as we were preparing to complete the purchase, the devastating L’Aquila earthquake struck Abruzzo. Our farmhouse suffered extensive damage and suddenly became uninhabitable.
Moments like these often leave people standing at a crossroads. Some decide to walk away, while others find the strength to begin again.
We chose to stay.
Instead of abandoning the project, we brought a caravan from England and placed it in our olive grove, where we lived for the next two years while rebuilding our home.
Looking back, people often assume those years must have been difficult. In truth, they remain some of the happiest of my life.
Our surroundings were beautifully simple. We had a handful of books, family photographs, a computer and the countryside stretching out around us. The house still needed rebuilding, yet every morning we woke beneath Italian skies feeling grateful that we had held onto our dream.
Learning to See Italy Differently
During those years, I also found myself rebuilding in unexpected ways.
I retrained as a teacher of English and was fortunate to be offered a position at a language school in Pescara. It became another reminder that life’s most rewarding opportunities often appear when we least expect them.
While I settled into teaching, Duncan quietly began writing about our journey.
His relationship with writing had never been straightforward. As a child, he had been labelled a poor student before anyone realised he was dyslexic. The confidence to write had been taken from him long before adulthood, though his imagination had never disappeared.
Watching him slowly turn our experiences into words became one of the most rewarding parts of our adventure.
The House That Chose Us
Long before we bought the farmhouse, we had spent days travelling across Abruzzo viewing different properties.
Some had been empty for decades, filled with forgotten furniture and fading family photographs. Others had beautiful settings but lacked the feeling we were searching for.
Then we arrived at the farmhouse near Bisenti.
The building needed considerable work, with former animal shelters on the ground floor and living quarters above, yet none of that mattered once we looked beyond the walls.
The view stretched across the valley towards the Gran Sasso mountains, changing with the seasons and the light. It was one of those landscapes that quietly holds your attention until you realise you’ve been standing still for several minutes.
We began imagining every possibility. Where would the bedrooms go? Could the old cantina become welcoming guest rooms? How might the house evolve while respecting its history?
Those conversations marked the beginning of a dream that would shape the years ahead.
A Place That Felt Like Home
Bisenti soon became just as important as the house itself.
The town offered everything we hoped to find: welcoming cafés, local shops, winding streets and a strong sense of community. The mountains were close by, the Adriatic coast was within easy reach, and Pescara Airport made travelling between Italy and England straightforward.
There was a quiet rhythm to daily life that appealed to both of us. We enjoyed lingering over coffee, wandering through the streets and discovering small moments that revealed the warmth of the local community.
Looking back, I realise we weren’t simply searching for a property.
We were searching for a place where we belonged.
What Abruzzo Gave Us
Our journey to Abruzzo began with the hope of owning an Italian farmhouse. It became a story of resilience, unexpected friendships and discovering that home is often found in the places we least expect.
The earthquake changed our plans, though it never changed our determination. If anything, it strengthened our connection to this remarkable region and deepened our appreciation for the life we were building together.
Years later, Duncan’s memoir Olives and Earthquakes captured many of those memories from his own perspective, preserving a chapter of our lives that continues to remind us why we chose Abruzzo in the first place.
Sometimes the most rewarding journeys begin with uncertainty. Ours certainly did, and I wouldn’t change a single step.
