We were asked whether we have air conditioning at Casalba.
Well, no we don’t. Here are the reasons why…
Casalba is an old “casa colonica”, or farmhouse. It was built about three hundred years ago and has very thick stone walls which do a great job of keeping out the heat of the summer sun.
Both guest apartments face north-west and so are out of the direct rays of the midday sun.
They are also on the ground floor and, therefore, protected from the heat coming through the roof which can bake all day long during the fairly reliably sunny days we enjoy during the summer months.
The floors are paved throughout in cool terracotta tiles and the windows are fitted with screens so that guests can sleep with the windows open at night.
So, as you can see, we don’t really need it. I can’t say that it is freezing cold inside, but there is a distinct and refreshing change between the inside and outside temperatures.
Those same thick walls keep us warm in the winter.
They knew how to build houses back then!
Casalba News 
Hi Sally…. Oh great that you did a post :-)
Your right they knew how to build houses, and Why the Brits do not have shutters is beyond me.. !!
Love the snowy photos… :-)
Take care
Anne
Hi Sally! Your guest apartments sound perfect, cool in the summer and warm in the winter, speaking of winter I can’t wait till it ends, I’m ready to open my windows and hear the birds sing. So nice to hear from you.
Hugs,
Marie
How right you are…!! They certainly did know how to build houses ‘way back when’.
Our farm cottage was built in the sixteenth century with sturdy walls which are several feet thick. We have no damp course nor any central heating (nor air conditioning, for that matter!) but with the aid of a couple of woodburners & our old ‘Fatarse’ of a wheezy Rayburn our home is cosily snug in Winter & deliciously cool in Summer. Yes laying a fire IS a little more work than pushing the thermostat button on a central heating system; but – especially with the Rayburn – the house stays at a warm & constant temperature througout the chilliest nights.
Unfortunately some 20th century ‘modifications’ have caused complications: some of the original small windows were replaced by larger ones to take advantage of the magnificent views; the external lime plaster which allowed the building to breathe, was completely smothered over with concrete render; & a double-skinned wall was built at the prevailing weather’s west side of the property (whilst the ‘cowboy’ builders also partially filled the chimney stack with rubble – creating the perfect environment for trapping damp).
So the new windows have caused cold spots, drawing up the damp; the concrete render has exacerbated the problem; & the cavity wall has only served to trap even more moisture. Thank goodness nobody attempted to add in a damp proof course; it would’ve been the ruin of the place.
Some of these things can never be put right & others will take a lot of time, money & effort to rectify. I truly wish that people understood that these old properties were built the way they were, for a good reason; & that the builders were true craftsmen who understood not only the correct techniques but who were also sensitive to their environment.
And it’s such a shame that people assume if a place doesn’t have the ‘mod cons’ of central heating & air conditioning, it’s somehow inferior & they’d be ‘roughing it’.
A friend of mine recently bought a newly-built property & has found it nothing short of frustrating. Whilst the place looks impressive externally (albeit shoehorned in to the wider development, with a postage-stamp garden of course) the house itself is a triumph of poor & ill-considered design (I won’t go into it here). Not to mention that with modern building techniques I seriously doubt it will still be standing the number of centuries that our sturdy, creaky, characterful places have been….
Heh, more fool them.
So true Sally… most of my family in Calabria have neither heat nor air conditioning.
I’m so used to seeing warm, sunny pictures on your blog, I was shocked by the pics of the snow! Although I grew up in the snowy winters of Michigan and Minnesota, it’s been years since I’ve seen the stuff first hand.
Those vines in the snow are gorgeous. That’s the good thing about snow. So beautiful!
Such pretty snow! We have those thick walls, but the downside is in the winter when we tend to have lots of humidity and once that cold enters those thick walls, it can be a bugger to get out…our new wood-burning stufa has been *wonderful* this winter to combat that.
Buona Pasqua Sally!
Who needs air conditioning in heaven? ;)
They were smarter-those builders- things made to last and walls thick enought to make friends with Mother Nature!
Love you!
xo
Hello! These are wonderful photos!! I thank you for sharing with me… Take care :)