16th-Century Monastery Home With High-speed Wi-fi

About Juliet Haydock

I am a freelance Italian-Spanish/English translator and live in Twickenham, but try to spend as much time as possible in my house in Capena, near Rome in Italy. I'm very lucky because my job does not tie me to any particular place.

Juliet Haydock purchased this House in 2005

Why Juliet Haydock chose Morlupo

I first went to Capena when teaching English in Rome in the early 1980s, captivated by its charm and friendliness. People still used donkeys and did all their washing at the communal washing place. Everyone made wine and you could not pass an open cantina door without being beckoned in to share a cool glass. Weekend visits evolved into permanent residence for about two years, when I enjoyed the yearly rhythm of village life and all the festivals - while still within easy reach of Rome for work. About 12 or so years ago, I went back to Capena with my two small boys. We were welcomed with open arms and within hours a trestle table had been spread in the piazza for an impromptu party. Later, a local builder friend found and restored my incredible house - and the rest is history.

What makes this House unique

The property is within easy reach of the motorways and Rome. It is situated in the old town centre, part of a structure that started life as an Etruscan burial mound and evolved through stages including a medieval stronghold and Renaissance monastery. My house was restored from the ruins of the monastery's old guest quarters four years ago, using more or less the materials from which it would have been originally built. It incorporates caves carved out from the soft tufa rock thousands of years ago and still showing the chisel marks of the original Etruscan residents. It faces west, with full-length windows overlooking a valley, toward the setting sun. There is no better place for an aperitivo!