Italian Adventures – We Bought a House in Italy!

In January 2023, the radiators on the main floor were putting out minimal heat but the ones in the bedrooms were not. The house was REALLY cold. So Federica found a plumber in Fabro, Senior Enrico, who turned out to be amazing!!!

He arrived right on time, was super friendly, and great at his job. He checked the radiators and then we went upstairs into the attic where the water tank feeding the radiators was stationed. It was DISGUSTING! I don’t think it has been cleaned or maintained in over a decade, at least.

This process has been really helpful for me to understand how the radiators work and what to watch for over time.

After changing out the tank and installing a new metal one, he began to flush the pipes and radiators. However, what he found in the boiler room was a hot mess. I thought this when I saw it in 2022 but no one else seemed to care. His first priority was to fix the plumbing in the boiler room. He left for lunch and then supplies and returned that afternoon. He’s SO good!!!

He then returned the next day to bleed the radiators throughout the house and it was exactly what they needed…the house was finally starting to warm up!!!

In the Fall of 2023, when Heather and I were at the house, we had water pressure issues in the morning. Federica thought that it was a deposit build-up in the faucets and suggested I clean them but it was much more than that. You couldn’t shower in each bathroom at the same time, there was very little water flow in any of the sinks and the only way I could get my shower head to start was to physically hold the button down, as there was not enough water pressure to keep it down.

Senior Enrico came and quickly came to the conclusion that we should have installed a water softener when we installed the new bathrooms. He spoke to Federica and gave me an estimate on the cost and, naturally I approved immediately. Why hadn’t this been identified as a need when we remodeled the bathrooms in the first place?

Senior Enrico returned the next morning to install the water softener, fill it with salt and show me how to maintain. I love how he teaches me along every step. A few weeks later I ran into town to pick up a pizza from Mennula and Senior Enrico was there, also picking up a pizza. This made me so happy!

Once the water softener was installed, Senior Enrico deduced that the water pressure issue was due to the well running dry and the irrigation drawing water from the comune water. This impacted the water that was available in the house. Between myself, Enrico, Adriano and Federico, I said that I had serious concerns about the irrigation drawing from comune water and wanted to make sure we shut that off. Everyone agreed and we went on our way. I will post an update on this issue later…it’s REALLY bad!!!

Senior Enrico installed all of the plumbing in the bathroom on the new floor in 2025. I didn’t get to see him but was really happy he was working on my project.

One day, in August 2025, he arrived at the house to finish installing the new shower supplies, when he found the shutters and kitchen door ajar and open. There was a clear sign of a break-in. The crappiest part of this story is that the burgalers came and broke in 2 days after the new doors and shutters were installed. Had they come a week earlier, it would have been fine, as we were disposing of the old door and shutters. OOF!

Senior Enrico called Federica and then the Carabinieri. He refused to enter the house until the others arrived, be he also refused to leave to keep an eye on the house. Again, I can’t say enough how special this man is.