Why We Bought the Cantina Next Door
When we first found The Nook, we thought we were buying one tiny stone house in San Donato,Val di Comino, our medieval hill town in the mountains of central Italy.
That felt like enough of an adventure for two first-time property buyers in Italy.
The house itself stole our hearts immediately: two beautiful stone arches, two distinctive green doors, and endless potential packed into a surprisingly small footprint. But there was something else that kept catching our attention every time we visited.
Next door.
A large blue door. It has its own personality, slightly different to the Nook.
It sat beside our own cantina and, rather annoyingly, had a car parked in front of it. In a village where parking is almost impossible to find, that little patch of road looked incredibly appealing. More importantly, we couldn't stop wondering what was behind the door.
Every visit followed exactly the same pattern.
"Who owns it?""Does anyone use it?""Imagine if it came with The Nook..."
When we went to look at properties, we never just looked at the building we were thinking of buying. We looked at what was around it. Could an adjoining space completely change how you use the property? Could an old stable, cellar or cantina solve problems we haven't even encountered yet? We spent a lot of time crouched in tiny outbuildings, exploring dusty spaces, one of us more enthusiastic than the other.
A Very Italian Puzzle
In Italian villages like San Donato property ownership can be wonderfully complicated.
Homes and cantinas often remain within the same family for generations. Over time, ownership divides between children, grandchildren and sometimes even more distant relatives, so it's not unusual for several people to hold shares in one small building.
That means many properties sit quietly locked up for years, not because nobody wants to sell them, but because bringing everyone together can be difficult.
We assumed the blue door would remain one of those mysteries.
Then luck intervened.
The Conversation That Changed Everything
The day we signed the preliminare, the preliminary sale agreement for The Nook, we were sitting in Martina Immobiliare's office.
Martina who had patiently helped us find our little house, was busy with the paperwork when her father happened to drop in. He's a local geometra and seems to know almost everyone in the village.
When he heard which property we were buying, he smiled, intrigued that we'd chosen such a tiny house for our Italian project. Then, almost as an afterthought, he mentioned that he knew the owners of the cantina next door.
"And I think they might be thinking about selling."
Inside, our hearts skipped a beat. Outside, we tried to look completely uninterested.
One lesson we've learned with property negotiations: never reveal quite how much you want something. So we casually asked a few questions, trying hard not to sound too enthusiastic.
The reality was that we knew this little cantina had the potential to transform The Nook renovation. It would give us valuable storage during the renovation, somewhere to keep building materials, tools and furniture, and it might even open up future design possibilities for The Nook itself.
Within twenty four hours, we'd arranged a viewing. Unfortunately, one of us had already returned to the UK. The other walked through the blue door the next day armed with a phone camera and started sending photos and videos back, with the other messaging for details and thoughts.
Behind the Blue Door
Our first impression? It wasn't glamorous.
The walls were damp. The floor was bare earth. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and decades of forgotten belongings had been left exactly where they'd last been placed.
But beneath all that was something rather beautiful: a magnificent old stone fireplace, traditional vaulted ceilings, and solid stone walls that had stood for centuries. Steel reinforcement had been added after one of the area's earthquakes, giving the building renewed structural strength. To most people, it probably looked like another expensive building project. To us, it looked like an opportunity.
The cantina almost doubles the amount of storage available to The Nook, and in a house this small, every square metre matters. It also sits close to one of the few accessible parking areas in the village, making deliveries during the renovation considerably easier.
Most importantly, it lets us preserve the character of the house itself. We never wanted to squeeze modern storage into rooms that were never designed for it.
Buying It Wasn't Quite So Simple
Making an offer was the easy part. Agreeing a sale took rather longer.
We eventually discovered that the cantina belonged to a mother and her three children. Between buying The Nook and buying the cantina, we suddenly found ourselves dealing with seven different sellers, and the notary's office was considerably busier than we'd expected.
Eventually, after plenty of discussions, paperwork and patience, we agreed a price. After we bought the cantina we were walking through San Donato a few days later, and ran into one of the sons of the main seller, he was delighted to see us and immediately wanted to buy us a drink. There is a community and friendliness here that always makes you feel welcome.
Our Plans for the Cantina
The cantina is very much a project in its own right.
It has significant damp issues that will need resolving properly. The interior will be stripped back, waterproofed and carefully restored. We also suspect there's a drainage issue outside, which means working with the local Comune to understand whether improvements can be made.
None of that was in our original budget. One of us was worried about the additional cost, the other was relaxed that we could re-jig around in the original budget to keep things moving forward. Our discussions constantly iterate ideas and plans, learning to keep space for the unexpected.
But we also knew something else: if we walked away, we'd probably spend years wishing we hadn't. Some opportunities don't come around twice and we were glad that we decided quickly to buy the cantina alongside The Nook.
Five Things We'd Recommend to Anyone Buying Property in Italy
Look beyond the property. The building next door could transform your project.
Talk to local people. Estate agents, geometri and neighbours often know what's available before anyone else.
Expect complicated ownership. Multiple heirs are common, so patience is essential.
Don't negotiate with your heart. Stay enthusiastic privately, not at the negotiating table.
Think long term. The right extra space can make a small house far more practical.
Looking back, buying the blue-door cantina wasn't part of the original plan. But then again, some of the best parts of restoring an old Italian house never are.
Project Details
Location: San Donato Val di Comino, Lazio, Italy
Property: Historic stone village house
Project: The Nook
Key architectural feature: Traditional stone groin vault (cantina)
Focus: Slow restoration, thoughtful design and preserving traditional craftsmanship
The Nook Journal
The Nook Journal follows our restoration of a tiny historic stone house in San Donato Val di Comino, Italy. Through these journal entries we share the design decisions, craftsmanship, village life and small discoveries that come with bringing an old building back to life, one step at a time.
