{"id":9430,"date":"2024-03-15T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/?p=9430"},"modified":"2024-03-19T13:37:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T12:37:05","slug":"a-house-in-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/2024\/03\/a-house-in-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"A House in the Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tobia Gioachino Collet works as a\u00a0process engineer overseeing the battery cell caps business at the Lead Center Oil Seals Powertrain & Driveline in Pinerolo. He worked with his grandfather to restore his great-great-grandfather\u2019s chalet in the mountains. He tells his family\u2019s story.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA stone, carved with the date, 1910, stands near the door. The chalet was built that year, high in the mountains of \u00adValle \u00adGermanasca in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, not far from Turin. It was the home of my great-great-grandparents \u00adFerdinando and Ester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, it was a typical Alpine dwelling. Grazing animals were kept in a half-cellar with a stone vault. The heat they generated rose through the floorboards and warmed the upper stories. The first story was just one room dominated by a large fireplace. In earlier times, my ancestors would sit around it to talk, cook and weave wool into hats, vests and scarves. The bedrooms were on the top floor. This kind of chalet was \u00adgenerally built by two stonemasons and an apprentice. The two stonemasons would pull the wall upright from inside and out, and the apprentice hauled crushed stone for the cavity
inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Das alte Chalet in den Bergen erstrahlt zunehmend in neuem Glanz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My Great-Grandfather was nicknamed Ferrari<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next generation, my great-grandparents, moved a bit further down the valley. The chalet was then only used in the summer when the cows grazed in the high pastures. My great-grandfather was a skilled sled builder. The old folks secretly gave him the nickname \u201cFerrari,\u201d even though his vehicles, unlike sports cars from Maranello, were mainly made of wood. Thanks to his talent and attention to detail, he was able to build the fastest and most durable sleds in the mountains. They were used to transport hay, wood and straw, but not for pleasure. He passed these skills down to my grandfather, \u00adRenato, who began renovating his parents\u2019 home and repairing the chalet that stood a short ways up the mountain. Grandfather Renato became my model, largely because he combined attention to detail with our forebears\u2019 traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day, Renato went to the chalet. At the time, old tools and machines were stored there, and he found a thresher and a machine for sifting wheat. He decided on the spot to buy a small mill. He started out baking bread, but, even after five years, he was still not satisfied with the results. Then, after years of experimentation, he finally came up with the right dough, which he mixed with sourdough and baked in a wood-fired oven. Incidentally, we are still using his recipe today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandfather and Grandson did the Renovations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My grandfather has passed his craftsmanship and love of tradition to me. Perhaps that was why I wanted a workbench for Christmas when I was five years old. I used it to build a humidifier. At 17, I decided to spend more time with my grandparents. Grandma Maura taught me cooking and sewing, and Grandpa Renato taught me fine workmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One summer afternoon, my grandfather and I began planning the renovation of great-great-grandfather Fernando\u2019s chalet in the mountains. We decided to do all the work ourselves, without the aid of contractors. Grandpa Renato took on the role of the two stonemasons, and I was the apprentice. The roof had to be redone. We constructed a kind of sawmill for the project, enabling us to produce new beams from tree trunks ourselves. We took the same approach for the windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is moving forward. We had briefly thought of turning the shed into a sauna, but one of my friends from the university had a good idea: He proposed that the space be used to store cheese, wine and herbs. The family will get together on the first floor: A table will be the room\u2019s centerpiece. There will be two rocking chairs in front of the fireplace for cozy conversation. I imagine my grandmothers sitting there, knitting and chatting. A stairway will lead to the bedroom on the \u00adsecond floor. Along the stairs, at each step, you will be able to see pictures showing the chalet\u2019s transformation. At some point, a bed, a wooden clothing closet and a dresser will round out the furnishings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opa und Enkel renovieren gemeinsam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mein Gro\u00dfvater hat das handwerkliche Geschick und die Liebe zu Traditionen an mich weitergegeben. Vielleicht habe ich mir deshalb mit f\u00fcnf Jahren eine Werkbank zu Weihnachten gew\u00fcnscht, mit der ich einen Raumbefeuchter gebaut habe. Mit siebzehn beschloss ich, mehr Zeit mit meinen Gro\u00dfeltern zu verbringen: Oma Maura brachte mir das Kochen und N\u00e4hen bei, mein Gro\u00dfvater echte Handwerkskunst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An einem Sommernachmittag begannen Gro\u00dfvater und ich, die Renovierung des Chalets von Ururopa Ferdinando in den Bergen zu planen. Wir beschlossen, die ganze Arbeit selbst zu machen, ohne Hilfe von Fachfirmen. Mein Opa Renato in der Rolle beider Maurer, ich in der des Lehrlings. Das Dach musste neu gedeckt werden. Wir haben daf\u00fcr eine Art S\u00e4gem\u00fchle konstruiert, mit der wir die neuen Balken aus Baumst\u00e4mmen selbst herstellen konnten. Gleiches galt f\u00fcr die Fenster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Das Projekt schreitet aktuell voran. Kurz hatten wir \u00fcberlegt, aus dem Stall eine Sauna zu machen. Aber einer meiner Kommilitonen schlug vor, diesen Raum f\u00fcr die Lagerung von K\u00e4se, Wein und Kr\u00e4utern zu verwenden. Eine gute Idee! In der ersten Etage trifft sich k\u00fcnftig die Familie: Der Tisch wird den Mittelpunkt des Raums bilden. Vor dem Kamin werden zwei Schaukelst\u00fchle stehen, in denen gem\u00fctliche Gespr\u00e4che stattfinden k\u00f6nnen. Ich stelle mir vor, dass meine Gro\u00dfm\u00fctter dort beim Stricken miteinander plauderten. Eine Treppe wird zum Schlafzimmer im zweiten Stock f\u00fchren. Entlang dieser Treppe kann man sp\u00e4ter Schritt f\u00fcr Schritt die Bilder der Verwandlung des Chalets sehen. Ein Bett, ein h\u00f6lzerner Kleiderschrank und eine Kommode komplettieren irgendwann die Einrichtung.\u201c<\/p>\n

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\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tobia Gioachino Collet works as a\u00a0process engineer overseeing the battery cell caps business at the Lead Center Oil Seals Powertrain & Driveline in Pinerolo. He worked with his grandfather to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,364],"tags":[632],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":["post-9430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-people","category-pinerolo-en","tag-edition-02_2024-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9437,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9430\/revisions\/9437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9430"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=9430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}