Bricks to Concrete: Progress Beneath Our Feet

One of the hardest parts of being away during a renovation is missing the daily transformation. Thankfully, Niccolò has been keeping watch and sending updates, and I thought you might enjoy seeing what's been happening behind those old stone walls. I'll do my best to make sense of the somewhat random photos and videos he shared.

Everyone in town knows something is happening when this appears in the main square:

Concrete pump truck in the square

From inside the apartment, you can see the long hose from the concrete pump truck snaking its way through the building and depositing concrete onto our floor. It's quite the operation.

Hose from the concrete pump truck

To give you some perspective, this view from the laundry room looks toward the terrace on the left and the guest suite on the right. You can see that since we left in January, the wall separating the bathroom from the guest room has been demolished. And if the floor looks a little thin--thin enough to see the underlying brick--you'd be absolutely right. The new layer of concrete is being added to reinforce and strengthen the structure.

As of January 11, 2026

Circa February 2026

Before we left, the front room facing the Duomo was filled with piles of bricks and construction debris cluttering the space.

Living Room / Kitchen as of January 11, 2026

Living Room / Kitchen circa February 2026

Ira can attest that the old floor was precarious--one wrong step and his foot may or may not have gone straight through. In the video below, you can see the grid of rebar laid down before the concrete was poured in the living room and kitchen. The hole in the wall near the end of the video will eventually become our new front door.

Adding a concrete floor

The next set of photos shows the master bedroom and bathroom. The January photo was taken from the window looking toward the bathroom and terrace (on the left). The recent photos, showing the rebar and fresh concrete, were taken from the opposite direction, looking back toward the window--but you get the picture, literally and figuratively.

Looking towards the master bath, terrace is on the left 

as of January 11, 2026

Rebar in the Master Suite

Master Suite concrete floor

So there you have it--a new roof before we left, and now brand-new floors. Real progress! With any luck, perhaps the elevator and terraces will be finished by the time we return in early March. We're not holding our breath...but we are keeping our fingers crossed

In the meantime, our tiny country house is ready and waiting for us--a cozy landing spot while the dust (and concrete) settles.

Renovations are never quick, but seeing these updates makes it all feel real. Each layer brings us one step closer to calling it home.

Stay tuned for our next adventure--Mexico is up next!

Ciao ciao!