Italy
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31/07/2022
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I am a psychologist born and raised in Milan, I lived in a few different places in Italy and a period in Germany, and now I live on the hills of Val Trebbia, near Piacenza (100 km from Milan) in what was a former farm that is now waiting to become something else (still don't know what).
The place is surrounded by nature, and you can see a few wild animals, enjoy beautiful landscapes and walks.
My parents and I adopted 4 maremma sheepdogs that were once guardians for sheep in this farm and 3 cats (plus some cats that live around here and we feed).
I stay here most of the week here and then spend two days a week in the city for work. At the moment I alternate with my parents to make sure there is always someone with the animals.
I am vegan, so the food I offer here is mostly plant-powered :-) and I love cooking.
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Help around the house
General Maintenance
The landscape we have is wonderful and you get the chance to see the cycles of nature.
The dogs and cats are lovely so you get tons of love from them.
I used to be a couchsurfing guest and host, and I travelled abroad a lot, so I would be happy to resume cultural exchange and tell you about Italy and hear about your country.
I still don't know a lot about sustainable gardening but I can share what I learned til now and learn more with you.
When my parents are here you have my dad (IT geek) who speaks English and my mom who is a wonderful physiotherapist and great cook. She doesn't speak English but every foreigner she meets gets to learn something from her.
We need help with taking care of the dogs and cats, general maintainance of the house and surroundings, the vegetable garden, some fruit trees, auto-production (depending on the season I do jams, syrups, pick up fruits and herbs etc), and other small works.
ANIMALS: walk the dogs in the morning and/or evenings (in summer), around lunch time or afternoon too (in the other seasons). Prepare their food.
GARDEN: watering the plants, keeping the veg garden, picking up fruits and vegetables, stacking wood, small works to keep the garden tidy
HOUSE: cleaning, tidying up, doing some small works inside the house.
At times we might need help with some small DIY projects.
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Spanish: Beginner
You will have a single room inside the house with us with closet, bed and a desk.
There is a full bathroom upstairs in the floor with all the bedrooms and a bathroom we are fixing downstairs.
We offer food and a single room with a great view on the Pianura Padana.
If you are traveling in 2 please check if we are able to accomodate you.
There is no public transport to reach the house, you will need to walk or to have someone (also one of us when we can) drive you to the nearest bus stop. When you arrive we can pick you up in Piacenza station. The closest town is downhill, 15 mins away by car (about 8 km), but there is a cafè and bar in the village 10 minutes walk away. There are also a couple of restaurant 20/30 minutes away by walk.
In your time off you can take great walks in the hills or in the forest and go down to the river (better in summer).
I live a somewhat quiet life, and like to spend some time on my own and with the animals. I might have friends over visiting or coming over to eat and drink.
We expect that you respect people and common spaces, clean up after yourself, help with works and animal care. Everything else can be agreed flexibly, feel free to ask :-)
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Wifi works well besides some problems on cloudy or heavy rainy days
This host can provide space for campervans.
Two
about 3 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week (if possible it could include the weekend)
