The idea of sharing the villa seemed complicated, Corsini di San Giuliano recalls. “Excuse me,” says Corsini di San Giuliano, stepping onto the paved courtyard. Suddenly, a group of what turn out to be American students, wearing shorts and T-shirts, walks across the open courtyard in front of the living room windows. For someone like Corsini di San Giuliano, whose circle of friends includes painters, craftspeople and decorators with tastes that run — even in this most classical of cities — toward the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement, the undertaking seemed made-to-measure. Buried beneath decades of decay and dirt was a series of simple ancient structures just waiting to be salvaged and filled with children.

Source: New York Times June 27, 2016 09:00 UTC