Posta Santa Croce -

“Ne pas se servir, ne pas s’asservir mais servir”

Years of abandonment had led the farm cottage to a situation of extreme degrade. The place had been abandoned by the owners since 1907 and the building had started to decay like a dead body. Vandals and burglars completed the work, ruining the rooms and stealing steps, pavements, statues, columns, fixtures and coats of arms. The family coat of arms, on one of the outside fronts, was stolen in the eighties and was casually found in an antique shop in Tuscany.

The renovation works started in 2011, thanks to the stubborn resolution of Giusy and Pietro and encouraged by the funding obtained by the G.A.L. Ponte Lama, in total respect of the former building.

We entered the Posta on bare foot trying to “not disturb”, choosing to leave the rooms as they were before and to use local materials.

We shared this challenge with a pair of French stonemasons, Luc Tamborero and Gregoire Delau, coming from the training school of “compagnons du devoir” heirs of the ancient tradition of medieval corporations of arts and crafts.

The two stonemasons fell in love with the stones of Apulia, with its historical centres, its fortifications and Roman style churches built by their Norman ancestors and decided to move to Bisceglie (www.mecastone.it).

We chose the compagnon’s motto : “Ne pas se servir, ne pas s’asservir mais servir” to honour the ability of this School to preserve the tradition of the most noble craftsmanship.

Thanks to them, we have rediscovered ancient building techniques for plasters and floors so that we can proudly affirm that the renovation has respected all the canons of green building.

Moreover, all the renovation works (even the floor) are reversing.

In all those mad years, a lot of people helped us and we would like to thank them: the tireless grandparents Nunzia and Umberto; Diana and Ida; Bianca Consiglio who restored the frescos on the first floor ruined by vandals and damp;

Franco who painted the front gate during a very hot day; his wife Paola and the little Sofia; Roberto, with his enthusiasm and his passion for photography (the photos on this site are his);

Giacomo, who made this website, his wife Maria Teresa and their little Ginevra; Bruno, Giacinta e Mariagrazia who gave us their old family furniture; all the friends, from Bisceglie and Trani, who continuously gave us their affection and support.

Special thanks to the consulting firm Finagri and to Constantino who patiently calmed us down and to engineers Nicola and Giuseppe Ventura.