Welcome to Casa Carina
Casa Carina roughly translates to “cute house” in Italian. Originally the barn for the big house, Casa Carina was a ruin when we bought the property. Great care was taken to restore to a state of grace. There is a photo album in the living room that records the restoration process. We use the house ourselves and have tried to make it comfortable and personal. We hope that you will enjoy it as we do, and that it will provide a special introduction to the pleasures of this extraordinary corner of central Italy. Please take a minute to read the following house information as you are settling in.
Contact People
Your house manager, Elizabeth Wholey, who lives about 15 minutes away on the road to Niccone, will greet you. Should you have any problems you cannot resolve on your own, you can call Elizabeth on her cell phone at 338-331-7493.
Keys
There are keys for the front door and the upstairs balcony door, as well as the security grate on the door and the picture window (make complete turn twice to lock or unlock).
Please be sure to leave the key on the kitchen table when you leave, or lock the front door and leave it under the doormat outside if you leave before the manager arrives.
Think Green!
An energy allowance for electricity and gas has been built into the rental fee. Please conserve electricity and propane: re-use towels, turn out the lights, turn down the heat at night and when you leave the house. We want you to be comfortable; however, we ask that you please be conservative with the utilities, which are very expensive in Italy.
Gas Heating
The house has its own gas-fueled hot water heater and gas meter. The hot water heater is under the stairs. The gas meter is under the small “roof” just outside the lower kitchen door at La Pietra. Everything should be properly adjusted when you arrive. In case of an emergency: A green light means the heater is on. To turn it off, turn the main valve to the straight up and down position. The light will go off. To turn it back on, turn the valve to the sunshine (summer) or snowflake (winter) position, as appropriate. Water and radiator temperatures should both be set at 6 or 7.
The thermostat is located in the living room outside the laundry area door. For temperature equivalents, 15° centigrade is equal to about 60°F, while 20°C is about 70°F.
Electricity
Italian houses do not have the unlimited access to electricity that is generally true in America. Most houses have 3 kilowatts of available energy. This house has more, but that does not mean all the appliances can be run at the same time. Please be attentive to overloading the circuits.
The main switch and main meter for La Pietra and Casa Carina, which is read by the electric company, is behind the gray, plastic door in the “little house” marked Enel at the start of the driveway that leads to the parking area. When everything is working properly, the large black switch is in the up position and the meter wheel is turning. This is the “watchdog” switch.
Inside the house, there is a breaker box in the closet to the right under the stairs. When the switches are in the up position they are on.
Two things are likely to trip the circuit breakers:
- Overuse of appliances or power:
Minor overuse results in simply tripping the interior breaker (on either floor) without affecting the overall electrical panel in the pump room or the main switch in the drive.
- Electrical storms
On occasion, an electrical storm will cause a power surge that trips the main circuits affecting the entire house and the general panel.
In either case, the situation is easily remedied. Simply turn off some of the appliances, or wait until the storm has passed. After, check the circuit breaker box beginning inside the house, then the master switch and the breakers outside on the driveway. If the circuit breakers are in the down position, throw them into the up position. If all the switches in all the breaker boxes are already in the up position and there is no power, it probably means the problem is in town at the main station. At that point, content yourself with candles until the electrical company gets things up and running (often within 4 hours). This is not a regular occurrence, but it does happen more often than in America. Pazienza… and enjoy the adventure.
There is plenty available current in the house as long as you are somewhat careful about not turning everything on at once. For instance, you can run the washing machine and dryer at the same time, but if you add the dishwasher, the vacuum cleaner and the ventilated oven you may be asking for trouble… or at least temporary darkness.
Internet
The wifi password is umbria5858. Please read the typed sheet on the desk. The cost for this service, payable in advance to the house manager, is 20 euros per week per house, which includes telephone calls, including to the US.
Internet Trouble Shooting:
In the event you have trouble connecting with the internet, try this one, easy step: in the back of the 4” x 6” white box, unplug the electrical source plug. All lights will go out. Wait 10 seconds and plug it back in. If it still doesn’t come on, call Elizabeth or Paola.
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not push the Reset button or we will lose all the access codes and a technician will be required to install the wifi again.
Telephone
Phone charges: We have Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephones and your phone calls will be very inexpensive. You will not be able to use phone cards with this system. Note that there is a delay in connecting.
If you call a number in Italy outside our 075 area code, you will need to know the area code for that region. For example, when calling Florence you will need to dial 055 before the number. For Rome, 06.
The phone number for Casa Carina is as follows:
- From the US: 011-39-075-997-5126
- From within Europe: 0039-075-997-5126
- From within Italy: 075-997-5126
The phone numbers for the other houses are:
La Pietra upper floor 075-997-5125 La Pietra lower floor 075-997-5124
La Queria upper floor 075-997-5128 La Quercia lower floor 075-997-5127
Numbers that begin with “167” are equivalent to “800” numbers in the US. They are known as Numeri Verdi and are free of charge.
Italian EMERGENCY and SERVICE numbers:
- Police 113
- Hospital in Umbertide (via Forlanini) 941-5944
- Forest Fires (Vigili del Fuoco) 855-3222
- Information for all of Italy 12
- International Information 176
- English Speaking Operator 15
House Appliances
Washing Machine
- Takes longer than an American machine. For a standard white or dark wash:
- Load machine and close door until you hear the click
- For a half load, push in “mezzo carico” button
- Pull of drawer on left (near Rex Aquacycle) and add ¼ cup or one cube of laundry soap to the middle drawer
- Set temperature at 40°. For wool or delicates, set at 30°.
- Set programmi knob for “C” and pull out knob to start machine.
- When cycle is complete, the door will not open right away. The machine cools a few minutes before opening.
Clothes Dryer
Takes MUCH longer than a US machine and consumes a lot of electricity. If it is a nice day, it is better to go all’italiano and hang your wash on the clothesline, or use the drying racks. The Italians are very sceptical about dryers. The man who sold us ours advised us strongly against buying or even using them. However if you cannot do without:
- Clean the lint filter
- Push the button for cotton, synthetic or delicate. (You will almost always want cotton, as the heat involved is much less than the standard American machine.)
- Be careful not to overload the machine or your clothes will never dry.
- Close door firmly and set time gauge for 120 minutes. The machine starts automatically.
Dishwasher
For the cheapest and most effective cycle:
- Load machine (do not block upper rotor) and add soap cube to the pocket on the door. Click pocket flap closed. DO NOT USE LIQUID SOAP!
- Close dishwasher door firmly
- Set right hand program dial to “C” (Breve)
- Push in “Avviso” button and light goes on
- When cycle is finished, press Avviso again so light goes off
- Open door by pulling latch under the word “partner”. Open door a bit and let dishes cool and dry off a bit before unloading machine.
Gas Range/Cook top
- Turn appropriate knob ¼ turn clockwise
- You will hear the clicking of the starter that ignites the gas
- If there is no clicking (electrical outage), use a match.
Convection Oven
- Set temperature knob (middle) to desired temperature (350°F is 177°C).
- Turn knob left of temperature knob to desired setting. Light will go on. First position (two horizontal lines) is the standard oven function; second position is the convection oven (circulates air around the food to make it cook faster and more evenly); fifth position is the broiler.
- Knob at far right is the timer.
- Be sure to turn the oven off after cooking. Knob will be straight up and down and the panel light off.
Additional appliances
There is a hair dryer in the bathroom; a steam iron, ironing board and vacuum cleaner in the hall closet or under the stairs; and an American style coffeemaker in the kitchen.
