Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

The Streets of Faeto, Italy

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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It was quite the ordeal to get to Faeto.

We had taken a train and a bus from Naples, then got stranded in Savingano-Irpino, and the only English-speaking person in THAT town was a policeman. He contacted the owners of our villa in Faeto and had them pick us up. Giovanni wasn't keen on the idea, but he drove us the 20 kilometers through winding country roads and delivered us to where we'd be staying for the next 2 nights.

Our first impression of Faeto was mixed.

It had been drizzling all day, it was wet and cold, and we arrived hungry, ready for a hot meal.

After we ate at the only restaurant open in town (coincidentally owned by a Cousin of mine!) we went back to the villa and got settled in.

We only had 2 nights to be in this town of my Grandparents' Heritage, so the next day was our last chance to actually check the town out.

The main street in Old Town Faeto

You can see that the skies are heavy with clouds and there's a stray raindrop on the lens of the camera.

Flower pots with sculptured trees in them line the sidewalks and the streets are clean.

The inhabitants of this small town (only 500 people) take care of it.

Late the previous day, this is the road we drove in on.

The Salumeria and grocery store are further down this street on the right.

Via Vittororio Emanuel

This is the street where our villa was, and shockingly, Giovanni drove up this tiny steep via in his car with the four of us seated inside.

I sort of held my breath... I'm not sure why. I think I expected him to hit one of the steps at the front of a house.

I mean... the via was narrow!

At nearly the top of the street, he parked on the right in an empty lot. We got out, and entered the villa we rented.

Stone homes on another narrow via

This via has obviously been updated, with sewer lines and rainwater runoff drainage.

The village dates back to before the Medieval period, hence the stone homes, the steep steps and the narrow streets.

In the "old days" these were probably simple dirt roads.

They were wide enough for foot traffic, and probably a horse drawn cart of vegetables or firewood.

A tiny vico

Vicos in Italy, are small, slender walkways not suitable for vehicular traffic. At one point they were simple walkways between homes and were carved out by the continuous foot traffic getting from one place to another.

People lived closely together in those days.

Down this vico is the view of the famous Difesa Forest, and Faeto sits right in the middle of it.

Vico De Girolamo, My Grandfather's Mother's name

This vico was apparently named after my Grandfather's Mother's family.

Her name was Antoinette De Girolamo, and some ancestors of hers must have lived on this street.

To find them, someone must have said "Just go to the De Girolamo alley," hence the name.

Old stone houses dating back how many centuries?

Just by observing you can see the slope of the hills and the unevenness of the foundations of the homes made so long ago.

The engineers who modernized these streets did a great job evening out the bumps, rocks and dips which must have been there from the previous eras.

We have walked on steep, threadlike roads like this in Matera, Italy, in Ecuador and in Panajachel, Guatemala. Before these roads become updated, they are quite precarious with their slippery, worn stones and deep dips in between them. The steps - if there are any - are worn and broken down from the many years of traffic and weathering.

I imagine humans with their goats, sheep, pigs and heavy-packed donkeys with firewood walking up and down these areas.

Today, their smooth, even pavers belie the past.

Stuccoed walls, wrought iron balconies

While wrought iron was used during the Medieval period, they were used mostly on wealthier households or important public buildings.

Chances are, the original ones were made of wood or stone since Faeto had solid access to both these supplies.

Today you see wrought iron gates, balcony railings and updated wooden doors.

Notice there are no ruts from natural water flow of the rain. That problem was solved with modern drainage features.

This way or that way?

This shows very obviously how foot traffic divided this larger via into two smaller ones.

Areas in older cities with historical pasts like New York City, Boston, and San Francisco in the United States and Antigua in Guatemala or Morelia, Mexico have buildings jutting out with roads on either side of them like this.

The buildings were kept, and the roads were renovated.

Centuries ago, it was the human traffic first that decided the vehicular traffic later.

Notice the difference between the building in the center which has not been painted, versus the ones on either side of it which have.

The red and blue curtain over the door on the left is a common sight in Faeto.

The curtain is made of dangling plastic ropes through which one can easily pass. It is a type of screen door.

The hanging curtain keeps the warm or coolness inside the building depending on the season, while allowing humans to come through.

There are many different styles and colors of these hanging curtains here in this town.

Looking down from the church area to the countryside

This is another beautiful view through the town towards the Difesa Forest.

Beautiful pavers on the street create a captivating design. The stone houses make a stately presence.

Wrought iron gates and railings add to the elegant charm of the town.

Sort of storybook, isn't it?

The main street in Faeto

Billy and I have seen lots of renovated Colonial or Medieval cities opting for the "no curb" open access from sidewalks to the roads.

I have to say this is so very convenient for everyone.

No one trips or falls off a curb, and both wheelchairs and baby prams alike can stroll without fear of being jammed unexpectedly by a sudden "up or down" in the path.

Plus it gives a wide-open feel to an otherwise cramped traffic way.

Walking streets in Antigua, Guatemala and Mexico City have already worked this out, and the tourists just love it.

Not -- mind you - that we saw ANY tourists here...

Wrought iron street lamp

There were certainly charming areas of Faeto.

This section of street with the stone building and the wrought iron balcony and street lamps was really delightful.

Then there's the stone arched doorways with the wooden doors.

Again... for such a small town which is losing their population, it's a lot of money to pour into it for maintenance.

Perfect example of a vico

Vico is short for "vicolo" which means an alley or lane barely big enough for pedestrian - or in today's world - scooter traffic.

The photo above shows perfectly what these lanes were like back in Medieval times.

It is very easy to imagine people from that era walking through this archway to other levels of the hamlet.

Faeto started out as a small settlement of humans that eventually grew into a village. A village is a colony typically situated in a rural area generally having between 500 and 2,500 inhabitants.

And - very importantly - a church.

This church would serve as a central point to gather.

So human settlements go from hamlet to village to town to city.

In a hamlet or village, everyone in the community knows everyone else.

And it just so happened that I was related to about half the people who lived here in Faeto!

This gave me a whole different perspective of the lives of my Grandparents before they emigrated to America.

Home for sale

I mentioned previously that this village is losing population.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

One, is that the younger people want to find work, and there isn't much work to be found (especially careers) in Faeto.

You could inherit a restaurant, a salumeria or some sort of store, or you could work for one. Or perhaps you could become a doctor or a teacher. But opportunity is limited.

The other reason the population is leaving Faeto is because in 1980 there was a devastating earthquake - a magnitude of 6.9 - in Cosenza, Italy.

Now, Consenza is about 175 miles from Faeto, and I guess there was damage to this small community of Faeto. Cosenza was nearly completely destroyed.

The region is situated along the boundary of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, making it prone to earthquakes.

With the ancient stone buildings not giving way during a sizable shaking of the earth people became afraid of the future and just started to leave.

This impulse, along with a lowering birth replacement rate in general, has this town basically disappearing. 

Old stone and stucco home

Here you see clearly what some homes look like - the ones that haven't updated their façades with paint or new doors and potted plants outside.

The wood is weather-worn, the steps are cracked with moss growing in the shade of the corners.

The steep steps have no hand railings so one has to be careful going up and down the steps if you are carrying groceries. 

The edge of the village

This is another photo of the edge of the village as it meets the Difesa Forest.

It is truly beautiful and holds a strong appeal.

This small community has been in existence for hundreds of years, and it is my hope that it will continue healthily into the future.

Modern paved street in town

This is another generalized view of the streets in the town of Faeto.

It's a clean town, and has modernized for today's world. Even though it has survived centuries of history it still holds fascination.

The countryside

This is a broader view of the forest surrounding Faeto.

It is beautiful and mesmerizing.

I can imagine the soldiers of centuries past falling in love with the simple charm of this area and wanting to make it their home.

Regardless of the present challenges it faces, it still holds allure for those who might want to live there.

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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