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 Villa We Rented in Faeto, Italy

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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We had arrived in Faeto late in the afternoon after a combination train/bus transport from Naples. We unexpectedly got stranded in Savignano Irpino with no public method to take us to Faeto, 20 kilometers away.

Some angels-in-uniform made calls to the owners of this villa to come and retrieve their marooned renters.

Begrudgingly, Giovanni came to get us and drove us to our villa.

Our front door

There is not a lot written about the Medieval village of Faeto, and not a lot of photos to get an idea of the town.

But whatever it was, we were gonna buck up and accept it. We had come here for Family Heritage purposes, not just as tourists with sights to see.

Listed rentals weren't numerous either, and so we were unsure of what our villa might look like.

Would it be modern? Primitive? Dark and moldy?

We just didn't know.

But we were paying $102Euros a night, so we were hoping for something clean at least.

Notice the stone door jamb and the slope of the stone steps leading into the house.

Faeto has many steep streets and winding Vicos and Vias.

Wine press and map of Ohio

Giovanni and his wife walk us into this home and we are greeted immediately by a wine press, and... unexpectedly... a map of the All-Ohio State Fair Band.

What was this about? What could this mean?

We had only been in Italy a matter of days, and I was not very skilled just yet with Google Translate. But I gather from Mrs. Giovanni Daiuto (Giovanni was not very talkative) that one of Giovanni's relatives had gone to Ohio decades ago and apparently sent this poster to them.

I said "Daiuto?"

"Ohio?"

I mean, I was tired, cold, hungry and coming down from my Dramamine which affects my short-term memory. It puts me into a fog.

But I knew the name "Daiuto" as it was my Great-Grandmother's last name before she married Veto Mastri. And my Grandmother's name was Antoinette Mastri.

But being in that dreaded Dramamine haze, I shook it off because I could barely fathom the possibility.

Although... a map of the All Ohio State Fair Band was a dead giveaway.

"Let's eat!" I'm thinking...

The kitchen

The fully equipped kitchen - and actually, the whole house - was more modern than I had anticipated.

What was I expecting? Nouveau Medieval furniture and dirt floor?

I dunno.

Forgive me.

I'm blaming the motion sickness pill.

Complete with a gas stove, microwave, drinkable tap water, espresso machine and refrigerator, we were all set to prepare meals, sandwiches or breakfast when needed.

A closer look at the map and a wine urn

I couldn't take my eyes off the Ohio map because... well, it seemed so out of place here in this hamlet.

I mean, who the heck knows about Ohio here in the middle of an itsy-bitsy mountain town in Italy?

But apparently, these Daiutos did.

Mrs. Daiuto explained that there were 2 families of Daiutos - one branch went to Ohio, and the other branch went to Canada.

Coincidentally, in my Family Heritage quest, I was looking for the Ohio branch of Daiutos.

Could it be that Mr. Not-smiling Giovanni is my relative?

I wasn't yet ready for this happy chance accident... and just sort of categorized it away for the morning when my mind would certainly be clearer.

But there were more surprises waiting for me later.

My Italian Heritage Map

Decades ago, when I was a small child living in Columbus, Ohio, my Grandfather Figliola told me he came from a small town at the "spur of the boot" of Italy. I'm sure he told me the name of this place,... (Faeto)... but all I could remember was "Foggia."

He explained to me about the "special language" spoken here, and that is why he wanted someone from this location to be his wife. Then they would have a lot in common.

When Billy and I went to Europe for the first time in 1979, we were all ready to go to Foggia. There were train strikes and garbage strikes in Rome... and well, we never made it.

It was a good thing, because Foggia is NOT a dinky mountain town.

We would have gone to the wrong locale completely and I would have missed my opportunity to meet with any direct relatives.

Fast forward to the present.

My sister and I were going through some memorabilia from family a year previous, when we came upon this little booklet with the map above printed on the cover.

I looked closely.

FAETO!!

THAT'S THE TOWN HE TOLD ME.

And that is why we were here today.

Bottled wine from Puglia

This is some wine from Puglia, the region where Faeto is located.

Of course we had to try it so we purchased a bottle from the local Salumeria.

The dining room table and sitting room

From the kitchen I took this photo of the dining room and sitting room.

You can see that it is a fairly spacious house.

The bathroom was to the left before the steps, and the two bedrooms were up the 3 steps. One to the right, and one to the left.

View of the Difesa Forest from the window of our villa

Faeto is situated among the famous Difesa Forest.

The little cluster of homes above and to the right is Savignano Irpino.

The larger community to the left is the town of Greci.

The view from our bedroom window

This is one of my favorite photos of Faeto.

It is from our bedroom window and the morning sunlight captures the mystical, magical feel of this ancient town.

Green forest, sparkling sky, archaic homes with tile roofs.

But my Family Heritage Journey is not quite over.

We went out to eat at the only open restaurant in town, and the next day we unexpectedly came across the City Hall of Records.

Each one holds a surprise, and a door to where my family came from.

Stay tuned for more Family Adventures!

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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