As early as two thousand years ago the Reggello area was an important area for transport and commerce. This is evidenced by the fact that the road passing the Fattoria I Graffi was of great importance to ancient Rome 2000 years ago. Although difficult to pin-point the dates of the farm itself, the name “I Graffi” appears in documents a thousand years old. The oldest part of the villa is believed to be prior to the 16th century.
The chapel, named the Oratory of the Stigmata of Saint Francis, was dedicated around the year 1780, but research indicates that the space was a theatre for the owners before that dedication. As a chapel it evidently was a link between the local 12th century church dedicated to Saint Agatha and an important chapel on the property, adjacent to one of the sharecropping farms in the network of properties belonging to the Fattoria I Graffi and connected to the villa by a processional way.
Certainly the Saint Francis chapel experienced high and low points depending upon the historical moment and the participation of the owners, who spent very little of their time in residence. They were usually present only in the summer to escape the heat of Florence where they had their palace.
The noble Quaratesi family sold the property at the beginning of the twentieth century. The new owners attempted to bring new life to the farm through significant investments including an addition to the chapel bringing a part of the olive mill out from under the chapel, huge under-park cellars, and improvements and decorations in the villa. The war, the depression, and another war certainly were among the factors that stifled their plans. At mid-century the ownership again changed.
The next owners did little more than break up the property for sale at the end of the 1960s, as they realized that the age of sharecropping farming had come to an end. At this point Casa Cares entered the picture.
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During the 1950s – Pastor Robert McConnell is called by the Brethren Assemblies to be director of Istituto Comandi, their boys’ home in Florence
Beginning of the 1960s – Pastor McConnell, his family and many supporters found independent Casa Cares Children’s Home and move into the Villa Favard on the eastern outskirts of the city.
1965-1970 – Casa Cares moves to the Villa Strozzi, west of the center of the city and stays there until the villa is sold and the work must move again. In 1967 Pastor McConnell leaves Casa Cares.
January, 1971 – With loans and donations of friends Casa Cares, after a long search, buys the central part of the Fattoria I Graffi. The timing coincides perfectly with the break-up of the sharecropping system with the abandonment of rural areas and before Tuscany is hit by inflation and land speculation.
1975 – Due to major improvements in the socio-economic situation of Italy, Casa Cares and hundreds of other child care institutions are no longer necessary and close.
1983 – After years of inactivity, the loose-knit circle of friends of Casa Cares who are legally responsible for the property decide to donate the property to the Waldensian Church
1985 – Antoinette and Paul Krieg are called by the Waldensian Church to help develop a meeting center and guesthouse.
Time to care for the chapel
Many persons, individuals and groups, have donated generously to our work over the years. Without that support we would not be where we are today. Their help in particular enabled us to reach out to individuals and groups who otherwise could not have stayed here, to run local programs, to increase our commitment to environmental issues, and to improve our accommodations.
Casa Cares, like the other Waldensian guesthouses, each in its particular way, strives to be of service to the church, to our guests, and to the local community. The persons involved are primary, but the tool we have, the property, is essential to our work. Many improvements in the facility have been made over the years: renovations in the villa, development of the building above for staff quarters, care of the land, and now the photovoltaic system producing electrical energy. For years we have dreamed of restoring the chapel, an area that would be very attractive and useful for guests. On the back of this sheet we provide a history of the chapel area.
We first applied over ten years ago for public money for the restoration of the building below the villa, which one time served as chapel and olive mill. Although we are confident that the plans for the project are sound, we were unsuccessful in applications for European funding and then twice in for funding from the Italian State through the Region of Tuscany.
Now we have asked our national church to make a contribution and we are turning to the friends of Casa Cares. We do not expect to make the huge step forward of renovating the entire building and the adjacent cellars as it ideally would be done. Those projects also are also prepared and waiting, but right now we simply want to move forward and bring the former chapel area to a point that it can be used by our guests for worship and meditation and for music and other artistic expression.
We appeal to those who use Casa Cares and to those who are interested in our work. We ask for donations in whichever form and for whatever amount is possible. This might be a monthly commitment of Euro 10 or a group fund-raising project or a single donation. Or?
We consider this renovation a three step process. The first, the technical preparation, is already done. The second, this year, is one of gathering the first contributions and taking the first steps. In 2011 we would hope to bring the project to completion. The fundamental intervention will be on the roof and the floor. The minimum needed to begin work is Euro 40000 (USA$ 60,000). If we are able to raise more, we will be able to achieve a much more extensive renovation and restoration.
Anyone interested in helping with this project can ask us for technical details and for information on making a donation.
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It is interesting to note that Valdo of Lyon and his friends, albeit a few years earlier, were contemporaries of Francis and his followers in a very tumultuous time. Also Dominic, working for the Vatican, and the Cathars and others in rebellion were active at the end of the 12th century. The chapel, dedicated to Francis in the 1700s, now is in the hands of the Waldensians. They cross paths again!
The chapel, named the Oratory of the Stigmata of Saint Francis, was dedicated around the year 1780, but research indicates that the space was a theatre for the owners before that dedication. As a chapel it evidently was a link between the local 12th century church dedicated to Saint Agatha and an important chapel on the property, adjacent to one of the sharecropping farms in the network of properties belonging to the Fattoria I Graffi and connected to the villa by a processional way.
Certainly the Saint Francis chapel experienced high and low points depending upon the historical moment and the participation of the owners, who spent very little of their time in residence. They were usually present only in the summer to escape the heat of Florence where they had their palace.
The noble Quaratesi family sold the property at the beginning of the twentieth century. The new owners attempted to bring new life to the farm through significant investments including an addition to the chapel bringing a part of the olive mill out from under the chapel, huge under-park cellars, and improvements and decorations in the villa. The war, the depression, and another war certainly were among the factors that stifled their plans. At mid-century the ownership again changed.
The next owners did little more than break up the property for sale at the end of the 1960s, as they realized that the age of sharecropping farming had come to an end. At this point Casa Cares entered the picture.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
During the 1950s – Pastor Robert McConnell is called by the Brethren Assemblies to be director of Istituto Comandi, their boys’ home in Florence
Beginning of the 1960s – Pastor McConnell, his family and many supporters found independent Casa Cares Children’s Home and move into the Villa Favard on the eastern outskirts of the city.
1965-1970 – Casa Cares moves to the Villa Strozzi, west of the center of the city and stays there until the villa is sold and the work must move again. In 1967 Pastor McConnell leaves Casa Cares.
January, 1971 – With loans and donations of friends Casa Cares, after a long search, buys the central part of the Fattoria I Graffi. The timing coincides perfectly with the break-up of the sharecropping system with the abandonment of rural areas and before Tuscany is hit by inflation and land speculation.
1975 – Due to major improvements in the socio-economic situation of Italy, Casa Cares and hundreds of other child care institutions are no longer necessary and close.
1983 – After years of inactivity, the loose-knit circle of friends of Casa Cares who are legally responsible for the property decide to donate the property to the Waldensian Church
1985 – Antoinette and Paul Krieg are called by the Waldensian Church to help develop a meeting center and guesthouse.
Time to care for the chapel
Many persons, individuals and groups, have donated generously to our work over the years. Without that support we would not be where we are today. Their help in particular enabled us to reach out to individuals and groups who otherwise could not have stayed here, to run local programs, to increase our commitment to environmental issues, and to improve our accommodations.
Casa Cares, like the other Waldensian guesthouses, each in its particular way, strives to be of service to the church, to our guests, and to the local community. The persons involved are primary, but the tool we have, the property, is essential to our work. Many improvements in the facility have been made over the years: renovations in the villa, development of the building above for staff quarters, care of the land, and now the photovoltaic system producing electrical energy. For years we have dreamed of restoring the chapel, an area that would be very attractive and useful for guests. On the back of this sheet we provide a history of the chapel area.
We first applied over ten years ago for public money for the restoration of the building below the villa, which one time served as chapel and olive mill. Although we are confident that the plans for the project are sound, we were unsuccessful in applications for European funding and then twice in for funding from the Italian State through the Region of Tuscany.
Now we have asked our national church to make a contribution and we are turning to the friends of Casa Cares. We do not expect to make the huge step forward of renovating the entire building and the adjacent cellars as it ideally would be done. Those projects also are also prepared and waiting, but right now we simply want to move forward and bring the former chapel area to a point that it can be used by our guests for worship and meditation and for music and other artistic expression.
We appeal to those who use Casa Cares and to those who are interested in our work. We ask for donations in whichever form and for whatever amount is possible. This might be a monthly commitment of Euro 10 or a group fund-raising project or a single donation. Or?
We consider this renovation a three step process. The first, the technical preparation, is already done. The second, this year, is one of gathering the first contributions and taking the first steps. In 2011 we would hope to bring the project to completion. The fundamental intervention will be on the roof and the floor. The minimum needed to begin work is Euro 40000 (USA$ 60,000). If we are able to raise more, we will be able to achieve a much more extensive renovation and restoration.
Anyone interested in helping with this project can ask us for technical details and for information on making a donation.
- - - - - - - - - - -
It is interesting to note that Valdo of Lyon and his friends, albeit a few years earlier, were contemporaries of Francis and his followers in a very tumultuous time. Also Dominic, working for the Vatican, and the Cathars and others in rebellion were active at the end of the 12th century. The chapel, dedicated to Francis in the 1700s, now is in the hands of the Waldensians. They cross paths again!
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