My family was a poor pastoral family, then they inherited a country house.

An Italian from an impoverished family who had farmed the land for centuries as pastoralists described how they experienced a true rags-to-riches experience when they inherited the magnificent country house where D.H. Lawrence lived in 1919.

The ancestors of Loreto Pacitti, 52, now a successful cheesemaker, lived in a cottage next to Lawrence’s Victorian house in Picinisco, near Frosinone in central Italy, an area once called “bandit country.”

The mansion was originally owned by resident Orazio Cervi, who regularly traveled to Britain in the late 19th century to work as a model for the British sculptor Hamo Thornycroft. There he was heavily influenced by English architecture, which he chose for his villa in Italy, which stands out in a landscape full of sheep and farms.

D. H. Lawrence, English writer, famous for his works, among other things. Lady Chatterley’s lover AND sons and loverswas invited by a friend to stay for a week at a country house in 1919.

It is believed that this is where he found inspiration for his 1920 novel. Lost Girlwhich impressively describes the landscape of Picinisko.

However, when Mr Cervi died in the 1940s and none of his heirs laid claim to the property, the villa fell into disrepair.

“My grandparents worked as shepherds and farmers on the villa’s land for decades,” Pacitti said.

“When the owner died, they gradually gave the money away by hard work on the land. [as a form of exchange]and finally took possession of it in 1970 by right of first refusal. [privileged buyers]A very small amount was paid because it had not yet been classified as a historic property.”

In Italy, the right of first refusal in the sale of real estate extends to preferred buyers, who have the right to receive priority over other potential buyers under the same conditions and before the property is offered to another buyer or put up for sale.

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Under Italian law, Mr. Pacitti’s ancestors were entitled to priority over other potential buyers because they had already physically lived in and maintained the property and had always had a good relationship with the owner.

“At that time they spent several million liras, it was a small amount… but years later my family invested 400,000 euros. [£344,352] We also invest in refurbishment funds, which we obtain by applying for European and Italian funding to restore derelict country houses,” says Mr Pacitti, who regularly stays at the country house.

After two centuries of working as simple shepherds, the estate’s inheritance helped the Pacittises prosper.

They made a fortune in cheese and food production and, taking advantage of D.H. Lawrence’s connections with the mansion, converted it into a rustic bed and breakfast in 2000 with eight rooms, a traditional tavern serving local specialties, and a partial museum of his personal home of D.H. Lawrence. things and letters.

At Casa Lawrence, with its graceful columns, balconies and pink-painted walls, guests can still admire the British author’s bed – his nightgown, slippers and chamber pots are still in place. There is also an old wooden table with a panoramic view, where Lawrence could spend hours admiring the scenery.

There is another one next to the tavern. CasiosteriaA popular local brunch bistro serving samples of Pacittis’s fresh gourmet Pecorino sheep cheese, blue cheese, honey and jam.

Mr Pacitti says his family worked hard and earned the property, dedicating their lives to breathing new life into the property after it had been abandoned.

Mr Pacitti has also opened a dairy farm, butcher shop and boutique in the nearby village of Picinisco and regularly travels to Rome to sell his cheese at food fairs.

“This mansion has a history,” Mr. Pacitti says.

“In the original letter, Lawrence tells a friend about the beauty of the Italian countryside,” he says. In the same letter, the author also warns against traveling among thieves and pickpockets.