HousePart III:

of Horrors
House of Horrors
- The external
surroundings
House of Horrors

This is the next in the open work-in-progress (already some elements of prior presentations
are subject to updating or correction) of presentations concerning the Giallo de Perugia.
The situations presented here are with ideas or event relationships which are not necessarily
of my own. I have rather served as a graphic scribe of the excellent multi-point-of-view, multi-
timezone, and multi-cultural discussion resulting from Steve Huff’s True Crime Weblog on this
tragedy: http://www.truecrimeweblog.com/.
This presentation concerning the external situation of the house at the centre of the Giallo
makes less (hardly any) reference to specific elements of the case, than others. It’s objective
is to set the physical / geographical scene for the tragic circumstances of the crime.
Since the victim has no means to reply to any comments herein or scenarios described in
other presentations, and the repeated use of her name in this context would only further hurt
anyone close to her, I refer to her simply as “the victim”. This is not meant by any means to
trivialise the pain and suffering, and butal senseless murder she experienced, nor to reduce
her memory.
That was Meryl Streep on the cover slide, in the movie “A French Lieutenant’s Woman”. In the
book by John Fowles (better than the movie) there are 3 forks / endings to the story. In the
Giallo di Perugia, as we go through the scenarios of what may have happened in the crime, I
can only hope that there will be one single ending, that justice is served to those responsible
for each of the crimes which may be determined by the ILE. I am buoyed by the fact that the
victim’s family has expressed confidence in the Italian justice system.
- Kermit
krmt123@gmail.com
House of Horrors
“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone …”
Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi
The house. The girls’ house. AK was ecstatic about it in her blog. And the truth is, it seems
like it was quite a neat place.
In the early days of November as news seeped / filtered out concerning the Giallo, I needed to
better visualise the house situation, both inside and out. Inside, thanks to segments of a
houseplan seen on Italian TV, we could get a feel for the general layout of the cottage (the
internal floorplan is being updated, will come out as a second part to this presentation).
Externally, I wanted to relate the house to the town, something which is relatively easy, given
the availability of on-line maps, and the timelines of key movements and locations we’ve
compiled on the blog.
There is another geographical dimension to the Giallo, however, which is the subject of this
presentation: the house itself, why is it there, what is it’s background, are there any particular
characteristics of the house or its location which could contribute to the crime?
As in many projects, I’ve had to cut off the development of this presentation. I had started to
get references to mysteries, legends and “bad-vibes” in Perugia (for anything unrelated to the
Giallo, it’s obligatory to google with the “-Knox -Sollecito” flag). But I think it’s better and we’ll
get more value out of the presentation, to get this out the door right now, having only very
partially met the initial objective, and allow the True Crime Webloggers to discuss it, and
orient any further presentations on the subject.
That said, Perugia, and what I’m calling the Northern Cwm, is very special. From the
underground Etruscan tombs in the area, to the pagan Roman temples, to the Templar knight
presence (just up the road from RS’s place), to Mother Nature rocking the ground on a regular
basis, and many more natural and historical events.
 House
THE of Horrors
LOCATION OF THE HOUSE:
A glance at a modern map of
Perugia reinforces the
understanding that it is an old,
walled city. (The wall is indicated
by the black line here.)
Interestingly, if we ZOOM in, the
girls’ house itself appears on
this map …
House of Horrors
Interestingly, if we ZOOM in, the
girls’ house itself appears on this
map … outside of the old city
walls, and at the top of the Fosso
del Bulagaio ravine ...

Girls’ house

The ravine is called the Fosso del

Bulagaio. The stream which carves
the ravine as well.
The name Bulagiao could have
different explanations:
bugliare = throw waste; bulicame =
vein of water; buligame = depth
The actual stream starts in the
dense foliage just below the girls’
house.
House of Horrors
Interestingly, if we ZOOM in, the
girls’ house itself appears on this
map … outside of the old city
walls, and at the top of the Fosso
del Bulagaio ravine …
…between the old city gates Porta
Bulagaio and Porta Sant’Antonio.
Be it originally a house or an
orchard storage shed, it (like
other extramural constructions)
was not afforded the protection of
the city walls.

Girls’ house
House of Horrors
It is difficult to find a good photo from ground level of the ravine the girls’ house was in, and virtually
impossible to find old photos of that specific point. If you go much further back in time, to the early
1500’s and the papal Salt War, this sort of painted murals show the situation of Perugia.
The Etruscans, Romans and Popes weren’t stupid (at least in what is related to selecting sites for
strategic towns). Perugia is up on a prominent hill which offers natural protective barriers. With stone
walls surrounding it, extended and pushed out as time passed, it was a fortress city.
I’m not sure of the angle from which this map was created. The square tower in the middle and the
adjoining long roof to the left seem to be the San Lorenzo cathedral. If (big “if”) we’re looking
directly from the North, then that lush gully right in front of us is the amphitheatre where the girls’
house is now situated (obviously not here yet – in fact no houses or other construction are shown
outside of the wall).
Don’t analyse this too much, the resolution is too poor. I burned out my eyes looking for such
prominent civil (as opposed to religious) constructions as the Etruscan Arch.
House of Horrors
In 1626 Jodocus Jr. published a collection of engraved maps of Italian cities, including this one of
Perugia “Perusia Gratum Musis in Tuscia Domicilium”. By this time it seems map makers finally
understood the importance of presenting depth.
The girls’ house is not yet depicted. Presumibly there is still nothing there yet, because we do start to
see other buildings outside of the city walls. Also note the complete city walls, as in the older map,
which definitely exist on the northern edge of town (and around the rest of the city), in particular at the
top of the girls’ ravine (what is now the upper edge of the carpark).
House of Horrors
In 1626 Jodocus Jr. published a collection of engraved maps of Italian cities, including this one of
Perugia “Perusia Gratum Musis in Tuscia Domicilium”. By this time it seems map makers finally
understood the importance of presenting depth.
The girls’ house is not yet depicted. Presumibly there is still nothing there yet, because we do start to
see other buildings outside of the city walls. Also note the complete city walls, as in the older map,
which definitely exist on the northern edge of town (and around the rest of the city), in particular at the
top of the girls’ ravine (what is now the upper edge of the carpark).

Piazza
Grimana Site of future Porta Bulagaio
Corso Garibaldi (not constructed until 1765)
(RS’s street)
Approx. Location of girls’ house
Via Ulisse Rocchi with
Etruscan Arch at bottom Porta Sant’Antonio (c. 1270)

Via Pinturicchio
Cathedral and
fountain
Via Alessi (Le Chic pub)

San Domenico
(I point it out to help orient us with the next map)

San Pietro
(I point it out to help orient us with the next map)
House of Horrors
This map is from around 1700. As a map, there is much more graphic detail and in addition
there is a legend for the principal buildings. Thanks to the detail, we see that this map is
definitely viewed from the East (sorry, that doesn’t help us much with our endeavour).
Note the orchards, and in particular, the apparition of more farm houses, and other
constructions outside of the city walls.
House of Horrors
This map is from around 1700. As a map, there is much more graphic detail and in addition
there is a legend for the principal buildings. Thanks to the detail, we see that this map is
definitely viewed from the East (sorry, that doesn’t help us much with our endeavour).
Note the orchards, and in particular, the apparition of more farm houses, and other
constructions outside of the city walls.

San Domenico
San Pietro (contrast with position in prior map)
(contrast with position in prior map)
House offrom
We jump Horrors
paintings to the era of photography. This photo is c. 1890, from the top of the
Via delle Prome stone staircase. The Palazzo Gallenga (Foreigners University) is on the left
and the Sant’Agostino church forms part of the city walls on the right.
Shame that the photographer didn’t pan a little more to the right, towards the girls’ house,
which by this time almost certainly existed … or at least some part of it.
House offrom
We jump Horrors
paintings to the era of photography. This photo is c. 1890, from the top of the
Via delle Prome stone staircase. The Palazzo Gallenga (Foreigners University) is on the left
and the Sant’Agostino church forms part of the city walls on the right.
Shame that the photographer didn’t pan a little more to the right, towards the girls’ house,
which by this time almost certainly existed … or at least some part of it.
We do see something very interesting and important: the road ramping up from the Porta
Bulagaio, built on top of the city wall. The wall itself is free of earth on the outside: there are
several meters of drop there. (Keep this mind, later we’ll refer to it).

Porta Bulagaio
House
Let’s tryof Horrors
again, from a different angle outside of the city walls, in this photo c. 1920-1930.
Looks like the photographer is perched in some sort of orchard, and … alas … once again we
seem to just miss the girls’ cottage by a 150 meters or so off to the right.
House
Let’s tryof Horrors
again, from a different angle outside of the city walls, in this photo c. 1920-1930.
Looks like the photographer is perched in some sort of orchard, and … alas … once again we
seem to just miss the girls’ cottage by a 150 meters or so off to the right.
The tower on the left is the Santa Maria Nuova church on Via Pinturicchio
(the victim turned the corner there after leaving her friend Sophie in Via
Roscetto). On the far right, the stone staircase of Via delle Prome.

Via delle Prome

ll joi ns rising orchard terrain

Guesstimate on where vertical wa
House
Let’s tryof Horrors
again, from a different angle outside of the city walls, in this photo c. 1920-1930.
Looks like the photographer is perched in some sort of orchard, and … alas … once again we
seem to just miss the girls’ cottage by a 150 meters or so off to the right.
The tower on the left is the Santa Maria Nuova church on Via Pinturicchio
(the victim turned the corner there after leaving her friend Sophie in Via
Roscetto). On the far right, the stone staircase of Via delle Prome.

San
Tom
m
Refe aso con
renc
e povent -
(for int A
next
imag
es)

Via delle Prome

m nt t -
B
ex po en
r n e nv

)
es
i
(fo nc co

ag
re o

ti
fe as
Remm
To
n
Sa

ll joi ns rising orchard terrain

Guesstimate on where vertical wa
 House of Horrors
We continue to modern times, looking for a vantage point not based on a helicopter, airplane or
satellite, from where to view the girls’ house. And once again, we’re disappointed.
We know we’re standing virtually above the house, and yet all we can really see in the photo to the left
is the Sant’Agostino church, and lower down, the Porta Bulagaio almost totally blocked out by green
vegetation.
In the photo to the right (the tall tower of Santa Maria Nuova can’t be seen – it’s off screen further to
right) we can see the reference points of the San Tommaso convent referred to in the prior slide.
This tourist took these two panning shots, which we could stitch together with photo software, and yet
the girls’ place is no where to be seen. (While we’re here, let’s point out Porta Sant’Antonio, far right)
 House of Horrors
We continue to modern times, looking for a vantage point not based on a helicopter, airplane or
satellite, from where to view the girls’ house. And once again, we’re disappointed.
We know we’re standing virtually above the house, and yet all we can really see in the photo to the left
is the Sant’Agostino church, and lower down, the Porta Bulagaio almost totally blocked out by green
vegetation.
In the photo to the right (the tall tower of Santa Maria Nuova can’t be seen – it’s off screen further to
right) we can see the reference points of the San Tommaso convent referred to in the prior slide.
This tourist took these two panning shots, which we could stitch together with photo software, and yet
the girls’ place is no where to be seen. (While we’re here, let’s point out Porta Sant’Antonio, far right)

io
on

-
A nt
nt

nt e
’A

oi onv
nt

epc
Sa

nc s o
Sant’Agostino

rta

re a
fe mm
Po

Re o
T
n
Sa
San Tommaso convent
o
g ai - Reference point B
la
Bu
o rta
P
 House of Horrors
We continue to modern times, looking for a vantage point not based on a helicopter, airplane or
satellite, from where to view the girls’ house. And once again, we’re disappointed.
We know we’re standing virtually above the house, and yet all we can really see in the photo to the left
is the Sant’Agostino church, and lower down, the Porta Bulagaio almost totally blocked out by green
vegetation.
In the photo to the right (the tall tower of Santa Maria Nuova can’t be seen – it’s off screen further to
right) we can see the reference points of the San Tommaso convent referred to in the prior slide.
This tourist took these two panning shots, which we could stitch together with photo software, and yet
the girls’ place is no where to be seen. (While we’re here, let’s point out Porta Sant’Antonio, far right)

io
on

-
A nt
nt

nt e
’A

oi onv
nt

epc
Sa

nc s o
Sant’Agostino

rta

re a
fe mm
Po

Re o
T
n
Sa
San Tommaso convent
o
g ai - Reference point B
la
Bu
o rta
P

CONCLUSION: if we don’t have an aerial platform, we would have to be in the “frontline” of houses
(and not necessarily even then, as we’ll see) or in a window around the Sant’Agosto church (on left)
or in San Tommaso (on right) to see the girls’ house from an urban vantage point.
House of Horrors

Let’s terminate the visual search for a view of the girls’ house with this true 180 degree photo
from our high perch on Via Prome (stone staircase).
This was one of the first photos I dug up, and I was disappointed that the photographer didn’t
pan down just a little more. Later I realized that his cut-off point was determined by the roof
tops of the “frontline” row of houses. We would never be able to get the city-based house
view we were looking for.

nio
nto
n t’A
a Sa
Port

aio
l ag
Bu
rta
Po
House of Horrors So, let’s jump in an airplane and rise above the buildings …
 House of Horrors A fast reminder of reference points …
San Tommaso convent
San Tommaso convent - Reference point A
- Reference point B

Base of belltower,
Santa Maria Nuova

Old city walls

io
turicch
Via Pin
I’m sure I don’t have to
tell you that this is the
girls’ house ... At last!
We see it!

Via delle Prome

 House of Horrors
San Tommaso convent
- Reference point B
Old city walls
I’m sure I don’t have to
tell you that this is the
girls’ house ... At last!
We see it!
A fast reminder of reference points …
San Tommaso convent
- Reference point A
Base of belltower,
Santa Maria Nuova
io
turicch
Via Pin
I don’t know about you, but to me it looks like they paved Paradise
and they put up a parking lot.
I’m convinced that in the past, what is now the Via Sant’Antonio (the
asphalted road below the Old City Walls) was at most just a dusty
track, which if followed all the way east (upwards on this photo) for a
kilometer or so, would give the cottage dwellers (and the dwellers of
a couple other cottages on the way) access to the city through the
old city gate Porta Sant’Antonio. The track would have stopped at the
girls’ cottage, because of the steepness of the gully, and because I
believe there was not yet any ramp up to surmount the city wall, and
join into the Piazza Grimana (basketball court).
Via delle Prome
Offscreen to the lower left, the Porta Bulagaio is much closer, but 1)
it didn’t exist until 1765 (if there was some construction on the site of
the cottage by then), and 2) the terrain is extremely steep, especially
because of the vertical city walls coming up from that Porta (as seen
in the c. 1890 photo)
House of Horrors

What if someone took away that carpark and the asphalt … would
we return to Paradise? (just in case there are youngsters out there,
or some cultural barriers, the “Paradise” reference is to the Joni
Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi, nice lyrics, check them out)
House of Horrors

What if someone took away that carpark and the asphalt … would
we return to Paradise? (just in case there are youngsters out there,
or some cultural barriers, the “Paradise” reference is to the Joni
Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi, nice lyrics, check them out)

Paradise has always been depicted as an orchard, and it may well be

that before the house was “buried”, that the sun shone, fruit was
harvested, and there was good visual communication amongst all the
inhabitants of the Northern Cwm.
 House of Horrors

The entrance to the lowest

level of the carpark is a down
ramp
Via Sant’Antonio starts here,
ON TOP OF the city wall (the
girls’ cottage at times has a Via
Sant’Antonio address instead
of Via Pergola). Had it not
been a sort of ring road (to
take pressure off internal city
streets), it could have followed
the wall upwards, following the
same path as what is now the
entrance ramp for the top level
of the car park (photo above).

Girls’ parking
Cars exit on this side of the area is a landfill
carpark. Lowest level three is not platform
underground, but rather exits flat
onto Via Sant’Antonio, which is
OUTSIDE and BELOW the city wall Via Sant’Antonio is actually
a viaduct / bridge here, as
This is roadmaking at its easiest: witnessed by the image of
just dump the asphalt on the reinforced concrete support
farming terraces (okay, I’m columns and beams. I
simplifying a little, but that’s pretty hope no human or animal Landfill here
much it) vermin hang out in the against the city wall
manmade cave created
House of Horrors
House of Horrors

This image fills me with many, many contrasting and some

contradictory feelings. I won’t bore you with further references
of places. If you don’t have it, get the prior Powerpoint through
Steve Huff’s TrueCrimeWeblog discussion on
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/truecrimeweblog/8299773531507317890/
concerning the suspects’ movements on Nov.1, to recall Via
Roscetto, Via Ulisse Rocchi, the Etruscan Arch, the Foreigners’
University, Piazza Grimana, Corso Garibaldi, Via Pinturicchio, Via
Melo, the metal stairs, the cottage ... all seen here.
It’s Paradise, complete with terraced fruit crops (in the past), and yet
something went wrong.
House of Horrors
House of Horrors

Real quick, modern image of Porta Bulagaio … it’s not the issue for
this presentation, but I don’t think any suspects went running down this
road after the crime, into the darkness of the unilluminated, non-
pedestrian countryroad … with the stolen mobile phones in their hands
(instead, they ran through the streets of Perugia)
 House of Horrors
Note the lush vegetation which reaches
up to the outer edge of the city walls in
the Porta Bulagiao area. We see the
same growth in the prior high aerial
Old city walls
image. This contrasts with the several
meters of drop from the outer edge of
the wall which we see in the c. 1890
photo.

I’m
thi re
s v fer
eg ring
et
ati to
on
 House of Horrors

Porta Bulagaio

If you look closely, it appears that there has

been some landfill here, which may not be
surprising as Perugia is in an active seismic Porta Bulagaio
area, and there is extensive tracking of even
minor landslides. Perhaps by dumping dirt
here and letting the plants grow wildly, it
helps stabilise the terrain, and in particular,
supports the old city wall here.
 House of Horrors

Porta Bulagaio

If you look closely, it appears that there has

been some landfill here, which may not be
surprising as Perugia is in an active seismic Porta Bulagaio
area, and there is extensive tracking of even
minor landslides. Perhaps by dumping dirt
here and letting the plants grow wildly, it
helps stabilise the terrain, and in particular,
supports the old city wall here.
 House of Horrors Is all this that important as regards the house and its
history? Why yes, as we’ll see that the wall below the
houses, behind the carpark, was about as high as in the
black and white photo on the left. And that of the carpark’s
three levels, the lowest one is not “underground” but simply
built sitting on top of the orchard terrain. In other words, the
carpark (three levels) is as high as the city wall in that area.

Porta Bulagaio

If you look closely, it appears that there has

been some landfill here, which may not be
surprising as Perugia is in an active seismic Porta Bulagaio
area, and there is extensive tracking of even
minor landslides. Perhaps by dumping dirt
here and letting the plants grow wildly, it
helps stabilise the terrain, and in particular,
supports the old city wall here.
House of Horrors Now it’s the turn of Porta Sant’Antonio
House of Horrors Now it’s the turn of Porta Sant’Antonio ... let’s ZOOM in
 House of Horrors Now it’s the turn of Porta Sant’Antonio ... let’s ZOOM in

Porta Sant’Antonio

Access to the town from the cottage

area in the past would have been along
a track that would have followed the
base of the wall, where the terrain is
somewhat flatter, all the way to the
Porta Sant’Antonio.
House of Horrors

And you know something ... that seems to be the way it was.
This image is from c. 1920-1930 ... so recent!! There’s no Via Sant’Antonio
outside of the city wall, no asphalt, just a track from Porta Sant’Antonio along
the base of the wall and at the top of the terracing ... to the garden of Paradise
House of Horrors

By the time we get to the 1950’s, there are additional modern apartment
buildings in the Sant’Antonio neighbourhood. And there’s still no asphalt or
Via Sant’Antonio (the earthen track is barely visible – if at all – in the
shadow of the wall).
House of Horrors

Parting shots (modern shots)

of the Porta Sant’Antonio.
House of Horrors

Parting shots (modern shots)

of the Porta Sant’Antonio.
House of Horrors

The House
House of Horrors
Back at the beginning of this case, we saw time after time the same images and video from
journalists perched on the edge of the Via Sant’Antonio or on the carpark above the house, watching
the movements of the ILE (and the Happy Couple) as they initiated the investigation. It was quickly
apparent that the house had been constructed in parts:
The “central core” with Filomena’s room and window (on left) and Laura’s room and window (on right)
seem to have a different texture (of stone work), whitewash weathering and roof construction,
compared to the perpendicular extension behind the house, where the foreign girls’ rooms and the
balcony are located.
Additionally, the “lean-to” roof above the uniformed police officers in the left photo and the “niche” of
the main bathroom window on the right, lead one to believe that that section of the house (entrance
way and main bathroom section) is a later extension on to the central core as well.
 House of Horrors
After stitching together sections of
the house floorplan (from Enrico
Mentana’s Matrix program), we got
a good idea of the house. (I used
this for the first version of the
floorplan. The general dimensions
and layout of that plan were
correct, but not necessarily the
assumptions I made concerning
furniture and bathroom fixtures.)
First of all, there’s immediate
confirmation of the “central core”
concept. The foreign girls’
extension was quite obvious from
outside photos (different style roof,
different exterior wall texture,
different roof tiles ...).
But now, this floor plan also
confirms the addition of what I call
the washing room and the main
bathroom (lower horizontal
segment on this floorplan) as
another posterior addition to the
central core.
Also, tantalisingly, the central core
walls are thicker than the other
walls of the house.
House of Horrors

Closer images of the two ends of the central core highlight the different textures
compared to the other (newer) parts of the house. Here on the right hand (east,
Laura’s room) external housewall, the wall structure appears to be of stone work:
many different stones of various sizes and shapes.
 House of Horrors
Hmmm ... When we go to the other
(west) side of the house, we also see
stonework in the central core, at least in
the only partially visible, lower
(“orchard”) ground level floor (the boys’
flat).
(We actually know almost nothing about
their level, from an architectural point of
view. Hangups of mine: there has to be
a fireplace down there, or location of an
old one.)
There’s definitely stonework around the
boys’ central core window (the different
stone shapes are visible). But the upper
level of the central core on this side
(Filomena’s room) seems to be made
either with very regular sized stones or a
sort of large, flat construction brick.
Maybe the lower boys floor was built first
of all (as a shepards’ hut or small
orchard storage shed?) of stone, then
Laura’s room was built on top, also of
stone, then the upper living room and
Filomena’s room were added, using
building material with a regular form.
House of Horrors

In a minute we’ll come back to the

possibility of different stonework in the
upper west end of the central core.
Let’s first try to imagine what this end of
the house looked like with just the
“central core” ...
... as for the ground floor having stone
walls, and half of the girls’ floor with
stone walls and the other half with some
sort of bricks, that seems to be reflected
in the Matrix floorplan a couple of
screens back, where Laura’s walls are
extra thick, Filomena’s are less so, and
the rest of the house walls are the least
thick of all.
So ... do houses like this really exist?
They would be very narrow (just the
width of a bed, plus an equivalent empty
space, plus the width of a desk).
House of Horrors

If we had a two-floor central core, our man in the street would have to drop
from Via Sant’Antonio asphalt level (equivalent to the edge of the roof clay
tiles) down a few meters to get to “orchard” level.
House of Horrors

If we had a two-floor central core, our man in the street would have to drop
from Via Sant’Antonio asphalt level (equivalent to the edge of the roof clay
tiles) down a few meters to get to “orchard” level.
 House of Horrors I can’t really imagine that the house at any point in time had a complete
lower floor constructed of stonework and only one small room – Laura’s
on the right – on the upper floor (also of stone). At the most,
I could imagine one complete lower floor first, as some kind
of orchard or shepard’s hut, and then one complete floor of
stone added to
the house on top
of that at some
point in time.

The external observation

of an apparent change in
building material on the upper
west end of the house is supported by
the Matrix floorplan a couple of screens back,
where Laura’s walls are extra thick, Filomenas are less
so, and the rest of the house walls are the least thick of all.
What could explain a carved stone-brick construction on the west end of the upper house? Try this
possibility: the whole central core (2 complete floors) was constructed of stone, and then the left uppe
end fell apart / collapsed due to an earthquake. (Many many buildings in Perugia have suffered that
exact process). With the passage of time, when it was reconstructed, building techniques had passed
from using unsculpted (“raw”) stone, to sculpted stonebricks (or semi-irregular clay bricks).
House of Horrors

Do taylored or scuplted stone “bricks” exist? I don’t know if that’s what they’re
called in the construction sector, but we can google up all types of buildings that
use them.

Do earthquakes hit the Perugia area?

You bet, and on a regular basis. We
all remember the collapse recorded
on a tourist’s video of the roof ot the
Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (you
can see Assisi from Perugia, looking
south-east) during the earthquake of
Sept. 27, 1997)
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So ... do other houses like the cottage really exist? They would be very narrow (just the
width of a bed, plus an equivalent empty space, plus the width of a desk).
Let’s check out Umbrian real estate sites. These houses are kind of like the girls’ place in
design and construction, although it’s clear the Northern Cwm cottage is tiny ... the
Newsweek writer who called it a “palazzo” got it all wrong.
Here’s another stone house for sale in Umbria. Note that
the closest wing looks surprisingly like the central core of
the girls’ house. However, it’s a little bit wider than
Filomena’s bedroom (the width of the girls’ cottage’s central
core).

From the real estate site: “This old house is an elegant old building
200 years old and constructed with basalt stones, surrounded by the
rolling hills and typical characteristics of the Tuscan Umbrian
countryside. Wise local craftsmen have worked using materials of the
place of first choice ... clay floors, roof tiles, old beams and ceilings ...
bathrooms are simple and refined and maintain the old marble sinks
dating to 1800 .... The land around the property is specially evocative,
given some of the caves and quarries in the area, some dating from
the Etruscan period, and wonderful walks. A perfect place to spend a
delightful holiday, absorbed in reading a book or relaxing meditation.”
House of Horrors Here’s an American university program for the restoration of old
Italian stone houses (text highlighting is mine)
http://www.architectureweek.com/2002/0130/building_1-1.html
“For the past two years, students from the United States have gathered in a small village in northern Italy to participate in
an unusual experience — the preservation of a built environment that has changed little since medieval times ….
Faculty and students at the University of Oregon have established a historic preservation Italy Field School Program in
the Ossola Valley village of Canova ….
In reference to the work he does on these houses, (Ken) Marquardt prefers the term "continuation" to "preservation." He
notes: "These buildings have been changing and adapting for centuries, and the work being done here continues
that process in a sensitive way. The buildings are organic in the broadest sense — growing naturally over time
and responding to the environment and the needs of their inhabitants. The notion of freezing them in time is
contrary to their nature as dwellings to be lived in and used." ….
Beneath a shallow layer of topsoil is granite bedrock; often houses grow directly out of hillside outcroppings. There are
numerous variations, but the typical sectional organization places a cantina at the base, usually partially underground,
with a vaulted or cross-vaulted ceiling. This creates an intriguing environment — dimly lit and always cool — where the
wine is pressed and stored. “

(Image on left from

Architectureweek.com
article ref. typical Italian
stonehouse construction)
For as tiny as the girls’
house is, it is perched on
a steep ravine, and needs
some sort of foundation.
A cellar too?
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• This upper part of the Cwm is a sort of amphitheatre, with the sun
always behind the houses, as a sort of theatrical spotlight shining
upon the cottage. In the past, in the time of Paradise - with no
parking lot nor Via Sant’Antonio-, the neighbours would always
know what was going on there
• With the frontline houses enhancing the amphitheatre effect, it
would be of interest to know in the past if sounds were somehow
amplified or modified.
• Nowadays, however, the carpark blocks the view (remember the
image with the ILE agent between the house and the concrete
girders of the viaduct / bridge?) and noise.
• Given the stone structure of the house, and its condition of being
“buried” in asphalt and concrete, on the night of the Giallo, I doubt
the screams that the neighbours heard were the victim’s
• (sorry for the Indonesian rice paddies in my transformation of the
Northern Cwm to how it may have been in the past)
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Both in the old days (photo on left, c. 1920-1930) or in modern times (in the
right photo, the Giardini del Campaccio – outside of the city walls to the west
of Corso Vannucci), the terraces and orchards that slope up to the walls
have provided a bucolic environment and lifestyle.
 House of Horrors
Perhaps there’s no rational or
mathematical explanation to the
undeniable factor in the Giallo that came
from the cottage’s location in the
Northern Cwm and the house’s structure.

But the cottage

didn’t rape,
humiliate,
murder, and
then desecrate
the victim’s
corpse and try
to cover up the
crime.

Just as humans try to predict the weather,

and then suffer unexpected mists, the only
consolation for the general population is
that the mists will recede someday and
the sun will shine again.
How sad, though, for the victim and her
family.