This Forgotten House Stayed Frozen After Lorenzo Died Alone

This hillside house belonged to Lorenzo Bellini for more than thirty years.
Lorenzo worked as a vineyard cooper, building and repairing wooden wine barrels for nearby growers and small family cellars.
The home reflected that trade:
living room, compact kitchen, upstairs bedroom, and a narrow ground-floor workshop where Lorenzo shaped staves, repaired hoops, and stored timber.

The Barrel Workshop Door

Several details still remain inside:

• iron barrel hoops leaning against walls
• woodworking chisels resting on benches
• wine ledgers stacked beside shelves
• folded wool jackets hanging near hooks
• cork boxes stored beneath tables
• unfinished oak staves tied with rope
• Lorenzo’s measuring tools beside the workshop door
  Lorenzo had lived alone for several years after losing his younger brother, who had once worked beside him in the workshop.
  As industrial wine storage gradually replaced traditional barrel work, commissions became less frequent.
  Still, Lorenzo refused to close the workshop.
  He reportedly worked there almost every day.
  
  One late autumn evening, Lorenzo suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after a faulty heater filled part of the workshop with fumes during cold weather.
  He was found the following morning.
  His relatives returned for the funeral and secured the property, but disagreements over inheritance and ownership delayed any decision about selling or restoring the house.
  Years passed.
  Very little inside changed.
  
  Today the house still carries traces of Lorenzo’s work.
  The oak staves remain stacked near the wall.
  The ledgers still rest beside the bench.
  And beside the barrel workshop door, Lorenzo’s final repair measurements remain written on a small unfinished plank.