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She moved to Italy and bought a palazzo for a fresh start. Her ex-husband came with her

Kelly and Jess love the slower pace of life in Stimigliano, situated in the Lazio region of Italy. (numbeos/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) Kelly and Jess love the slower pace of life in Stimigliano, situated in the Lazio region of Italy. (numbeos/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
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As they walked through the stunning palazzo and gazed up at its frescoed ceilings, Kelly and Jesse Galloway, originally from Australia, knew that their lives were about to change.

The pair, who鈥檝e been divorced since 2013, decided to purchase the historic property, situated in the village of Stimigliano in the central Lazio region of Italy, almost instantly.

鈥淭he agent led us through this covered walkway, opened the door and brought us into this beautiful big kitchen,鈥 Kelly, a former furniture manufacturer, tells CNN Travel.

鈥淭hen [we went] through the kitchen and into the main entrance, and I stood and looked up the staircase and began to cry.鈥

Italian dream

Kelly and Jess, who were previously married for 18 years, are now the proud owners of Palazzo Menichelli, which had been left empty for around three decades.

So how did this former couple end up moving to a new country and buying a palazzo 鈥 a grand Italian residence - together?

鈥淲e鈥檝e been platonic for many years,鈥 explains Kelly. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e good friends. And I saw it as a chance for Jess to have a home of his own and for me to have a home of my own and [for us to] live happy ever after in this beautiful place.鈥

Kelly had dreamed of a 鈥渉appy ever after鈥 in Italy long before she鈥檇 ever even visited the European country and originally planned to relocate there in 2014.

The pair are close to finishing the work on the property, and say that they've only spent around 鈧50,000 (around US$54,000) on materials so far. (Kelly Galloway via CNN Newsource)However, things didn鈥檛 work out on that occasion and her dream 鈥済ot put back on the shelf.鈥

When she travelled to Italy for the first time in 2018, Kelly says she fell in love with the country 鈥渕ore than ever.鈥

By the following year, her home in Australia was on the market and she鈥檇 put down a deposit on a palazzo located in the town of Alvito in the Lazio region.

But as the global COVID-19 pandemic developed, Kelly became nervous about taking on such a big project and pulled out of the deal.

Despite this setback, she was determined to move to Italy as soon as she could, and decided to ask Jess if he鈥檇 be willing come along to help her settle in.

鈥淚 had said that I thought he might end up deciding that he wanted to stay in Italy,鈥 she says. 鈥淪o he came with me under that set of circumstances.鈥

Kelly goes on to explain that she and Jess, who have three children, stayed close after their split, and continued to work together.

鈥淲e still dabbled in a lot of stuff together and sometimes travelled together to deliver things and so on,鈥 she adds.

Historic property

In July 2020, the pair flew to Italy with two greyhounds, Vonny and Gooee, in tow.

Although Jess, who鈥檇 never travelled to Italy before then, only intended to stay for a short time, he became 鈥渂esotted鈥 with the property, which was rebuilt by an Italian family named the Menichellis in 1901, when he and Kelly went to view it the following month.

After negotiating with the owners, they agreed to buy Palazzo Menichelli for 鈧123,000 (US$132,700).

鈥淲e just went to the agent鈥檚 office, went through all the documentation and signed it that night,鈥 says Kelly.

Once the sale was finalized later that year, the pair, who entered Italy with a Elective Residency Visa, a long-stay permit for non-EU citizens who intend to take residence in Italy, which requires a passive income of 鈧31,000 (about $33,600,) spent the next few weeks getting to know the area and making plans.

鈥淭here was always the proviso that we could cast his [Jess鈥檚] name off the contract if he ever changed his mind,鈥 Kelly explains. 鈥淚 looked into it, and it was relatively straightforward.鈥

They quickly set about beginning the renovation work on the historic property, which measures around 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft) and has a rooftop terrace that stretches across entire top floor.

鈥淭he place was in such fundamentally good condition, which was kind of amazing because it was so cheap,鈥 says Kelly.

Kelly and Jess went on to complete most of the work themselves over the next three years, transforming a huge empty space into a functioning kitchen, giving the bathrooms a facelift and painting the huge property鈥檚 many walls.

According to Jess, one of the hardest jobs was building a garden 鈥渇rom scratch鈥 and creating a landscaped space.

鈥淭hat garden has been quite a challenge, because it was 鈥榗razy paving,鈥 which is random pieces of stone,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd there was absolutely no earth.鈥

Restoration work

Once Kelly and Jess began working on the interior of the property, they discovered many more frescoes that were painted over and have been painstakingly removing the paint in order to restore them.

鈥淭he removing of the paint over the frescoes is a long-term project,鈥 explains Kelly, acknowledging that some areas may be 鈥渦nfeasible to do.鈥

鈥淲e鈥檒l keep persisting with that.鈥

Aside from this, they have pretty much completed the work on the six-level, 17-room property, which had four bedrooms, two dining rooms, two kitchens, four bathrooms and two entrances 鈥 one formal entrance and one side entrance.

鈥淚t鈥檚 big, but it鈥檚 not crazy big,鈥 says Kelly. 鈥淵ou hear about some palazzos over here that have 20 bedrooms.鈥

The pair have spent the past few years renovating the stunning property, which had been left empty for three decades, themselves. (Kelly Galloway via CNN Newsource)They鈥檝e converted one of the bedrooms into a salon/music room, where they plan to hold small concerts for family and friends and have also purchased and restored a Venetian harpsichord 鈥 a keyboard instrument that became popular during the Baroque period.

Kelly and Jess have also created two new dining areas that open out onto the rear terrace.

They eventually plan to transform two of the bedrooms on the second level into luxury B&B suites, and a separate section into a restaurant.

Although they鈥檝e put a lot of work into the property, Kelly and Jess feel incredibly lucky, as the process has been 鈥渟o darn easy.鈥

鈥淪o many movies have been about this hard slog renovating a place, and getting this arranged and that arranged,鈥 says Kelly, explaining that the property didn鈥檛 require any structural, plumbing or electrical work.

鈥淎nd we just do it all ourselves. All we鈥檝e got to do is the fun stuff.鈥

They estimate that they鈥檝e spent less than 鈧50,000 (around $54,000) on materials, such as paint, so far.

Close-knit community

While Jess had only planned to stay in Italy for a short time, he鈥檚 taken to the country immensely and feels settled in Stimigliano, which is located just an hour from Rome.

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 been extremely friendly and helpful,鈥 says Jess. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really great community.鈥

However, the pair admit that they鈥檝e found learning Italian and communicating with the locals to be hugely challenging.

鈥淚鈥檓 quite shy,鈥 says Kelly. 鈥淪o I sort of feel embarrassed. I beat myself up a lot, because I don鈥檛 understand as much of what the locals are saying.鈥

And while Jess has been picking words up along the way and can 鈥渟ort of scrape by鈥 at the supermarket, he鈥檚 far from fluent.

Kelly concedes that they haven鈥檛 been able to socialize with locals as much as they would have liked, partly due to the language barrier, as well as the fact that they arrived during the pandemic and spend much of their time working on the property.

鈥淚鈥檇 be lying if I told you that we go to lots of get togethers with locals and we all go around to each other鈥檚 houses,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hat hasn鈥檛 really happened very much.

鈥淏ut we do go to all of the local events. And the wonderful thing about little Italian towns is that there鈥檚 constantly events going on.鈥

Kelly鈥檚 been hugely impressed by the warmth and kindness of the local community, describing how their neighbors will sometimes 鈥漷urn up at our door and give us a lasagna,鈥 because they often 鈥渕ake dozens and hand them to friends.鈥

鈥淭hings like that blow me away,鈥 she says, adding that Jess often finds himself being handed a free coffee or bottle of wine while out and about.

Kelly loves the slower pace of life in the Italian town and admits that she sometimes felt like a 鈥渄uck out of water鈥 while living Down Under.

鈥淚 was a terrible fit for Australia,鈥 says Kelly, who was based just outside of the city of Melbourne before moving to Italy.

鈥淎ustralia is kind of painted as this place where it鈥檚 a very chill life. In reality, it鈥檚 very 鈥榬ush.鈥

鈥淵ou鈥檙e always kind of working for something. Whereas here, you鈥檙e in this tiny little town and everybody sort of knows each other.

Fairytale ending

鈥淎nd if you鈥檙e walking past, everybody says 鈥榟ello鈥 and they just give each other a helping hand.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like something out of a fairytale book. It really is.鈥

While she notes that some expats living in the country take exception to Italian bureaucracy, Kelly refuses to let it get to her.

鈥淧eople complain about the bureaucracy,鈥 she says. 鈥淏ut what I point out is, we spend a tiny fraction of our time each year dealing with bureaucracy and 99% of our time just living this beautiful life in this beautiful place.鈥

Their four-legged companion Vonny has also adapted to his new home well. Sadly Kelly鈥檚 dog Gooee, who also travelled to Italy with them, passed away last March.

Although she and Jess are very happy with their setup, Kelly admits that their platonic relationship can cause confusion, particularly when meeting strangers.

鈥淚 guess we鈥檝e got better at dealing with it,鈥 she says, stressing how well they鈥檝e always worked together as a team. Kelly Galloway and her ex-husband Jess purchased Palazzo Menichelli for 鈧123,000 (US$132,700) in 2020. (Kelly Galloway via CNN Newsource)鈥淏ut I鈥檓 60 and Jess is now 62. Pardon my bluntness, but at our age a lot of people aren鈥檛 doing much anyway. So we鈥檙e kind of like a lot of married couples would be at this point.

鈥淯nless somebody specifically points out otherwise, it鈥檚 not something that we really think about.鈥

While she鈥檇 talked of moving to Italy for many years, Kelly says that many of her friends back home didn鈥檛 take her seriously, and even her family question it at times.

鈥淓verybody said, 鈥楴o, it won鈥檛 happen.鈥欌 she says. 鈥淏ut once I sold my house, they knew that I was definitely coming over here.鈥

Kelly stresses that their children are thrilled by the way that things have worked out for she and Jess and their son is planning to come over to visit at some point this year.

鈥淗e would be on the next plane to get here if he could,鈥 she says, before explaining that their two daughters are less enthusiastic about making the long trip from Australia to Italy.

Kelly points out that she鈥檚 seen a number of expats return to their home country after moving to Italy, with one of the main reasons being the aforementioned bureaucracy.

She goes on to explain that the fact that most expats from outside the EU can only use their driving license for a year before having to obtain an Italian driving license, which involves taking the Italian driving test, is another factor.

鈥淭hings like that, people kind of dwell on,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd they end up being the reasons that they go back.

鈥淲hat I would say to people is, 鈥楯ust don鈥檛 worry about that.鈥 It鈥檚 such a little part of your life.

鈥淪ome people adore life here and some people end up literally hating it because they focus on those two things.鈥

Thankfully, both she and Jess are focused on little else but completing the work on their treasured palazzo, and making the most of their new life in Italy, a place that Kelly had fantasized about for so long.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine anywhere else being home other than this place for either of us anymore,鈥 she adds.

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