Civitella is a kind of metaphor of the castle. A protected place. A safe haven. Several tragic and bloody events took place while we were there, one cannot really think anymore of being safe anywhere, vulnerability is all around. The more it makes us appreciate every minute of being alive and together. The feeling of community, sharing, participating and contributing is something that Civitella evoked. Leaving aside one’s everyday life and recent traumas. Being a family to each other. Walking down between fields before sunset, lying together on the grass and looking at the stars and the Moon. The feeling of immediate happiness, the moment of being there together in the Italian summer and nature. Civitella is not a mute paradise. Its most characteristic trait to me is its soundtrack of voices, sounds and noises. Be they by Chef Romana Ciubini and her Etruscan-Umbrian magic, by my fridge in Pontenuovo, by Ocean Vuong and his woof-woof, by Christian Kesten and his pianissimo, by Javier Alvarez and his diabolic laughter, by Lu Wang and her playing Chopin and Debussy, plus endless scores by crazy dogs and crazy birds. This marvellous place is open to all sounds, day and night. And they remain with us.