However, the good news is that the party who bound me to that promise has assured me that the owners of the historical building (designed by a famous -- or sometimes infamous -- architect) are at the beginning a long process to save the structure.
Unfortunately, the building has fallen into such serious disrepair that the renovation has necessarily (or so I'm told) begun with the amputation of an unsalvageable wing (seen in the distance through the two doors).
Thirty years or more of benign neglect, the encroachment of nature, the inevitable process of decay in the absence of maintenance and occasional pillaging by treasure seekers and profiteers have all contributed to the sad scene. My guide told me, for example, that numerous marble mantles and fireplaces were stolen. The floors, ceilings, doors, windows and trim have all suffered from rot.
The reason for my promise to stay mum is to avoid encouraging curiousity seekers, vandals and thieves from causing any further damage. I have extracted a promise from my source for a guided visit at some point in the future to document progress in the restoration.
One can only hope that stated sincerity of my kind guide translates into truly preservation minded historical renovation. Time will tell. So far, sadly, time has not been kind to this fine old structure.
Oh, have I forgotten to mention that my generous guide was engaged in a chase after a curiousity seeker at the time we met? That the pursuer was in a truck and his quarry on foot? Or that I had met my host once before at the site of another historic renovation (now completed) in which he had been engaged? Anyway, that is all for another post sometime in the future.
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