We’re very conscious that a long-anticipated holiday is the last occasion when you want an accident or illness to strike. So a few years ago we commissioned a specialised Health & Safety consultancy to do a complete review of Ripertoli, and – surprise surprise – they came up with a long list of recommendations, not least because the Italian Government has passed some new stringent H & S laws the previous year.

One of the many fire extinguishers in the property

We have implemented the recommendations, as we want our clients and employees to be as secure as possible. We also want to be 100% legal – Italy is a very bureaucratic country, and the penalties for rule-breaking are severe.

Most of the recommendations were sensible and helpful. We now have a complete set of fire extinguishers in smart stands (with mandatory wall signs in case you don’t realise what the big red cylinder is), emergency LED lighting which comes on automatically if there is a power cut, an officially-approved First Aid box, and special emergency mobile phones for our 5 part-time employees in case they have an accident while working alone.

We also have lots of helpful notices, all in Italian of course by law. The most surprising is the one detailing the rules for the swimming pool, which starts by stating that there must never be more than 36 people in the pool simultaneously! We have obtained permission to translate this into English; it’s on display in the gazebo by the pool. Any Ripertoli visitor in need of a laugh is advised to go and read it.

A full list of local Doctors, major hospitals, and emergency help for minor injuries is in the House Book.