Andrea Vogt
Bologna: A British father living off-grid with his family in the Italian wilderness has been offered a free home so he can be reunited with his children.
Nathan Trevallion, 51, was handed the keys to a holiday house for two months in the hilltop village of Palmoli in south-eastern Italy so he could carry out the court-ordered improvements to his family’s living arrangements.
The former chef from Bristol and his wife, Catherine Birmingham, a former equestrian trainer from Australia, had their three children removed from their custody and taken into care on November 18.
Shortly afterwards, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “concerned” about the treatment of the family, while her deputy, Matteo Salvini, said the “seizure” of the children was “worrying, dangerous and shameful”.
The family were living in social isolation without running water or electricity since 2021 until a court ruled that the children – an eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old twins – were not receiving an adequate education.
The children have been transferred to a shelter, accompanied by their mother, in a “great injustice”, according to Trevallion.
On Saturday, a restaurateur, Armando Carusi, gave the keys to his Airbnb cottage, known as Grandma Gemma’s Little House, to Trevallion to help with his family reunification.
The stone cottage with sweeping views of Palmoli is advertised on Airbnb as “the perfect place to get away from the chaotic life and find yourself”.
Trevallion said: “Grazie mille. Thank you, thank you everyone. I have trust in the judiciary and have no further comment at this time.”
Carusi was born and raised in the cottage, which had no central heating when he was growing up.
“I am not scandalised by the family’s lifestyle because I lived it myself when I was little,” he said. “It was the natural thing to do.”
The business owner and his daughter have since remodelled the cottage with modern comforts, including Wi-Fi and an indoor bathroom. They offered it free as temporary lodging to Trevallion while he makes court-ordered upgrades to his own home.
The Briton was previously living with his family in a dilapidated stone farmhouse he bought for €20,000 ($35,485). They lived together without electricity, an indoor toilet or plumbing, water mains or gas, relying instead on solar power, water drawn from a well, a nearby creek and home-grown food. The children were homeschooled.
But social services began investigating after the entire family were poisoned by mushrooms they had foraged and had to receive medical aid. A battle ensued over a lack of documented paediatric visits and their refusal to allow educational and psychological assessments.
The juvenile court of L’Aquila alleged mistreatment due to the “absence of habitability” at the house.
In mid-November, police removed the children from the home, saying their wellbeing was at risk.
After negotiations, the children’s mother was allowed to accompany them to a shelter in the coastal town of Vasto, while Trevallion moved in with a neighbour. The family’s lawyers have formally filed an appeal.
“There is no negligence, no abuse – the kids’ lives are not in danger,” she told London’s The Telegraph in November, calling the situation “insane”.
The family is part of a growing cadre of expats fleeing consumerism and technology for a back-to-the-land lifestyle in rural Italy, where property is cheap due to depopulation.
More than 150,000 people have signed a petition to “save the family living in the forest”, and Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, chastised the judiciary for not applying the same standards to Roma gypsy camps.
On Saturday, Salvini posted a video of the key handover and vowed to follow the case “until this family is happily reunited, free to choose how to raise, educate and love their own children”.
