At the beginning of June 2015 Federico and I found, or, to be more precise, our female cat Micia found, a juvenile great tit that had fallen from its nest. Happily, Micia was as yet merely watching the bird and so Federico managed to gather it up before Micia pounced with all her keen feline instincts.

The small bird we identified as male by his deeper yellow belly and broader black median band, slowly adapted to the routines here at Casa Corsi. Always hungry, in a short few weeks he learned to recognise food and to drink by himself. His first flying attempts were indoors, from one shelf to another, then to the top of the fridge, the coffee table or back of sofa. Finally he was ready for the outside world. Of course we hoped to set him free as soon as he was capable of feeding himself. 

Independence is acquired gradually. In his first four months Píppiri, named for his constant chirping - piiiii-piiii - stayed close to us when we left the house. He would fly close by, from tree to tree, following us around the farm as we went about our daily chores. Federico has always whistled in a certain way, ever since childhood, a bird-like sound with a soft kick to it, a call and a whistle all at once. Ki-ki-ki, I heard one day, looking up from what I was doing, fully expecting Federico. It was Píppiri, Píppiri who had learned, to our surprise and delight, to reproduce Federico’s call pitch perfectly. Communication was established! 

Our days revolved around Píppiri. He would wake us up at the crack of dawn wanting food and then sit on the door handle until we let him out, piiiii-piiii! As soon as the door opened he flew away, piiiii-piiii, into the woods... the sound growing fainter and fainter.

At sunset he came back, slept in the house and flew out again in the morning. One evening he didn't come back, but came the following day and stayed for a few more days. Then he would be gone for two or three days at a time, until one day in late October when he stopped coming altogether.

We lived as a family of three for over six months. When Píppiri called out to us, every evening at sunset, so that we might open the door for him, we felt blessed. Not one day goes by without Federico whistling for him at sunset. Ki-ki-ki!

Our logo is a very small tribute to a truly 'great' creature. 

A very special thank you to Nicole Alessandri for painting the two watercolours that inspired the logo.