Need a Home for 80k Puzzles? Try an Italian Castle

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/29/science/puzzles-mechanical-miller.html

by Thevet • 3 years ago

39 20 3 years ago

nytimes.com

chungus• 3 years ago

https://archive.is/YGg6Q

and the website of the documentary: https://www.notablefeatures.com/the-puzzle-palace

fragmede• 3 years ago

Having lived in the Bay Area for too long, castles seem positively affordable!

https://www.cabinetlenail.com/en/annonces/ref-na4-1277/15th-...

Of course, it's the upkeep that will kill ya.

oh_sigh• 3 years ago

Depending where, but you'll also be expected to host people from the nearby towns for events, host town parties, weddings, etc, all at no cost or far below cost.

Or, you can not do that and be a social pariah and have the local government thumb their nose at you when you need something like permits.

sherlock_h• 3 years ago

Would love to see the upkeep numbers. Some of these are surprisingly affordable. €1m for a well-kept 15 room castle isn’t bad.

m463• 3 years ago

and missile silos!

bitslayer• 3 years ago

"Then last year, on a whim, the Millers bought a 15th-century, 52-room castle" Translation: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/translation-of-a-new-yor...

throwup238• 3 years ago

I’d wager that 52 room castle is cheaper than the average 4 bedroom stick framed house here in Southern California. They’re prohibitively expensive to maintain so no one really wants them. European governments have a maze of financial incentives to keep them from falling into complete disrepair.

fnorder2• 3 years ago

Imagine the heating bill.

shagie4• 3 years ago

The story from the blog post - https://ipp30.blogspot.com/2022/05/breaking-puzzle-news.html

I made a few jokes in my blog post on May 2nd about wanting to buy a castle. Well, we did it! Now here is the real story of how this happened:

... and then looking for the cost...

https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate/perugia-italy/a-rea...

It's less expensive than many California properties.

6 Beds; 4 Baths; 10,172 sqft; $107/sqft

(California *averages* at $425/sqft)

hnfong• 3 years ago

This thing is literally cheaper than the 2 bedroom 400ft apartment I'm renting...

I mean, I'm living in the more expensive part of Hong Kong, but still.

robinhouston2• 3 years ago

George Miller's website Puzzle Palace is a fun way to get lost for a few hours, if you like puzzles.

http://www.puzzlepalace.com/

ajaimk• 3 years ago

How much was the castle? That’s the key bit of missing information in this whole article

_dark_matter_• 3 years ago

The asking price was about 1 million US dollars.

pmontra• 3 years ago

It seems that it was on sale for 990,000 Euro https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate/perugia-italy/a-rea...

wglb• 3 years ago

Being able to nerd-snipe Donald Knuth is a particular life achievement

robinhouston2• 3 years ago

The original announcement from Roxanne Miller’s blog is charming too, and has a lot of nice pictures of the place: https://ipp30.blogspot.com/2022/05/breaking-puzzle-news.html

Need a Home for 80k Puzzles? Try an Italian Castle

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