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Home of the Week: Couple's residence grows where tobacco once stood

By FRANCES JAQUES, Staff Writer

Old tobacco farms have yielded to housing developments, horse ranches and corn fields, but few of them have been cut apart by a major highway.

The Rev. Gioele and Esther Settembrini live on six acres of what was at one time a 37-acre tobacco farm at the headwaters of Church Creek in Annapolis which was owned and farmed by Mrs. Settembrini's grandfather, William Franklin Hall and then her father, Preston Hall.

But highway progress determined that Route 665, known as Aris T. Allen Boulevard, should split through the land. The old farmhouse was on one side of the new road and the Settembrini's were left with land that borders the water.

"Our biggest disappointment was that the farmhouse, which was about 100 years old, was torn down," said Mrs. Settembrini.

The Settembrinis have owned their part of the farm since 1972 and in 1994 built the brick Cape-Cod style house in which they live and which is set on a hill at the very end of Church Creek. Although the terrain leading to the water is heavily wooded, the front of the house looks out over fields and lawn that at one time were filled with tobacco plants.

The original two-story house has had several additions in its short history, to the rear and side.

"We added the TV room, the Italian room, and the dining room," said the Rev. Settembrini.

The original living room has a cathedral style ceiling with two skylights and a balcony at one end that is used as an office and sitting room. The upper space is a restful area with a desk at one end set in front of double windows where Rev. Settembrini can look out over the landscape while writing sermons or studying. He is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Shady Side.

Also on this level are two guest bedrooms. The master bedroom is on the first floor.

Of all the additions added to the house on the main level, Rev. Settembrini favors the Italian room with its radio and recording equipment over which he can choose to play one of his 400 complete opera collections. A tenor soloist of note he gives concerts locally and throughout Europe and in Peru.

The Italian room is painted a light gold-orange color, a shade associated with the decor of Tuscany. Rev. Settembrini was born in the village of Latiano, near the city of Brindisi in the very southern part of Italy.

His home reflects his Italian heritage with many paintings and photographs placed on the walls. Several of the paintings were done by his brother, Gabriele, who lives in Lima, Peru, and also is a singer of note.

The Italian room is in the center of the house, off of the living room and built on what was the original deck.

"I just took off the deck and moved it farther into the woods," said Rev. Settembrini.

Mrs. Settembrini chooses the library as her favorite room to read and relax. It's a sunny spot in the front of the house with shelves of books, a desk and comfortable chairs. It served as the dining room when the house was built.

"We decided that the room was too far from the kitchen to be used as the dining room, so I built a room nearer the kitchen," said the Rev. Settembrini.

The room extends to the rear with a bay window at the rear and additional windows at either side. Early American tavern-style furniture with low-back captains' chairs and open hutch furnish the room. A long oval-style table centers the room. The walls have been feather painted by their daughter, Karen Williams of Crofton, who has also used this technique on the powder room and the kitchen.

The kitchen remains as originally built with white cabinets and Silestone countertops that resemble granite but are made from quartz. Double windows above the sink look out over the woods in the rear.

A third addition to the original house is the TV room which was added to one side of the living room and which can serve as a family room especially during visits of the couple's five grandchildren. A screened porch was added to the TV room which provides extra space for warm weather entertaining. There is an enclosed crab shack in the rear yard built by Rev. Settembrini.

With family scattered throughout the world, they frequently have overnight guests. His next project is to rearrange the guest bathrooms, providing separate ones for each room.

"I'm a person who must be busy to be happy," he said.

The Rev. Settembrini came to the U.S. in 1954 to study at the Washington Bible College where he met Mrs. Settembrini who was secretary to the president. He worked for more than 28 years as director of church relations for Americans United for Separation of Church and State based in Washington, D.C., While a student at the college, he was asked to start the Baptist Church in Shady Side and was the pastor there from 1957 to 1962. He has returned for the third time as pastor and has been there for the past 15 years.

Mrs. Settembrini taught for more than 20 years at county elementary schools, retiring in 1990.

Published February 18, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.