In 1880, he and Bice moved to Pusiano and soon thereafter to the village of Carella, where they shared a house with their friend Longoni. It was in this mountain scenery that Segantini began to paint en plein air, preferring to work in the outdoors than in a studio. While he worked outside, Bice would read to him, and eventually he learned to read and write. Later he would write articles for Italian art magazines, and he was a prolific letter writer to Bice when he traveled and to other artists throughout Europe.