Historic family residence in Italy by Luca Zanaroli

This residence has a quite unusual look, both inside and out. The house is located in the countryside of Morciano di Leuca Apulia, in Italy.The residence was designed by Luca Zanaroli. As you can imagine, the house was not built from scratch. It’s obvious that there once was a structure on the site, one that aged with time and became merely a ruin.

Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9

It’s that abandoned structure that was used as a starting point for this project. However, unlike in most similar cases, the original structure didn’t just become part of the new building. It was entirely preserved and, more than that, it dictated the design for the new one. On the site there were actually two historic structures. These were once used as temporary shelters for local farmers and were then abandoned. The original structure were restored and preserved.

Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9

The new residence that emerged from there features a very similar design. Both the interior and exterior of the building are minimalist. The residence features the restored barrel vaults and domes that were created using locally sourced stone dating back to the 1800s. It was important to preserve the charm of the original structures and to use the right materials. In the dining room there’s a small circular skylight that direct daylight to this area.

Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9
Ancient Italian Countryside Dwelling9

The rest of the windows are small. One of them is in the kitchen and another one in the bedroom. These are the only two openings towards the exterior. It’s a quite uncommon residence but also a great example of historic architecture. It’s a structure that was returned to its original beauty.{found on gessato}.