Six Uniquely Italian Design Gems You Can Stay In
From a sprawling casale in Tuscany to a Sicilian domed dammuso, these authentic Italian abodes show off Italian architecture at its finest.
Just as different regions of Italy are known for certain kinds of wine, many areas have distinctive architecture styles, developed to suit the local landscape and people. The cone-shaped trullo homes you’ll find dotting Puglia, for instance, were created by local farmers as a way to evade feudal tax collectors. (The stone structures are easy to disassemble quickly.) Here’s your intro to six quintessentially Italian styles, along with a standout example of each. Consider it a crash course in architecture — and a design-driven travel bucket list.
Stone Villa
Location: Montevarchi, Tuscany, Italy
Host + Home: Francesco Cioncolini
Photography: Rahel Weiss
When Francesco Cioncolini’s father, a botany expert, first spotted this 300-year-old villa in the Chianti hills, it had just one resident: a big fig tree growing right in the middle of the living room. The seven-bedroom home had once been occupied by an olive and potato grower and his family, but it was abandoned for 40 years, leaving it in disrepair (no roof, broken walls, dilapidated grounds). Cioncolini’s family bought it and restored most of it, adding bathrooms, plumbing, and electricity — all with natural or eco-friendly materials. “Everything is green, from the terra-cotta floors to the coconut and cork insulation,” says the host. “All the doors are cypress, so when you enter you smell the wood.” Famous composers, actors, and even astronauts have stayed here, and not only for the pampering extras (on-site yoga pavilion, saltwater pool, sommelier-led wine tastings). “There’s beautiful hiking near the villa, a 1,000-year-old medieval village to explore, and cities like Florence and Siena just an hour away,” says Cioncolini. “But mostly they love the seclusion. You’ve got this villa all to yourself in the countryside, surrounded by silence and trees, and there aren’t even any signs on the road to get here.”
“Guests love the way a large family can all be together here in one place, where the children can play on the grounds.”
— Francesco Cioncolini
What’s a villa? These estates, made of stone, wood, and other natural materials, originated during the Roman Empire in rural enclaves outside cities. Built on a grand scale (often with expansive gardens), some villas housed farmers, farmworkers, and their families, but most served as country retreats for wealthy noble families. These days, a villa can more broadly refer to a large, luxury vacation home.
Traditional Trullo
Location: Ostuni, Puglia, Italy
Superhost + Home: Sabrina Righetti
Photography: Lola & Pani
Ten years ago, when Sabrina Righetti and her husband, Maurizio, an entrepreneur and real estate investor, began looking for a place in Puglia, they were set on finding one that reflected the area. “We stumbled upon this historic trullo in the countryside, and we loved the way it was immersed in olive groves,” says Righetti. Guests get a feel for the traditional trullo design from the moment they walk in: You might have to duck down, because the doorway is only about six feet high, notes the host: “It faces south, so it was built low to shield the home from the sun’s rays at the hottest part of the day.” The two original cone structures that make up the entrance were constructed in the 18th or 19th century, and the couple doubled the space by adding two more as extra bedrooms with an attached bathroom. A fireplace right in the middle is Righetti’s favorite spot. “It’s the bridge between the old and new parts of the trullo, and the centerpiece of the home, for cooking and gathering.” And while guests love the homey vibe of the exposed-stone interior, it’s the exterior features — swimming pool, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven — that they rave about most, says Righetti. “The outdoor space is very convivial, and some guests will even have us bring in a pro for a massage.”
What’s a trullo? These conical stone homes, built as early as the 14th century, were designed for adaptability. Made without mortar or ceiling beams, legend has it they were easy for peasant farmworkers to deconstruct whenever feudal tax collectors came around. Each typically has one room (kitchen, bedroom, and storage combo) with a fireplace.
Seaside Masseria
Location: Marina di Andrano, Puglia, Italy
Superhost + Home: Andrea Accogli with Maria De Pierri
Photography: Salva López
With 12 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and three terraces, Maria De Pierri’s Puglia masseria-style home is “pretty enormous,” she says — but it wasn’t always that way. The property got its start in the 1950s as a farmhouse with three small rooms carved from rock. “It was used by farmers who grew potatoes and cultivated grapes for wine,” says De Pierri. Over time, with urbanization, residents in the area abandoned their masserie for the cities, and a new set scooped them up as vacation homes. “My husband’s family had additional rooms built. Now we regularly book guests who are having a big gathering, like a wedding or a birthday celebration.” They come for the “stupendous ocean,” notes De Pierri, but also for the area’s uniquely Italian sights, like the Sigismondo Castromediano museum of art in Lecce and the town of Marina di Andrano’s Green Grotto. (“When you go in for a swim, the water becomes fluorescent. It’s a paradise for adventurers that hasn’t been discovered by the masses,” she says.) Her home, heavily influenced by Greek architecture and design, has its own distinctiveness, too. “We’re in Magna Grecia, the part of Italy that was once conquered by Greeks. The stone columns on our terrace mirror Greek art, and the door and shutters are painted blue because it’s said that the Greeks believed the color would deter mosquitoes,” De Pierri says. “Guests especially appreciate the living room’s huge glass window with its view of the garden and the water. With our location, you get the first glimpse of the rising sun. That’s a very special thing about this house.”
What’s a masseria? Constructed of white tuff, a volcanic stone, masserie are Puglian farmhouses mainly in the provinces of Bari, Taranto, and Brindisi, where landowners, farmers, their families, and animals lived in one compound, starting in the 13th century. (The landlord had the top floor.) Some included a Catholic chapel, and nearly all had an olive press on site.
Alpine Chalet
Location: Bormio, Lombardy, Italy
Host + Home: Julia Bukasava
Photography: Matthieu Salvaing
You don’t have to be a skier to appreciate Fulvio Martinelli’s modern chalet bordering Stelvio National Park, but you do have to act like one to get there. “It’s 3,012 meters above sea level, and the only way to reach it is by ski lift, so that’s an adventure in and of itself,” says host Julia Bukasava, Martinelli’s business partner. Built about a year ago by Italian architects, the fully sustainable home has a streamlined design that’s inspired by its surroundings. “The slant of the roof mimics the shape of the mountains, so when you’re here, it feels like you’re on top of the world. It’s just you, the mountains, the wind, the sky, the moon, and the stars,” says Bukasava.
When they’re not hiking, biking, or skiing, guests can soak in a sleek pedestal tub or take in the panoramic view from the home’s terrace. And while it’s easy to spend a full day exploring the ancient Roman baths, thermal springs, and cafés in the town of Bormio (just beneath the chalet), your best bet is to start off by staying put. “We bring breakfast to the room,” says the host. “The cuisine has been studied down to the smallest details, and we use only typical products from the region, including a local cheese called casera; bresaola, a typical salumi; and Alpine milk, yogurt, and bread.”
“Throughout a stay here you are face-to-face with nature.”
— Julia Bukasava
What’s a chalet? Typically modeled after Swiss Alpine homes with all-wood trim, balustrade (small column) railings, and slanted roofs, chalets in the Alps were originally simple log cabins for dairy farmers, first built in the 14th century. By the mid-19th century, affluent Europeans adopted the design for their vacation homes in Victorian England and France, adding second-level porches, wooden gables, and decorative carving. Today these versions and the simpler Italian styles serve mostly as getaways for skiers and hikers.
Stately Casale
Location: Cortona, Tuscany, Italy
Host + Airbnb Luxe Home: Caroline Harrowby
Photography: Nicole Franzen
On 70 acres of wildflower-filled woodlands lies this seven-bedroom stone abode with the trappings of a storybook castle: chef’s kitchen, 40-foot drawing room, pool with cabana, lavender-lined paths. Acquiring a place like this was, at first, a fantasy, notes host Caroline Harrowby. But she had already proved ambitious: An interior designer by trade, the English native parlayed her writing passion into a second career as a novelist (pen name: Caroline Montague). “My husband and I were on vacation in Florence,” she says, “and I told him, ‘I’m going to buy a house.’ He didn’t think I meant it, but I jolly well did.”
The home’s ceiling beams had been removed, and the wonderfully weathered wood floor was replaced with a new one, so Harrowby took two years to “restore it to its former glory” and then decorated it with antiques, oil paintings, and modern pieces. The home’s size alone is enough to impress guests — with a tower and sweeping balcony, “there are so many places to sit, if you want to get away from anybody!” quips Harrowby — but it’s the lavish optional add-ons that really elevate a stay here. “You can have food made to order, and play tennis or take a Pilates class,” she says. “We have a concierge, Matteo, who books activities for everyone, from wine tastings to day trips all around the area.”
“It’s not rustic; it’s elegant. If you’re a visual sort of person, you want to be in gorgeous surroundings.”
— Caroline Harrowby
What’s a casale? Terra-cotta floors and a tiled roof are hallmarks of this 16th-century-style home found in rural regions. The word casale refers to farmhouses built on secondary roads overlooking large plots of land. Casali often included a courtyard for storing agricultural tools and a wheat-grinding area.
Restored Dammuso
Location: Pantelleria, Sicily region, Italy
Host + Home: Roberta Sartore Marchiorello
Photography: Roo Lewis
“The magnetism of this island is very strong,” Roberta Sartore Marchiorello says of Pantelleria, the secluded locale she first visited on a vacation with her husband, Tommaso, 19 years ago. So strong, in fact, that the two were compelled to return later that year to buy their own dammuso. They played up the scenic setting by adding outdoor amenities — a dining area on the terrace overlooking a cove, a garden with bougainvillea, prickly pears, and fig, olive, and lemon trees — and took pains to preserve the home’s historic style and its hospitable vibe. “We bought our house from an old fisherman who was loved by the people here because he used to fish and cook for everyone, so we wanted to continue his legacy by keeping it a gathering place.”
“We even put a tent with a king-size bed in our vineyard. When you come to this beautiful place, you want to enjoy the outside.”
— Roberta Sartore Marchiorello
The couple restored the entryway doors with the same oak wood originally used and renovated the facade with lime mortar and trachyte, a volcanic stone used in the initial structure. To emphasize the rustic environs, they kept the interior ultra earthy. “We decorated with brown and green tones, and you can’t find a single piece of plastic in the house,” says the host. “I studied environmental science and territorial design, so I’m always striving for an excellent combination of nature and living spaces,” she adds. “Our goal was to do something new here but maintain the soul of the house.”
“You can have wine and fish on the terrace, or walk down a rocky path and jump in the water. You really feel like you’re on vacation.”
— Roberta Sartore Marchiorello
What’s a dammuso? This ancient type of home is found on the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria, near Sicily — and virtually nowhere else in the world. Made of stone from the once volcanically active island, these dwellings get their domed design from Arab architectural influences. (The island came under Arab rule around 835 AD.) Rooms are small — many were previously used to shelter farm animals — and walls are thick (some more than six feet wide) for insulation.
About the author: Mara Santilli is a freelance journalist whose print and digital work has appeared in Shape, Brit+Co, Marie Claire, and Prevention, among other outlets. Most recently, she was a member of the founding team of Bumble Mag, a branded content project for Bumble at Hearst. She enjoys covering a range of topics from women’s health and politics to travel and culture. She has a degree in Communications and Italian Studies from Fordham University.
