Inside a Tuscany Home That’s Medieval

By Patrizia Piccinini

Photography by Max Zambelli

Produced by Fiammetta Pozzi

Styled by Laura Taccari

Panoramic views of rolling hills stretch towards the horizon, silhouetted against the blue sky, lead to this Tuscany home. The yellow of fields of wheat are broken up here and there by rows of cypresses, while the curving rows of vines trace the contours of the rolling landscape. And, in the middle of this landscape, there is an age-old dirt road that, to borrow a phrase from Italian poet and native son of Tuscany Mario Luzi, “points with its turns at the heart of the enigma.”

They point to the soul too, since this slice of paradise so captivated a Milanese family that they chose to make it their retreat. So many perspectival vanishing points coexist here that they add up to a 360-degree view of the Val d’Orcia, in the province of Siena. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw this place,” says Tomaso, the owner of the house. “The sun was slowly descending on the horizon and the valley was tinged with the colors of sunset. Nature touched my deepest heartstrings. And it still does.”

Today, the focal point of this natural spectacle is the Casa Novina, standing alone on a hilltop. This architectural work that spans the centuries arose thanks to architect Florencia Costa who, after tearing down an old building in ruins (the name of the house was already present in property records as early as 1765), designed and built the current home, inspired by medieval Sienese architecture.

“The landscape here never rests,” Tomaso explains. “Wherever you look and at any time of the day, though especially at sunset, it sends a message straight from the eyes to the heart.” The house’s materials ground it in the Val d’Orcia with three principal elements used in its construction: brick, stone, and wood. The result is an architecture that appears, both outside and inside, “majestic and at the same time simple, almost spartan, in keeping with the rural buildings of the area.”

The property is reached via a long private road, leading to a round entranceway in front of the severe stone facade that slows the pace of those arriving at the house. The grounds are planted with mostly native species and in front of the entrance an ancient well remains—a witness to the estate’s long history.

Ample spaces, restrained furnishings, pure forms, symmetrical designs, and natural materials assure that no elements of the house “interrupt the dialogue with the landscape,” says the owner. He entrusted the Florentine studio qart progetti with styling the interiors as well as the grounds. “It’s a garden that is not a garden as we often think of them,” he explains, “because it is made of the same material as its location.” And so the landscape design reflects the progression of rolling hills, creating areas where one can rest and look out at the infinite horizon. It responds to the winds that flow through the valley by “blocking it with barriers made of oaks and rows of cypresses,” standing “tall and outspoken” like those in a poem by another Tuscan writer, Giosuè Carducci.

Another essential element of the landscape design is the travertine pool, which presented countless challenges when it came to obtaining permits given local regulations to protect the valley’s landscapes. Instead of an infinity edge, the pool was inspired by a thermal pool at the nearby Bagno Vignoni hot springs and the fountains where farm animals used to drink. Around the pool there is furniture by Molteni&C and, under a corten pergola, pieces by Ethimo. “With its almost monastic simplicity, reserved and controlled, the house could not help but exist in harmony with this stark and beautiful valley,” Tomaso states.

The design’s light footprint demonstrates a concern with and commitment to preserving the natural scenery and the land it sits on, in a continuous dialogue. “Every single window is designed to frame the hills and villages around the house as if they were paintings. Nothing else was needed to decorate the rooms,” says Tomaso. Then there is the use of materials like travertine, in the kitchen and pool, on the windowsills, and for the entrance gate. Oak reigns supreme in the interiors, starting with the double staircase and the soaring ceiling of the atrium.

Everything in the building speaks of history, including the dry laid stone walls. The expansive central hall becomes the axis around which the interior circulation revolves, including the double staircase that leads to the upper floors. Passing from the entrance through an elliptical space lit by a skylight, one arrives to the living room dotted with a few important design pieces, like the Round D.154.5 armchair, Panna Cotta coffee tables, and Woody stools, all by Molteni&C. The wine cellar downstairs revolves around an oak plank table salvaged from a construction site and a Libreria del Vino (wine bookcase) by Elite To Be. Many of the furnishings are by local artisans, including the kitchen, with an oak center island and travertine countertop. From here there is access to a kitchen garden in the form of a small amphitheater planted with herbs. Just outside, a travertine hot tub offers a place to listen to birdsong while soaking in its warm water under the vaults of the courtyard. In the distance, rows of cypress trees provide scale to the immense landscape.

This Tuscany home tour was first published by AD Italy.

The austere façade is topped by a gable which architect Florencia Costa included to pay homage to the previous building that once stood on the site.

The large full-height atrium and its double flight of stairs serve as the central axis of the house connecting all of its rooms.

A corner of the living room with the Round D.154.5 armchair designed by Gio Ponti (Monteni&C). Its futuristic yet simple form blends perfectly, if surprisingly, with the style of the house.

Bedrooms are furnished with only a few essential pieces, in keeping with the austere atmosphere of the house.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Katherine McLaughlin

A glimpse at the kitchen.

D.150.5 outdoor chaises by Gio Ponti for Molteni&C sit by the pool.

By David Foxley

By Valentina Raggi

By Zoë Sessums

By Katherine McLaughlin