OLIVE BRANCH
Architect Luca Zaneroli skilfully planted a modern holiday home amid traditional domed farm huts, creating a convivial setting for a Rome family and their guests.
When US soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful filmed 10 episodes (including the long-awaited wedding between Hope and Liam) in Puglia, Italy, the region achieved cult status within the collective consciousness of daytime TV fans. Puglia ticks all the boxes when it comes to representing rural Italy: old stone houses, olive groves and tradition.
For Rome-based couple Monica and Jacobo, though, the Puglia region located 500km south-east of Rome (smack in the heel of Italy’s boot) represents their family’s history and heritage. Through decades of summers past they have established firm family roots here. This motivated the couple to purchase several terraced hectares of olive and almond trees. Besides continuing the family tradition, they wanted to embark on their own ambition of designing and building a holiday house from the ground up.
The twist is that the plot of farming land the couple bought was occupied by several trulli – historically significant, cone-shaped, peasant structures, dating from several centuries ago. These are an important symbol of the region’s heritage and strictly protected.
Monica, who has a background in art history, and Jacob, a lawyer who also works within the domain of art, dreamed of integrating them into a newer, more modern architecture.
“We’re passionate about contemporary architecture, design and art so it was important for us to create a project which reflected that interest,” she says. “We began by consulting architects from the area, thinking that by having a cultural connection to the trulli, they would come up with an idea – but we were not convinced.”
As readers of architecture and design reviews, they had their interest piqued by the distinctive, stylish work of architect Luca Zaneroli. They made an approach and he accepted. “We had an immediate connection with Luca, as if we were reading each other’s minds,” says Monica. “There was an ease and free flow of ideas.”
Monica and Jacob outlined their vision that the natural environment and setting be given maximum value. They wanted the new house to contain guest quarters, enough to comfortably accommodate several friends and family, and they also wanted an infinity pool. The traditional trulli also needed to be preserved and, if possible, integrated into the overall project.